Formula Woman Assessment Day Friday 11th May 2007

My stomach was certainly churning with butterflies as we set out from Birmingham on the 45 minute journey to Curborough Sprint Circuit, Fradley Park near Lichfield to take part in our initial assessment to try and progress into the final 100 in the formula woman motorsport competition. I say we and not I as my Mum Kate had joined me at a previous track day with Formula Woman at Brands Hatch and I had persuaded her to enter the competition as well! We both passed the paper shift stage of the assessment and were thus embarking on our morning assessment session at Curborough.

We arrived early and registered with Formula Woman team member Vicky Lloyd. I was put into Group 2 out of 4 with 7 to 8 people in each group.

First up was our presentation stage where we had to demonstrate our knowledge and dedication in a one to one interview with one of the team members. I had created a poster presentation consisting of photos from my previous track days in a Lotus Elise and a Caterham 7 as well as a copy of my article in the Birmingham Mail and a "recipe for success in motorsport" with key elements I feel essential for succeeding in the sport.

Second up was the best bit....the adrenalin rush of the Caterham track driving around the sprint circuit.

The track driving involved driving alongside an instructor/assessor for 5 laps around the circuit, the first 3 where the instructor was able to give feedback and advice and 2 final laps where I had to independently drive with no input from the assessor. These final 2 laps were assessed. These 5 laps were absolutely fantastic and went far too quickly! I just wanted to stay out there and keep improving! By the 5th lap my confidence had increased and I was clipping the apexes and accelerating down the straight like Michael Schumacher!

The 3rd part of the assessment involved a written test on motorsport which I had actually revised for and was able to answer or guess most of the questions.

Next was the fitness test which alot of the other girls had been dreading for most of the morning! Our fitness was tested using the bleep test and being used to this from my training for the police fitness test I felt quietly confident about it. Sure enough my previous experience was a bonus and I managed to reach level 9 (which was the highest level achieved during our morning assessments!)

The final assessment was at the Karting track just up the road from the circuit. We had a familiarisation/warm up before completing a 12 lap race. This again was fantastic, adrenalin and octane fuelled and brought out the competitive side in alot of the women! I started 3rd on the grid and after fighting my way into 1st place and maintaining the lead for what seemed like the majority of the race, my race was lost to a feisty girl who managed to squeeze past me on a tight corner. 2nd place was then lost when I was hit from behind and spun! However I managed to keep 3rd until the chequered flag was waved!

After an exhausting morning we were told that we would have to wait 5 days until we received the results!!! Fingers crossed..................