Katherine Legge gets full-time 2006 Champ Car ride
Last year's Formula Atlantic sensation Katherine
Legge became the first woman to ever compete full-time in the Champ Car World Series with Tuesday night's announcement
that she will take over one of the seats at PKV Racing.After completing the 2005 season, Legge tested in A1GP, Formula 1 and Champ Car before landing the full-time ride with the team co-owned by Kevin Kalkhoven and Champ Car legend Jimmy Vasser.
A woman hasn't competed in Champ Car since Lyn St. James raced at Michigan in 1995. No woman before Legge has ever raced a full season.
So, the two American open-wheel series continue to lead parallel lives - Indy Car with Danica Patrick, and Champ Car with Katherine Legge. Both are Atlantic alumni, although only Legge was a race winner in the Atlantic series (three times in 2005). Legge has the good fortune to enter her rookie year racing for a top-flight team, with Jimmy Vasser as her coach.
It looks like RACER magazine's "Most Promising Road Racer of 2005" is primed for a big step forward in 2006.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
matt 1:26PM (2/16/2006)
am i the only one who thinks she's smoking hot... i'd feed her
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Linda McKray 1:42PM (2/16/2006)
You are sick, all guys ever look at is if shes hot or not. Its rather unprofessional.
You see once we take over, maybe, just maybe we women will save a spot for you immature pigs. We have already taken over education and you see how well boys are doing in that field. haha
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Justin 1:51PM (2/16/2006)
Alumnae, they are both women.
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John 1:56PM (2/16/2006)
KL is hot alright, plus she's got driving skills. Good for her. She's a bonafide race car driver with the credentials to work from. The media needs to treat her as a race car driver not a woman-racer. The overexposure of D. Patrick hindered her chances to develop in the public eye. Just let KL develop as a driver and let her progress, rather than set rediculuous predictions as the media has pushed on DP.
D. Patrick is good but I belive that KL will make a name for herself by being consistant rather than just racing well in one or two races. It will be interesting to see.
Fow all I care, at least these two ladies have more driving skill than 95% of Nascar drivers. Just my opinion.
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MR STUD 2:21PM (2/16/2006)
LINDA YOU SOUND HOT DO YOU HAVE PIX??
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Cameron 2:46PM (2/16/2006)
Linda,
Women won't take over, and if you did, you'd NEED to save a spot for us "immature pigs" lest the human race die out. Second, If women have taken over education, and you claim that boys are doing poorly, what does that say about the skill of the educators? Women can't teach, is that that says to me. Get over yourself, Feminazi
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menarebetter 3:05PM (2/16/2006)
Linda,
http://www.menarebetterthanwomen.com/
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rainking 3:46PM (2/16/2006)
champ car? That's still in business?
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jm 4:08PM (2/16/2006)
Women in racing have alot of potential from a marketing and competition standpoint. As superficial as it seems, sex appeal does generate geniune interest in the sport as the potential to greatly increase viewship and coverage. Women racers also reach out to the female audicence that has been so hard to capture in racing. Finally from a competition standpoint women naturally have a size and weight advantage on men. Every ounce counts in racing and a lighter driver could have a smaller driver compartment, seat and reduced safety system requirements leaving more for room for racing critical components
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Finished.Law.School 4:37PM (2/16/2006)
What I do not get is what happens when someone in a car like this needs to go to the bathroom during the race. Are they forced to hold it?
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Cameron 4:50PM (2/16/2006)
...just go?
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ssgtakeo 10:13PM (2/16/2006)
finished.law.school guys wear a device called a "piddle pack" like fighter pilots wear, women wear a glorified diaper.
I saw KL race at the San Jose Grand Prix, she's good and won deservedly. Hmm Women in race cars, and the first woman Thunderbird pilot, maybe the lighter bodies, and faster reaction times that being female grants them is paying off?
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Galley 8:39AM (2/17/2006)
Women tend to have faster reflexes than men, which is one reason why Shirley Muldowney did so well in Drag Racing. The only thing holding back some women from competing in the upper levels of racing is the neck strength required from the high G-forces. As the urbanites like to say these days, "You go girl!".
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Gary 9:52PM (2/21/2006)
Where does this blog originate ? I just stumbled across it and what a bunch of idiots ! Katherine is the real deal ! She will not be a "hood ornament" for ChampCar like Danica is for the IRL, she did in one year in Atlantics what Danica could'nt do in 2 years, 3 wins, 3rd in points, if she does'nt post a win this year, just wait till the new cars come out in '07 !
And yes RAINKING, ChampCar is very much alive, just ask the 2 million fans who attended races last year !
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