Brazil’s Julia Yaoub and Spain’s Maya Weug have been selected to form a two-driver women’s team for international kart races in 2019.
The duo was chosen from a six-girl shootout at Lonato for the first edition of the Richard Mille Young Talent Academy, dedicated to women’s karting.
In collaboration with Birel ART, Yaoub will compete in Junior and Weug will race OK Senior.
“I would like to thank Richard Mille for continuing his work with young talents with us,” said Ronni Sala, President of Birel ART Group.
“Karting has had great female drivers in its history, but it seems to be more difficult now for young women to compete at a high level. Our joint initiative is part of a longer-term project to ensure them the representation they deserve.”
Welcomed to Lissone, the final six participants (Lola Lovinfosse (FRA), Julia Ayoub (BRA) and Mariana Machado (PRT) in OK-Junior; Maja Hallen Fellenius (SWE), Maya Weug (ESP) and Mathilda Olson (SWE) in OK) were able to explore the Birel ART factory and get to know the Racing Team before proceeding with the preparation of their equipment and adjusting their driving position.
Each with their own kart, the technicians ensured the equivalence of the equipment within the two categories.
The next morning they arrived at the famous circuit of Lonato in rather cold weather to begin the phase of evaluation of their driving. After three sessions to learn the track of South Garda Karting, they learned lessons during a debriefing with Davide Foré, the Team Manager of Birel ART Racing.
The end of the morning included two sessions on new tyres to observe their implementation and their pure performance. To complete this active selection phase, two other sessions were scheduled in the afternoon, the last of which was again on new tyres.
At the end of the deliberations, Maya Weug was chosen in OK, thanks to her mastery and experience of international competition. Fast and dynamic, Julia Ayoub (BRA) was selected in Junior.
They will have the chance to participate in a complete international season in 2019 under the colours of Richard Mille within the Birel ART Racing Team.