TBK-Light.com

They give you something nice to look at before the race dummy, and they stop that pole their holding from falling over.

Then use a sandbag. Usually plenty left over after testing

Or if celebs really want to be on the grid...

Nail, head etc. I was a bit indifferent about it, but the comments of 'sad' photographers I've been reading over the past 2 days makes me really happy this has happened. "Ugh, now where do I get my cleavage and skirt shots from hot chicks"

They always look so out of place. Here, go stand in front of a racecar you have no connection with for about 60-90 minutes (as often happens in the case of endurance races) and just... do nothing but smile. Definitely don't mind the creepy old men suddenly flocking around trying to get you back to their little VIP tents. I cringe so much every time I walk on a grid like that.

I'm sure you won't have a lack of beautiful models going to a race track, as banning grid girls does not disallow teams to use them for promo, VIP roles (eg. hostess) or anything else. And that's fine, because in those cases they actually have a purpose, rather than just standing around like a (dare I say it) 'object'.

Comparisons with fashion models makes no sense IMO, because they do something: show and promote fashion/design clothing. That a lot of people still look at them as 'objects', probably, but AT LEAST they do have a purpose.

If you want to hear the opinion of Lisa Crampton (FIA assistant & sports management consultant for the WEC/24LM/ELMS), one of the females in the business: https://twitter.com/_LCC7



It's easy to find alternatives for "panel holders": run a competition to get fans on the grid. A shitload of people would compete in that. You could even get kids to do it, fans for life plus great positive footage rather than yet another clip of boobzzz and assezzz during the highlight reel.

I reckon there would be a pretty large generational correlation to the opinions of people about this topic.

Putting aside the grid girl thing for a moment, Carmen Jorda really isn't the best example. She's actively using the fact that she's an attractive female with nice legs to get a drive, because she certainly doesn't have the talent for it. There are opportunites for talented women to be successful in the sport, and funnily enough they don't seem to be subject to objectification. Simona de Silvestro, Monisha Kaltenborn, Claire Williams, Leena Gade to name a few. We need more of them, not more Carmen Jordas.

A worthwhile contribution to the discussion: http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/04/0 ... pines.html

I have thought about a lot, why I got bit by the racing bug but my sister didn't. Our dad took both of us to races in 90's, and had the same opportunities in loving the sport - so why not the same experience?

No grid girls anymore?

Real shame. Won't read or discuss all, just saying where I stand.

Grid girl ban, same as the helmet change ban in F1, completely unnecessary. If a team wants a grid girl on the grid, let them. If they don't, let them have a mechanic hold the grid number. There is no need to make rules for this, just as in the real world there are no rules to what woman should do or wear. If anything is sexist it's this new rule. It gives the perception that woman can't make the decision to be a grid girl or not by themselves. These girls are models and what's the difference in modeling for a photoshoot or doing some grid girl work? The grid girls I usually see at races are usually properly dressed anyway. The times of bikinis are long behind us (in Europe at least)

Great article, doubt a lot of people have read it.

This might sound inadvertently sexist but is there really any other answer to that than that "cars are a boy thing"?

Vicious circle, social constructs and all that. A girl in motorsport is still as much of an oddness as having a man trying out ballet, for example. It has grown and has been reinforced traditionally.

The fact that a lot of the female drivers are daughters of ex-racers or individuals active in racing, shows that this is an actual mechanism IMO. Those women had free access to everything involving racing, and their interest in cars and rumbling engines was able to roam freely without getting a couple of signs saying "hey, this is not really for girls, is it?" along the way.

It's embedded in all of us. I had a proper discussion about cars with 2 girls/women I'm doing a project with earlier this week. I feel bad that I felt surprised about that.

Yet when Sauber ran into trouble the internet was flooded with "see what happens when you get a woman to run something in motorsport, LOLLLLL".

And yet Williams has got slightly better since it has been (part?) run by a woman so iono

Pretty sure sauber came closest it ever has to winning a race with monaco too.
And looking elsewhere on the grid there's plenty of men doing worse jobs with more monies so you don't have to be a man or a woman to be successful in f1....just rich

_________________
RIP Birmingham Wheels: here's some of the crash videos I recorded when it was there:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIaKIE ... 5t9d5PvoHA

Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/paulhadsley

humor not allowed

That is indeed what it is, and it is that segregation that makes me uncomfortable. This fantastic sport should welcome everyone equally. So many bright minds involved, yet it is still a Boys Club.

Women can do whatever they want, but I know hardly any that are interested in cars or racing. Actually none of them are. So this is due to our sexism? If my daughter wants to race, she can but I doubt she'd want to.

Yes. It is not exactly a welcoming environment when the gender roles are so clear as they are with the Grid Girls phenomena.

So, what are the different specs and energy use of the 4 hybrid cars?

Toyota: 6MJ, supercapacitor ERS on rear and front axle
Audi: 4MJ, flywheel ERS on front axle
Porsche: 8MJ, exhaust ERS on rear, battery on front axle
Nissan: ?MJ, 2x flywheels on front axle, which can apparently power the rear axle too