MH.CO.ZA/ August 2019 129129You might say Tasmin
Pepper was born to race. The daughter of
Iain Pepper – of Volkswagen Cup fame –
she’s fast becoming one of South Africa’s
greatest motorsport sensations.
Her brother, Jordan, has also made
a career in racing, and currently drives
for Bentley in the Blancpain GT series in
Europe. So racing runs in the family.
“My dad bought me my first 50cc go-kart
when I turned four, and that’s where it all
began,” she recalls.
Tasmin is the only African driver to
qualify to compete in the W Series, through
a long and arduous process of elimination.THE LOW-DOWN
ON THE W SERIESThe W Series is a
groundbreaking racing
series for women that
launched in October
last year. The series has
one serious mission:
to change the face
of motorsport, quite
literally – by shaking up
the industry, pushing
aside stereotypes, and
proving that female
drivers can compete
equally against men in
motorsport.
However, in order
to force greater female
participation, an all-
female series was the
first essential step.
The W Series has been
designed to equip drivers
with the experience and
expertise needed to
progress their careers
and hone their skills
before graduating to
high-level mainstream
racing.
The six-stop series
takes place on tracks
across Europe. The
inaugural season
kicked off at Germany’s
Hockenheimring in
May, with other stops
including Belgium, Italy
and The Netherlands. It
concludes this month, at
the iconic Brands Hatch
circuit in the UK.
Athletes are
competing for the top
prize of $500 000
(R7 million) and a total
prize fund of $1.5 million
(R21 million).
“There are a lot of talented female racing
drivers in the world,” says the 29-year-old.
“The first step was an application process
where we had to submit our CVs. There were
over 100 applicants, and I was one of the 64
drivers chosen to go through to the second
round in Austria in January.
“Here we were split into groups, and did a
bunch of different driving tests, fitness tests
and media tests, over a three-day period.
The conditions were really difficult, because
it was either raining or snowing... not
something us South Africans are used to!”
That round narrowed the field to just 28
hopefuls, who would go into the final roundof testing a month later. “We all went to
Spain, where we drove the Formula 3 cars
that we’d be racing later,” says Tasmin.
“The car was an extremely physical drive,
and very different to the front-wheel-drive
Polo Cup car that I was used to back home.
We drove for four days; and based on our
times, the final 18 drivers were selected.”
Hard work? Sure. But Tasmin is
living the dream. “From driving in the
snow for the first time to competing in
a Formula 3 car, it’s been the experience
of a lifetime. I’ve loved every minute of
it, and look forward to the remaining
part of the season!”SWEET RIDE
The inaugural W Series
race car is the Tatuus F3
T-318, a car designed
to the latest FIA F3
specs. It features side-
impact panels, front
and rear carbon impact
structures, wheel tethers,
an extractable seat, and
the new Halo system.
Cars and engineering
teams are rotated between
drivers for each race, to
ensure that the race is
simply about the drivers’
ability and to eliminate any
potential advantages.says. “I train Monday
to Friday; and on the
weekends, I either play golf
or drive my kart to keep fit.”
The training is pretty
intense. “Monday is
normally leg day, with
a 30-minute cardio
session. Tuesdays, I
work upper body (mainly
shoulders and abs), with
more cardio. Wednesday
is generally a HIIT session
with cardio, and then
on Thursday, I work
my lower body again,
with cardio too. Finally,
Fridays are for upper
body (back and arms),
with more cardio.
“My cardio sessions
consist of sprint training
on the treadmill, as well
as work on the Watt bike
and the stepper. I really
try to mix up my cardio,
because I don’t like
repetitiveness or feeling
bored with my workouts.”DC TAKES THE LEAD
Ex-Formula 1 driver and
multiple Grand Prix
winner David Coulthard
is the W Series advisory
board chairman, and was
passionate about the
project from the outset.
“I know from personalexperience – my younger
sister raced, and she was
more naturally talented
than I was; so I have first-
hand family experience –
that this is something that
needs to be done. We need
to increase the number of
female drivers coming in at
grassroots level.”INTRIGUED? DON’T
MISS THE NEXT RACE:Location:
Brands Hatch, UK
Race: 6
Date: 10-11 Aug
Tra c k Le ngth: 3.916kmWatch it LIVE on
Facebook:
Facebook page:
@wseriesracing
Instagram:
@wseriesracing @tjp31
#RethinkRacingGET IN, GET FIT
After qualifying, each
driver was appointed
a performance
coach from Hinsta
Performance, specialists
in science-backed high-
performance coaching,
who provided training
programmes for the
drivers and who monitor
their progress.
“I need to be fit to race
a Formula 3 car, as it’s very
physical to drive,” PepperSPEED