Powell Post - Volume 1

Welcome to Alice Powell's first JLF1 Blog entry, check it out. Lots more to come.

Hello Powell Post Readers, welcome to Volume 1 of my new post for Jack Leslie F1's blog!

Firstly, I would like to thank Jack for the fantastic opportunity to write as part of his blog. I hope not to bore you all too much and that I can give you a good insight into what goes on in not only my racing life but also outside of it too. 

(c) Powell Family

I first became a fan of racing when I was about 3 years old. No one on my family had ever worked in motorsport, let alone driven on a race track, so my family were pretty shocked when I took an interest in Motorsport! I used to (this is what I have been told) make a “race track” in my garden, put on a little red suit and helmet and compete in the “Formula One World Championship” driving a “Ferrari”! I would also be the commentator and once the race had finished (note I would always win!), I would build a podium and spray the champagne….which was actually a bottle filled with water. Never did I think at that age that I would have the opportunity to spray the real thing after a real race!

I then visited an indoor kart track when I was 8 years old, where the owner of the track suggested starting outdoor karting as he said I had talent. So we brought a cheap kart and both my Grandad and Dad ran me in my first full racing championship, which I won! I gradually progressed up the levels of karting, until I moved into a series called Ginetta Junior when I was 14. I started racing in the Ginetta Junior Winter Series, where I finished 5^th. The following year I raced in the main Ginetta Junior Series, a support series to the BTCC, where I learnt a great deal about racing and eventually finished 9^th in my first year, getting 4 podiums along the way. 

(c) Jakob Ebrey

After getting continued backing from Silverstone-Hotels.com, Travis Perkins and Bristol Street Motors, I moved into the Formula Renault UK Championship for 2009. However, I missed a great deal of the pre- season testing because I did not 16 until January, which gave me just a month to get in some practice before the testing ban. This was another huge step for me. It was a whole new level of driving compared to Ginetta Junior but I worked so well with the Manor Competition team, who taught me so much. 

2010 was the year that I made history. I did not have the budget to continue in the Formula Renault UK Championship, so I raced in the Formula Renault BARC Championship with Hillspeed. I was still being engineered by Sarah Shaw from Manor Competition, though who engineered me in 2009.  I won my first race at the Silverstone circuit, the second round, by 7.5 seconds and made history by becoming the first female ever to win a Formula Renault race. This is when my season really took off, getting 7 more podiums and the winning the title at the final round of the championship at Thruxton. Again I made history by becoming the first female ever to win a Formula Renault championship, a great reward for the effort of the team and my sponsors (Silverstone-Hotels.com, Immun’Age and IWI Watches). 

(c) Jakob Ebrey

I took the opportunity to move back into the Formula Renault UK Championship in 2011, but this time in the brand new car, which was new in 2010. It was a very tough year where I finished 9^th in the championship standings. That year I also made my racing debut abroad, when I raced in the MRF Series in India. It was a very special event as it was a support race to the Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix. I ended up finishing as Vice Champion.

It was only until March 2012 that I found out that I would be racing in GP3. I had spent the entire winter out of a seat, working hard every day to try and raise the necessary funding. I missed all the pre-season tests, apart from the two days at Silverstone, so it was straight in at the deep end at the season opener. Silverstone would be the only track on the calendar which I had previously raced or tested at. However, Status Grand Prix helped me so much on the run up to the first race at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain. As a team, we managed to come from 25^th on the grid to 11^th! 

(c) Daniel Kalisz

The series moved to Monaco for the next round. This is such an INCREDIBLE circuit and has to be one of my favourites!! I was so lucky to have such a fabulous opportunity! For the rest of the season, we had our ups and downs, suffering both bad luck and car problems, but also with some rookie errors from me. However, I made history at the final round of the season at Monza, by coming from 12^th to 8^th, finishing in the points. I became the first female in GP3 history to finish in the points. I loved the GP3 car and racing in the series with Status Grand Prix, who helped me so much. This is the series I hope to compete in this year.

Over the winter, I have been racing in the MRF Series, being sponsored by Renault. It was a different car from the previous season (2011), but the racing was still as tough! I ended up P5 in the Championship, which was slightly disappointing, as we were P3 for the majority of the championship. But a clutch problem at the final round hindered my performance. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the racing and 2012 was a very special year for me.

(c) MRF

So for 2013, I have nothing confirmed yet…. Same old story which I am sure you are fed up of reading… No money!! I am looking for an investor or business partnership who would love to join my journey to F1.

(To invest in Alice's future, check out her website http://www.alice-powell.com/ for contact details)

To round of this month’s post, I will tell you a little bit about what I get up to and what I am interested in away from motorsport. Well, sport still plays a big part in my life! I am a big lover of field hockey. I play for a team called Bourton and Sherborne, which are located in Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds. I have some great friends there too and I use hockey as part of my fitness training as well. I play left midfield, so find myself doing a lot of running in the matches!! I also enjoy other sports like running, football, badminton, which are also good for my training. I am also a big Tottenham Hotspur fan…! I am really looking forward to going to watch them on the 3^rd March at their home ground (White Hart Lane) for the big London derby vs. Arsenal (sorry to any Arsenal fans, but I hope you lose!).  Away from any type of sport, I enjoy relaxing and spending time with friends and family, catching up on the latest movies and TV. Television shows that I love consist of quite a varied range from Mrs Browns Boys and Room 101 to The Walking Dead, Casualty and Call the Midwife (told you it was varied!!)

I hope that this first blog post has given you a bit more of an insight into my career so far and some of the other things I enjoy away from motorsport. I look forward to writing for you again next month!

Take care!

Alice xxx

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