Pepper’s spiced up for 2020
South Africa’s top women’s racer Tasmin Pepper has earned her seat in next year’s W Series women’s world championship.
Pepper finished 10th overall in this year’s inaugural series for lady drivers in Formula Three single seaters, held as supporting events for the year’s German Touring Car championship.
“I am happy with my performances over a year during whichI had to learn all the overseas circuits,” Pepper said. “Most importantly, I have kept my seat for next year, so now I can start preparing for a fresh attack with the wisdom of a season’s experience behind me,” she added.
It has been an amazing experience for the Johannesburg’s reigning Polo Cup Masters champion, who was accepted as one of 64 finalists to face off in the tough elimination phase. Via a series of elimination rounds with saloon cars, sports cars and single seaters on a variety of European circuits, Pepper secured her seat among the 18 young ladies to race the inaugural season.
She then showed mettle as she delivered an epic come from behind performance to storm from 16th on the grid to eighth at the Hockenheim season opener in Germany. At Zolder in Belgium she enjoyed a frantic four car dice en route to sixth and then to a hard fought seventh at Misano in Italy.
The second half of the season challenged Pepper, starting with a come from behind eighth in Germany’s unforgiving Norisring street race. Then Assen in the Netherlands proved a disappointment when Pepper spun out to retire after qualifying sixth. She bounced back with a fine 12th to sixth run in the second non-championship reverse-grid race there. Then 12th at Brands Hatch clinched the championship top ten in Pepper’s rookie women’s world championship season.
“It has been a stunning experience and I can now work on what I did this year to fight more consistently for that top five in 2020,” Tasmin said. “I owe massive gratitude to W Series for giving me this incredible opportunity, to my family for all their support and to everyone who has rooted for me back home,” she concluded.
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