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Female team ready to usher in new era at Indy 500 Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. If you re not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site: https://www.enable-javascript.com/
Simona De Silvestro walks to her car before an Indy 500 qualifying session in Indianapolis on May 23. | USA TODAY / VIA REUTERS
REUTERS May 28, 2021
Indianapolis – A new era in motor racing will begin when the green flag flies on Sunday with the first-ever predominantly female team taking on the Indianapolis 500 for the first time.
“Women didn’t know it was for them and the few who did didn’t have a lot of opportunity,” Paretta Autosport team owner Beth Paretta said when asked why it took more than a century for a team like hers to even reach the starting line.
Majority-Women Team To Make History At This Year s Indianapolis 500, Part Of Broader Effort
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Article origination IPBS-RJC
Paretta Autosport crew members work on the no. 16 car during a practice session ahead of this year s Indianapolis 500.
Samantha Horton/IPB News
Teams are preparing for this weekend’s Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Simona De Silvestro drives for Paretta Autosport and will be the only woman driver in the field of 33 cars. But that’s not the only unique aspect of Paretta. The team is made up of mostly women, about 70 percent.
For the first time, a majority-women’s team is competing in the Indy 500 this weekend. The team is a part of a broader effort to bring more diversity to motor sports. Only nine women and only two Black drivers have ever competed in the so-called “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”