Sarah Kavanagh.

Grandprix.com's spies are reporting that ‘one of the top Formula 1 teams is on the verge of signing up a woman racer to be the team's second test driver in 2002’. They go on to say that ‘It would not a surprise if Eddie Jordan were to announce that Sarah Kavanagh was to be recruited to test with the team next year.‘

There may be some level of substance to this, however, as Jordan’s engine supplier Honda announced in January that they are to back the 28-year-old Irishwoman on a long term development deal.
The deal meant that Honda would evaluate opportunities and potential for Kavanagh in their international race programmes, including Formula One and CART.
In a supporting role, Honda also provide vehicles to her European BOSS F1 squad. Sarah has competed in the BOSS (British Open Single Seater) championships for the last few years and is currently driving Barrichello’s Jordan 193 that very nearly won the European GP at Donington Park in 1993.

Sarah & her J193.

Born in Warwickshire in 1973 of Irish and English parentage, Kavanagh started racing in Formula Ford in 1992 and then moved on to Formula Opel before moving into the British Formula 2 series. She briefly tried to establish a career in Japan in Formula Nippon but this was not a success and in recent seasons she has concentrated on the European Boss Formula which makes her the only active female F1 driver in the world.

In marketing terms it could be an absolute goldmine. Having recently signed Takuma Sato, which will allow them good access to the huge Japanese market, signing Sarah could also help them push their sponsor’s brands into the even bigger female market.