At only 21, she became the first female factory driver in the Italian manufacturer’s GT division. But who is Lilou Wadoux?
There are courses that definitively pulverize an image of endurance, sometimes persistent in the eyes of the most diehard, as being the favorite discipline of former glories of motor sport in pre-retirement. Lilou Wadoux is only 21 years old. But she has just been named factory driver at Ferrari within its GT division. “A dream come true,” she says through the brand’s press release.
Born April 10, 2001 in Amiens, the Frenchwoman becomes the first woman to occupy such a position within the transalpine firm. With a Silver status, she is now responsible, at the dawn of this 2023 season of the World Endurance Championship (WEC), to defend the colors of Maranello. at the wheel of the 488 GTE Evo n°83. A car in the GTE-Am category, entered by AF Corse, Ferrari’s strong arm in endurance, and supported by Richard Mille.
This frame, Lilou Wadoux will not discover it completely. His appointment comes a few weeks after a test session at the controls of a car of the same species on the Bahrain circuit. During this traditional “rookie test” at the end of the season, the young tricolor was also selected by Toyota to drive its GR010 there, which she did more than 30 laps during. The Amiens was then already, at the end of November, the first woman to take the wheel of a Hypercar.
This opportunity came to sanction a 2022 season and a very encouraging debut in the WEC. His collaboration at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Charles Milesi, only a few weeks older, and a renowned Sébastien Ogier, certainly did not go unnoticed by Ferrari’s recruitment department. This first with a double clock tower in Sarthe resulted in a respectable 9th place in a more than disputed LMP2 category.
Before becoming a prototype, Lilou Wadoux was one of the revelations of the Alpine Europa Cup in which she participated for two seasons (2020 and 2021), the second having ended in third place overall. Initiated in motorsports via the leisure kart, and from the age of 14, which is quite late compared to some of her peers in the paddock, the new resident of the Italian team ultimately never went through the single-seater box in competition .
From the year of her 15th birthday, Wadoux gained her revenge during bitter battles in Peugeot Sport meetings. Especially in 208 Racing Cupa very formative promotion formula of which, at Auto Moto, we have praised the merits several times. Only one season was missing in 308 TCR Europe for this star to experience a meteoric rise.
A trajectory that could lead her to heights, Lilou Wadoux can legitimately start dreaming of a starting seat in a Hypercar medium term. For this 2023 season, which sees the return of Ferrari to the premier category of the WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the crews of the two 499Ps entered are obviously full. But the young woman will certainly not stop there.
More endurance on auto-moto.com:
Endurance: Vergne, Duval,… who are the Peugeot drivers?
Endurance: Alpine in the Hypercar category… but not before 2024
24 Hours of Le Mans 2023: dates, centenary, entries… the first info
At only 21, she became the first female factory driver in the Italian manufacturer’s GT division. But who is Lilou Wadoux?
There are courses that definitively pulverize an image of endurance, sometimes persistent in the eyes of the most diehard, as being the favorite discipline of former glories of motor sport in pre-retirement. Lilou Wadoux is only 21 years old. But she has just been named factory driver at Ferrari within its GT division. “A dream come true,” she says through the brand’s press release.
Born April 10, 2001 in Amiens, the Frenchwoman becomes the first woman to occupy such a position within the transalpine firm. With a Silver status, she is now responsible, at the dawn of this 2023 season of the World Endurance Championship (WEC), to defend the colors of Maranello. at the wheel of the 488 GTE Evo n°83. A car in the GTE-Am category, entered by AF Corse, Ferrari’s strong arm in endurance, and supported by Richard Mille.
This frame, Lilou Wadoux will not discover it completely. His appointment comes a few weeks after a test session at the controls of a car of the same species on the Bahrain circuit. During this traditional “rookie test” at the end of the season, the young tricolor was also selected by Toyota to drive its GR010 there, which she did more than 30 laps during. The Amiens was then already, at the end of November, the first woman to take the wheel of a Hypercar.
This opportunity came to sanction a 2022 season and a very encouraging debut in the WEC. His collaboration at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Charles Milesi, only a few weeks older, and a renowned Sébastien Ogier, certainly did not go unnoticed by Ferrari’s recruitment department. This first with a double clock tower in Sarthe resulted in a respectable 9th place in a more than disputed LMP2 category.
Before becoming a prototype, Lilou Wadoux was one of the revelations of the Alpine Europa Cup in which she participated for two seasons (2020 and 2021), the second having ended in third place overall. Initiated in motorsports via the leisure kart, and from the age of 14, which is quite late compared to some of her peers in the paddock, the new resident of the Italian team ultimately never went through the single-seater box in competition .
From the year of her 15th birthday, Wadoux gained her revenge during bitter battles in Peugeot Sport meetings. Especially in 208 Racing Cupa very formative promotion formula of which, at Auto Moto, we have praised the merits several times. Only one season was missing in 308 TCR Europe for this star to experience a meteoric rise.
A trajectory that could lead her to heights, Lilou Wadoux can legitimately start dreaming of a starting seat in a Hypercar medium term. For this 2023 season, which sees the return of Ferrari to the premier category of the WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the crews of the two 499Ps entered are obviously full. But the young woman will certainly not stop there.
More endurance on auto-moto.com:
Endurance: Vergne, Duval,… who are the Peugeot drivers?
Endurance: Alpine in the Hypercar category… but not before 2024
24 Hours of Le Mans 2023: dates, centenary, entries… the first info
