Sophia Flörsch

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Sophia Flörsch
Let me introduce my simulator (Floersch on YouTube) 02 (cropped).jpg
Flörsch in 2020
NationalityGermany German
Born (2000-12-01) 1 December 2000 (age 20)
Grünwald, Germany
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters career
Debut season2021
Current teamAbt Sportsline
Car number99
Starts8
Wins0
Podiums0
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finishTBA in 2021
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years2020–
TeamsRichard Mille Racing Team
Best finish9th (2020) in LMP2
Previous series
2020
2019
2018
2016–2017
2015		FIA Formula 3 Championship
FR European Championship
FIA F3 European Championship
ADAC Formula 4
Ginetta Junior Championship
Awards
2020Laureus World Sports Award for
Comeback of the Year

Sophia Flörsch (born 1 December 2000 in Grünwald) is a German racing driver, currently competing in the DTM with Abt Sportsline and in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the Richard Mille Racing Team. She has previously raced in FIA Formula 3, Formula Regional European Championship, European F3, and Formula 4 in both Germany and Italy, as well as the Ginetta Junior Championship.

Personal life[]

Flörsch has spent most of her life around Munich: she was born in Grünwald, attended Grammar School Oberhaching and is now based in Pullach.[1] Her interests include karting, skiing and wind surfing.[2]

In February 2020 she won the award for World Comeback of the Year at the 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards.[3][4]

Controversy[]

In 2019, Flörsch hit out at the then-new W Series women's Formula 3 championship, labelling it a "step back on a sporting level" and "not the way to help women in motorsport".[5] She later criticised the existence of a series-affiliated esports championship held during the coronavirus pandemic.[6]

Upon entering the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2020, Flörsch called out the German media claiming that they were favouring Mick and David Schumacher due to their fathers' (Michael and Ralf respectively) successes and alleged refusal to promote other German junior formula drivers, stating on Twitter "there is just one famous Schumacher".[7]

Racing career[]

Karting[]

Flörsch began karting in 2005. From 2008 to 2014, Flörsch competed in various karting events across Europe through Kart Sport. She became the first female driver and also youngest driver of three series she competed in, the 2008 SAKC Championship, 2009 ADAC German Championship and 2010 European Championship Easykart.[2] She was also scouted by Red Bull.[8]

Ginetta Junior[]

In 2015, Flörsch took part in the 2015 Ginetta Junior Championship season driving for HHC Motorsport. During the season, Flörsch collected two wins and a further two podiums. She made double Ginetta history at Thruxton by becoming the youngest driver to win a Ginetta Junior race, and also the first rookie to win two out of two races in one weekend.[9] Her season was cut short due to financial issues and she finished at the mid-season point, at that time running in third in the championship, also leading the Rookie championship. Her car for the season was Car 14, which she named Paul.

Formula 4[]

In 2016, Flörsch signed with Motopark to drive in the ADAC Formula 4 championship.[10] Her car for the season was Car #99, which she called Hugo.[11] In her debut race, she became the first female to score points in an ADAC Formula 4 race. She almost achieved her first podium in her third race however was hit by another car in the closing laps of the race, she recovered to fifth. Her first fastest lap of the season came at race 3 in Zandvoort, in a race halted by poor weather conditions.

The following year she raced for BWT Mücke Motorsport, scoring two podiums and two fastest laps.

F3 European Championship[]

2018[]

On 13 March 2018, Flörsch participated in her first FIA Formula 3 European Championship test, driving a Van Amersfoort Racing car. On 6 July 2018, it was announced that she would join Van Amersfoort Racing beginning with the round at Circuit Zandvoort a week later.[12] She finished 22nd in the standings, her sole point coming at the Red Bull Ring.

2018 Macau Grand Prix[]

From 15 to 18 November 2018, Flörsch participated in the Formula 3 World Cup at the 2018 Macau Grand Prix. During the main race, on Lap 4, she made contact with fellow driver Jehan Daruvala, who was reportedly slowing for erroneously-displayed yellow flags on the straight between Mandarin Corner (Turn 2) and Lisboa Bend (Turn 3). This caused a front left suspension failure, catapulting her into Lisboa Bend sideways at high speed, launching off Sho Tsuboi's car, through the catch-fencing and smashing into a photographers' bunker, before landing back onto her wheels.[13][14] Flörsch was reported as conscious post-crash and was hospitalised along with Tsuboi, two photographers and a marshal.[15] She was later diagnosed with a spinal fracture, for which she underwent a surgery lasting almost 10 hours the following day, subsequently reported as successful with “no fear of paralysis”, by her race team leader, Frits van Amersfoort.[16][17]

Formula Regional[]

Sophia Flörsch at the 2019 Macau Grand Prix.

On 14 December 2018, Van Amersfoort Racing confirmed that Flörsch would race for the team in the European F3 replacement series, Formula European Masters, in 2019.[18] After this series folded before a round was contested, Flörsch and VAR switched to the Formula Regional European Championship for updated Formula 3 machinery.[19] Having joined the championship only one week before the opening race, the team struggled throughout the entire season, and Flörsch could only manage 7th place in the drivers' standings.

Formula 3[]

2019 Macau Grand Prix[]

Flörsch was selected by the HWA Team to attend the FIA Formula 3 Championship post-season test on 22 October 2019 in Valencia.[20] In early November, it was confirmed that Flörsch was placed on the team to compete in the 2019 Macau Grand Prix, with support from several Macanese companies and notable people.[21] She failed to finish the race after her car suffered a mechanical failure which left her stranded ahead of the Mandarin Oriental Bend on the eighth lap.[22]

2020[]

Flörsch signed with Campos Racing for the 2020 season of the FIA F3 Championship to partner Alessio Deledda and Alex Peroni. After a difficult year with several mechanical problems, she finished 29th out of 35 drivers in the standings, with a best finish of 12th. She is the first woman to race in the championship since its formation after the GP3 Series and European F3 categories were merged.[23]

Endurance racing[]

Flörsch combined her 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship commitments with a debut in prototype racing, skipping the Spa-Francorchamps Formula 3 Round to enter the Le Castellet 240 with Beitske Visser for Richard Mille Racing Team in the LMP2 class of the 2020 European Le Mans Series instead.[24] The campaign also included entry into the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans, where she finished in 9th place alongside Visser and Tatiana Calderón.[25]

She will continue with the team in 2021, this time in the FIA World Endurance Championship.[26]

DTM[]

Alongside her FIA WEC programme, Flörsch is set to race in the 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for German outfit Abt Sportsline with backing from Schaeffler.[27]

Racing record[]

Career summary[]

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2015 Ginetta Junior Championship HHC Motorsport 10 2 1 1 4 211 11th
2016 ADAC Formula 4 Championship Motopark 24 0 0 1 0 25 19th
2017 ADAC Formula 4 Championship ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg 20 0 0 2 2 71 13th
Italian F4 Championship BWT Mücke Motorsport 9 0 0 0 0 28 NC†
2018 FIA Formula 3 European Championship Van Amersfoort Racing 21 0 0 0 0 1 22nd
Macau Grand Prix 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2019 Formula Regional European Championship Van Amersfoort Racing 24 0 0 1 0 149 7th
Macau Grand Prix HWA Racelab 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF
2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship Campos Racing 16 0 0 0 0 0 29th
European Le Mans Series Richard Mille Racing Team 3 0 0 0 0 2 25th
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 9th
2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Abt Sportsline 8 0 0 0 0 0 21st*
FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 Richard Mille Racing Team 4 0 0 0 0 20 14th*
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 1 0 0 0 0 N/A DNF

† As Flörsch had not competed in the required number of rounds she was ineligible for a championship position.
* Season still in progress.

Complete Ginetta Junior Championship results[]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points
2015 HHC Motorsport Ginetta G40 BHI
1
5 		BHI
2
21 		DON
1
8 		DON
2
8 		THR
1
1 		THR
2
1 		OUL
1
4 		OUL
2
4 		CRO
1
2 		CRO
2
3 		SNE
1 		SNE
2 		KNO
1 		KNO
2 		ROC
1 		ROC
2 		SIL
1 		SIL
2 		BHGP
1 		BHGP
2 		11th 211

Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results[]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 DC Points
2018 Van Amersfoort Racing Mercedes PAU
1 		PAU
2 		PAU
3 		HUN
1 		HUN
2 		HUN
3 		NOR
1 		NOR
2 		NOR
3 		ZAN
1
23 		ZAN
2
17 		ZAN
3
19 		SPA
1
16 		SPA
2
17 		SPA
3
21 		SIL
1
18 		SIL
2
19 		SIL
3
17 		MIS
1
16 		MIS
2
19 		MIS
3
18 		NÜR
1
Ret 		NÜR
2
15 		NÜR
3
21 		RBR
1
17 		RBR
2
10 		RBR
3
15 		HOC
1
15 		HOC
2
19 		HOC
3
18 		22nd 1

Complete Macau Grand Prix results[]

Year Team Car Qualifying Quali Race Main race
2018 Netherlands Van Amersfoort Racing Dallara F317 20th 19th DNF
2019 Germany HWA Racelab Dallara F3 2019 27th 21th DNF

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results[]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 DC Points
2019 Van Amersfoort Racing LEC
1
9 		LEC
2
8 		LEC
3
5 		VLL
1
9 		VLL
2
5 		VLL
3
C* 		HUN
1
7 		HUN
2
4 		HUN
3
6 		RBR
1
6 		RBR
2
6 		RBR
3
5 		IMO
1
7 		IMO
2
8 		IMO
3
4 		IMO
4
7 		CAT
1
9 		CAT
2
8 		CAT
3
5 		MUG
1
6 		MUG
2
8 		MUG
3
9 		MNZ
1
6 		MNZ
2
10 		MNZ
3
9 		7th 149

* The third race in Vallelunga was cancelled due to bad weather and later run in Imola as a fourth race.

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results[]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Points
2020 Campos Racing RBR
FEA
26 		RBR
SPR
16 		RBR
FEA
21 		RBR
SPR
Ret 		HUN
FEA
18 		HUN
SPR
14 		SIL
FEA
22 		SIL
SPR
25 		SIL
FEA
20 		SIL
SPR
19 		CAT
FEA
27 		CAT
SPR
23 		SPA
FEA 		SPA
SPR 		MNZ
FEA
21 		MNZ
SPR
12 		MUG
FEA
22 		MUG
SPR
24 		29th 0

Complete European Le Mans Series results[]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 Rank Points
2020 Richard Mille Racing Team LMP2 Alpine A470 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC SPA LEC
11 		MNZ
10 		ALG
11 		25th 2

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results[]

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2020 France Richard Mille Racing Team Colombia Tatiana Calderón
Netherlands Beitske Visser 		Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 364 13th 9th
2021 France Richard Mille Racing Team Colombia Tatiana Calderón
Netherlands Beitske Visser 		Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 74 DNF DNF

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results[]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points
2021 Richard Mille Racing Team LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 SPA
8 		ALG
6 		MNZ
8 		LMS
Ret 		BHR
 BHR
 14th* 20*

* Season still in progress.

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results[]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pos Points
2021 Abt Sportsline Audi R8 LMS Evo MNZ
1
15 		MNZ
2
15 		LAU
1
Ret 		LAU
2
15 		ZOL
1
15 		ZOL
2
Ret 		NÜR
1 		NÜR
2 		RBR
1
17 		RBR
2
15 		ASS
1
 ASS
2
 HOC
1
 HOC
2
 NOR
1
 NOR
2
 21st* 0*

* Season still in progress.

References[]

  1. ^ "Sophia Floersch | LinkedIn". LinkedIn. 29 May 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Sophia Floersch Vita". Sophia Floersch. 13 August 2015. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Formula 1 – Sophia Floersch wins 'World Comeback of the Year' at Laureus". FormulaSpy. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  4. ^ "Laureus Awards 2020 Highlights: Tendulkar, Springboks win for World Cup wins; Hamilton, Messi share honours". Sportstar. 18 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  5. ^ "'It's not the way to help women in motorsport' - female F3 driver slams W Series". Wheels24.com. 4 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Floersch unhappy with W Series all-female Esports effort". F1i.com. 10 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Sophia Floersch on Twitter". Twitter. 3 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Sophia Floersch: The 14-year-old girl worth watching for". Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Sophia Floersch". Ginetta. 13 August 2015. Archived from the original on 26 December 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  10. ^ "Sophia Floersch sights on single seaters". Paddock Scout. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  11. ^ "Sophia Floersch on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  12. ^ Fehling, Jonas (6 July 2018). "Formel 3: Sophia Flörsch ergattert jetzt doch Cockpit bei VAR". motorsport-magazin.com (in German). Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  13. ^ Marcus, Simmons; Noble, Jonathan (18 November 2018). "Floersch suffers spinal fracture in Macau crash". Motorsport.com.
  14. ^ "【澳門大賽車】F3葡京彎炮彈飛車撞向採訪區 17歲德國女車手生死未卜". Apple Daily (in Chinese). 18 November 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  15. ^ Noble, Jonathan (18 November 2018). "Floersch conscious but hospitalized after Macau shunt". motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  16. ^ "Sophia Floersch fractures spine after airborne crash in Formula 3". the Guardian. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  17. ^ "Sophia Florsch: 'No fear of paralysis' for F3 driver after surgery". British Broadcasting Corporation. BBC. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  18. ^ "Sophia Flörsch secures F3 drive for 2019". Speedcafe.com. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  19. ^ "Sophia Flörsch and Van Amersfoort Racing at the start of the Championship". ACI Sport. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
  20. ^ "Post-season testing Day 3 entry list". FIA FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  21. ^ "MACAU COMPANIES SUPPORT RETURN OF FLÖRSCH TO GUIA". Macau Daily Times. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  22. ^ Benyon, Jack (17 November 2019). "Macau Grand Prix: Verschoor upstages Vips for giantkilling win". Autosport. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  23. ^ "Sophia Flörsch completes Campos' 2020 roster". FIA Formula 3. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  24. ^ "Floersch, Calderon, Legge form all-female ELMS team". Motorsport.com. 12 February 2020.
  25. ^ "The 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours entry list in full". Motorsport.com. 29 February 2020.
  26. ^ Lloyd, Daniel (20 December 2020). "Richard Mille Racing Moves Up to WEC LMP2 Ranks". sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  27. ^ "Female power in DTM: Sophia Flörsch to race with Abt and Schaeffler". DTM. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.

External links[]

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