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The Conversation

Factual: Life Stories

Two women from different parts of the world share the stories of their lives

Two women from different parts of the world, united by a common passion, experience or expertise, share the stories of their lives.

The Conversation: Racing Drivers: Tatiana Calderón and Ramona Karlsson

Tatiana Calderón and Ramona Karlsson

08/06/2015

Racing Drivers: Tatiana Calderón and Ramona Karlsson

BBC World Service - The Conversation, Racing Drivers: Tatiana Calderón and Ramona Karlsson

Two female racing car drivers from Colombia and Sweden chat about life on the circuit.

A Colombian F1 hopeful and a Swedish rally champion discuss how female racing drivers take risks and are just as aggressive as the men.

Colombian Tatiana Calderón has gone from a teenage go-kart champion to a Formula 3 driver who reaches 280 kph at top speed.  Her sights are set firmly on Formula 1. Tatiana is mentored by one of F1's most prominent women, the test driver Susie Wolff, and she describes how that's helped her handle other people's doubts about her abilities. Aggression on the track, training hard in the gym, and technical know-how are Tatiania's tactics for achieving her dream to get spotted by an F1 team. 

Ramona Karlsson is one of Sweden's most successful rally drivers, and is now a rising star in rallycross - where the races are shorter, the acceleration "explosive", and where there is wheel-to-wheel contact between the cars. Off the track she has had to overcome extreme shyness to approach sponsors and run her own team. She managed to do it, spurred on by her passion for racing cars and her determination to correct sexist attitudes towards female drivers. 

Tatiana Calderón. Picture credit: shoot-pro.de
Ramona Karlsson. Picture credit: Glenn Mattsing

Presenter: Kim Chakanetsa

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