Anybody who imagined that starring in motor sport was easy should cast their glance over the gruelling schedule of Susie Wolff.
The 29-year-old Mercedes driver, who grew up in Oban, will launch her campaign in the 2012 DTM Series at Hockenheim this weekend, but she is participating in that competition at the same time as being a development driver for the Williams F1 team, and recognises that these contrasting challenges demand a different range of gifts.
Thankfully then, Wolff is pragmatic about her twin roles, and appreciates that she is working in an environment where she has to thrive on flexibility. "I think the main difference between DTM and F1 is the fact that DTM is a touring car," said Wolff, who grew up racing and beating her male competitors in the 1990s.
"As a driver, you have limited visibility, the speeds are not quite as high, and the down force level is also not as high. Our main challenges in DTM are upper body strength, which is the same as F1, but, added to that, we have very high temperatures in the car, which can be exhausting. In the new DTM car, the exhaust is directly next to the driver and this is already at 150 degrees as we leave the pit garage. Generally, it gets very hot in the car, we have no air coming in, and the races are 75 minutes long, so you have to be very well trained and prepared.
"During a race, it is not unusual to lose over 2kg in body weight through sweating, so you have to be ready to deal with something like that."
Wolff is experienced enough to realise that she is now in uncharted territory, even as she strives to tackle the gruelling rigours of the DTM circuit with her new F1 commitments. Yet one senses that she possesses the requisite qualities to juggle both jobs and profit from the fact that Williams have given her the opportunity.
"In an F1 car, the heat is not the main issue. Here, it is the G-Force going through your body, and particularly the neck, under braking and high-speed corners," said Wolff.
"Due to fitness being so important in DTM and F1, most of the drivers have their own trainers. I have an Austrian, called Erwin Reiterer, who is based at the sports university in Vienna, and he sends me a plan every Sunday, based around my schedule. It's made up of strength training and cardio work, and it is just a case of being lean, but mean.
"There are no drivers on the grid who are big body-builders or are bulky. Because weight is so important – and I am lucky being female, as I have an average 30kg less than my team-mates, which means my team are able to place the extra weight wherever they want to help the car set-up and balance – you must train for strength, but also stay lean.
"In DTM, we are sent on a fitness week at the start of every season, to be checked and train together as a team. At the Williams F1 organisation in Oxford, there is a gym at the factory and trainers to look after the drivers. Basically, every day I am not in the car or on a promotional event, I am training flat out to be the best I can be."
Some still think of her as Susie Stoddart, a tough-as-teak competitor who spelled out her motoring ambitions a decade ago. Since then, she has swopped Scotland for Switzerland, married a high-ranking executive within the F1 firmament, and grown accustomed to racing in a DTM milieu where she often has to cope with second-rate machinery.
But Wolff remains convinced that she can push beyond the old-fashioned barriers in her sport. "As women have 30% less muscle than men, the question of whether a woman would be strong enough for F1 is often raised," said Wolff. "I believe, with my six seasons of DTM, every year getting stronger, and by constantly training, that my body would be capable. Certainly, from what I hear from [the Force India driver] Paul Di Resta, it seems that F1 is tougher, but it is not a million miles away from DTM level."
In short, even as she battles against the likes of Ralf Schumacher, David Coulthard and other former F1 luminaries, it seems this lone Wolff isn't going to be knocking at the door too much longer.
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