Newly turned sixteen year old female racer Shanel Drewe is officially launching her 2017 Michelin Clio Cup Championship road class challenger.
After a debut year in 2016 racing in the Junior Saloon Car Championship, Shanel was approached to join Michelin Clio Cup front running team Jade Developments 2017 squad.
Shanel will not only be one of the youngest on the grid, but also is currently the only confirmed female in her class. The season kicks off in March, and races across the country’s leading tracks until it reaches the grand finale at Silverstone International in October.
The agreement with her parents, is that Shanel’s primary focus still needs to be on her upcoming GCSE exams, so like many young racers, Shanel certainly has her work cut out for her in 2017.
Shanel Says “We started last season as the least experienced on the grid with the smallest budget. Together with my partners, we have been working really hard to solve those challenges the best we can which is helped by joining the Jade Racing Development Team. They won my Championship Class in 2016, so there is a real expectation for me, but it is a challenge that I am willing to take on.”
Shanel enters the second year with on-going support from Dansoft Aviation Services, GoldStar onBoard for her cameras plus data, Witham Motorsport (official distributors of Motul Oil) and City Electrical Factors.
Shanel Adds, “I am particularly very grateful to the recent help of two local Bristol Partners in the preparation of the car. To Restomod bodyworks in Warmley Bristol for helping me prepare the interior of the car, and to WrappedUpCars.com for providing me the striking external livery. This involved many long hours and hard work on all sides, and is a real testament to their generosity and approach to life. These elements are a vital part of helping me to form a positive mind set for the season ahead.”
Looking forward to 2017, Shanel first looks back. Shanel explains that in 2016 her biggest frustration was that it was not until after their last race that the father and daughter team were informed the timing of the car was set up wrong, dropping her power by around ten percent. The team had suspected something wasn’t right all season but they could never work out what. However, this simply showed Shanel just how much she learnt and developed over the course of the year, and how she had to develop to overcome these challenges.
So Shanel feels she is going into the new season more determined than ever. With the support of Jade Developments behind her on and off the track, she can now focus solely on her race strategies and feels she can really test herself in 2017. With her first season now complete, and a good reputation for strong starts and making the most of the opportunities in the early close race action, the elements appear to be in place for another young female driver to make her mark.
With the car ready, Shanel’s focus will now move onto organising testing during the build up to next season, as well as balancing her GCSE revision. Behind this, Shanel also wants to find a charity that will benefit from being promoted on her car, and has the on-going challenge to fill some of the gaps on the car livery to secure the full season.
To find out more, or simply follow her progress, search for Shanel Drewe Racing on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
