Woman driver Danica Patrick takes first major win

Danica Patrick beat some of the top names in American racing to become the first woman to win a major international motor race

Trackside’s Keith Collantine reports on a first for motor racing.

Unlike many sports, men and women can compete alongside each other in motor racing.

But many people used to say women weren’t strong enough to compete in the very top level of motor sport: “they’ve not got the upper body strength” and “they’ve not got enough stamina”, were the common claims.

Those excuses won’t wash any more. Danica Patrick lapped at an average of 264kph (164mph) and beat some of the top names in American racing to become the first woman to win a major international motor race.

Patrick won round three of the Indy Car series at the Twin Ring Motegi oval in Japan.

She only led the final two laps of the race which saw a dramatic finish as the leading drivers struggled to get to the end without making a late stop for fuel.

The 26-year-old took the lead from Helio Castroneves, who led 101 of the 200 laps before falling to second.

The astonishing finish brought back memories of last year’s title deciding Indy race when Scott Dixon ran out of fuel on the last lap, handing the title to Britain’s Dario Franchitti.

Patrick first came to international attention when she led the famous Indianapolis 500 in here debut season in 2005. But on that occasion she had to slow late in the race to save fuel, losing the win to British driver Dan Wheldon.

That led to massive media attention – and quite a bit of jealousy from her rival drivers who were edged out of the limelight. During the winter break Patrick even appeared in America’s famous Sports Illustrated Swimsuit magazine.

Since her arrival she has been constantly hounded by questions about when she would win her first race. Once she did, she couldn’t hold back the tears for long.

She said: “I feel like such a wuss for crying. But it's been a long time coming.

“When I actually had to talk on my radio, finally the emotion came out. I really couldn't manage any other words than 'thank you'.

“And then I was as relieved, as I expected I would be years ago, how I knew I would feel when I won my first race. But I guess over time that feeling has only gotten bigger, and over time I've been asked so many times when I'm going to win my first race. Finally, no more of those questions."