Robertson Racing forms ALMS\'s first all-female team for Mid-Ohio:

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LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC
Robertson Racing is forming the ALMS's first all-female team for Mid-Ohio. Its Ford GT is shown at Le Mans.

By DAVID ARNOUTS on 7/26/2011

American Le Mans Series GT-class team Robertson Racing will have the first all-female team in series history at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge on Aug. 6.

Team co-owner Andrea Robertson will be joined by Melanie Snow in the No. 40 Doran Ford GT as co-owner and her husband, David Robertson, steps down for the Mid-Ohio race.

Snow, no stranger to racing or the ALMS, returns after her shared ALMS Challenge championship in 2009. She won her first and only main GT-class appearance in Sebring in 1999 and is a current contender in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama's Platinum Cup standings.

“Andrea and I have been friends for a while and always joked about forming an all-girl team,” said Snow. “It was something I never really expected though, so when I got an e-mail out of the blue, it was a shock, but also a nice surprise. At the moment, the deal is just for Mid-Ohio, but we'll play it by ear and see what happens for the rest of the season.”

Snow will test the Doran Ford GT on Aug. 2 in Lexington at Mid-Ohio.

“It's great to have Melanie onboard for Mid-Ohio. She has a lot of experience in GT cars, so I'm confident it won't be long before she's up to speed in the Ford,” said Andrew Smith, team manager. “Andrea had expressed an interest in her joining the team, and I think it's a great opportunity for them to show how well they stack up against their male counterparts. We've had lots of [female] racers take part in the ALMS over the past 12 years, so it's about time an all-female crew was given their chance.”

There are no current plans to bring Snow on full-time after Mid-Ohio.

“We're not ruling out running Melanie [Snow] again later in the season,” said Smith. “But at the moment, Mid-Ohio is the only round scheduled.”

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge is the fifth round in the 2011 ALMS championship and is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Aug. 6 on ESPN3.com.

 

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