Ayla Ågren (born 23 July 1993 in
Bærum
Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electora ...
) is a
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
-
Swedish female racing driver. Representing Norway, she currently competes in the
W Series.
Biography
Following a decade in karting across Europe and Scandinavia, Ågren moved to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
to forge a professional career – first testing with the
Skip Barber Racing School and then competing in their Summer Series, scoring four podiums and finishing eighth overall. In 2013, she moved into
F1600, immediately proving competitive and winning the championship at her second attempt with a last-lap pass for victory in the final round at
Watkins Glen. The success saw her move onto the
Road to Indy
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation.
There are many types of ...
schedule, promoted within
Team Pelfrey
Team Pelfrey is an American racing team in the F1600 Championship Series and F2000 Championship Series. The team is owned by Dale Pelfrey.
Indy Racing League (1998–2000)
John Paul Jr. replaced Danny Ongais as driver for the 1998 Indianapolis 50 ...
. Whilst initially competitive, her first season in
U.S. F2000
The USF2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires is an American racing series using the American variation of the Formula Ford formula, "F2000", that resumed operation for the 2010 season. As of 2022, it is sanctioned by the United States Aut ...
proved to be her only full campaign as the funding began to dry up. She managed a fourth place at
Road America
Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Ch ...
in 2016 having moved to John Cummiskey Racing, but a move back to Team Pelfrey in 2017 led to a half-season campaign with her final appearance at
Iowa
Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...
ending in an eighth-place finish.
Having spent a year out of racing, Ågren applied for the
W Series, a European-based
Formula 3
Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dr ...
championship solely for women, in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
. She failed to qualify for the inaugural season, and eventually landed a job as the
IndyCar
INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapo ...
safety car driver having given up on finding a race seat. She would again attempt to qualify for the W Series in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...
, and successfully made the 20-car grid on her second attempt before the season was cancelled in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
.
Racing record
Career summary
* Season still in progress.
Complete W Series results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (ma ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
* Season still in progress.
References
External links
*Profile a
Driver Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ågren, Ayla
Norwegian racing drivers
Female racing drivers
1993 births
Living people
W Series drivers
Sportspeople from Bærum
U.S. F2000 National Championship drivers
Team Pelfrey drivers
Bryan Herta Autosport drivers
IndyCar Series people
Le Mans Cup drivers