| Nationality: | British |
| Date of Birth: | 11th August 1984 |
| Birthplace: | London |
| Lives: | Ipswich |
| Height: | 5' 5" |
| Hobbies: | AC Milan, squash, music, shopping |
| Favourite Food: | Anything I'm not meant to be eating! |
| Favourite Circuit: | Estoril - currently... |
Born in London but now resident in Ipswich, Suffolk, Pippa Mann started competing in karting aged 13, racing in the categories of Junior TKM, JICA and Formula A, competing in the British Championships and selected races in Europe.
In 2001 she decided to concentrate full time on karting and moved to Italy, the home of karting. As well as racing, Pippa found time to learn Italian (which she now speaks fluently) and to write for a number of motoring journals.
By 2003 Pippa was driving for one of the leading kart teams, CRG, and taking part in the highly competitive Italian, European and World Championship Kart races. In a field dominated by male drivers (maybe two or three women in every 80 drivers), Pippa is the only British female to have won an international kart race.
In 2004 Pippa returned to the UK and started racing in the UK Formula Renault Championship. During her first season Pippa held her ground in a very competitive field, racing against drivers with two or more years’ experience in single seaters.
In 2005 Pippa secured a two-year contract to drive for Comtec Racing in the Formula Renault Eurocup. Comtec is the only UK team to compete in the Formula Renault Eurocup. Her first year in Eurocup saw her peaking at 14th, however Pippa says her highlight was qualifying 7th at Donington Park. 2005 also saw Pippa competing in the French Championships. Despite being new to the circuits and having only 40 minutes’ testing at each race, Pippa was able to get into the points, the first female driver to do so in about ten years.
In 2006 Pippa raced in the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship as well as the Eurocup. She had a frustrating season but managed to achieve some of her best results ever, which led to her participating in some World Series by Renault tests over the winter.
In January 2007, Pippa signed for Cram by P1 Europe to become the first female to race in the World Series by Renault 3.5 Championship.
Pippa was pragmatic about her expectations for the season, and in her debut year she managed to score a point and also start from pole position. Having achieved some consistent finishes despite a troubled second half of the year, Mann re-signed with P1 Motorsport and Roly Vinicini in January 2008.
Pippa will now return to the World Series by Renault Championship with a year’s experience and is hoping the knowledge she and the team gained in 2007 will help them to achieve greater heights in 2008. Speaking about the challenge, the 23 year-old said: “Last year was very much a learning curve for me, and I was one of the less experienced drivers in the field. There are going to be quite a few drivers in the field this year who are returning to the championship, but I think we will be in a strong position and I’m looking forward to getting back out there.”
Away from the track Pippa enjoys music, squash and following the fortunes of AC Milan.
