Gabriela Jílková and Lucile Cypriano emerged as the winners of the Matmut Akkodis ASP fully-female driver selections, and will therefore team up in the upcoming FFSA French GT4 championship.
The "Volant Matmut 100% Féminin" - the all-female project launched by Matmut and Akkodis ASP Team - has awarded Gabriela Jílková and Lucile Cypriano with race seats for the upcoming FFSA GT4 France championship, following selection tests from a pool of six female drivers.
The two drivers will therefore share a Mercedes AMG GT4 in the 2023 French GT4 championship, racing for top team Akkodis ASP with full support from Matmut - as the company aims to increase female representation in motorsport and to showcase their performance.
In order to select the driver pairing, a shootout with six female drivers was held at Paul Ricard in October, with Célia Martin, Gabriela Jílková, Karen Gaillard, Lucile Cypriano, Carla Debard and Line Piguet getting behind the wheel of the team's Mercedes AMG GT4 for a 30 lap test. Three drivers were then further assessed in a second test day in Barcelona.
Czech racer Gabriela Jílková, 27, and Frenchwoman Lucile Cypriano, 26, emerged as the two winning candidates.
Jílková - also known as Quick Gabi, started her motor racing adventure at the age of five in karting, and progressed into single-seaters in the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC in 2012. She would then venture into touring cars as well as GT championships, including the Renault Clio Cup and the 24H Series.
In late 2019, she was part of the selections for the all-female championship W Series but then focused her efforts on GT racing: at the wheel of a Mercedes AMG GT4, Jílková contested the ADAC GT4 Germany championship in 2021- claiming two podiums in one of the most competitive GT4 series in Europe - and made her debut in the European series.
Her progression in GT4 continued in 2022, as Jílková combined a double program in ADAC GT4 with the European GT4 Series. Her experience of the platform will therefore be a really important asset for Akkodis ASP Team.
Paris-born Lucile Cypriano also had a conventional route into motor racing: from karting to single-seaters, she competed in the French Formula 4 in 2013. Lucile would then make the switch to touring cars in the following year, when she joined the Volkswagen Scirocco Cup, with support from the FIA Women In Motorsport Commission.
Cypriano became the first woman to take an overall victory in the Seat leon Eurocup in 2015 - and made more history in the same season, when she became the first female driver to ever enter the TCR International Series.
In 2017, Cypriano stepped up to GT cars and raced in the Porsche Carrera Cup France.
A versatile driver, she has also finished on the class podium in the 2020 24 Hours of the Nürburgring and has extensively competed in rally as well. The selection test for the Volant Matmut 100% Féminin was her return to the racetrack - and she has once again impressed.
With this project, Matmut decided to bring its commitment for a more inclusive motorsport to a new level and will work together with Akkodis ASP to increase the involvement of women in the industry, showing young female motorsport enthusiasts that "opportunities exist and are growing", the team stated.
The 2023 FFSA French GT4 championship will feature seven rounds, starting from the traditional Easter Trophy in Nogaro, on April 7-10. The championship will visits the top French racing venues, such as Magny-Cours, Dijon, Val de Vienne, Ledenon and Circuit Paul Ricard, before rounding out its season at Vallelunga, Italy, on 28-29 October.
2023 FFSA GT4 Calendar:
R1: 7-10 April / Circuit Paul Armagnac de Nogaro, France
R2: 5-7 May / Circuit Nevers Magny Cours, France
R3: 16-18 June / Circuit Dijon-Prenois, France
R4: 7-9 July / Circuit Val de Vienne, France
R5: 8-10 September / Circuit de Lédenon, France
R6: 6-8 October / Circuit Paul Ricard, France
R7: 28-29 October / Vallelunga, Italy
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