Iran's Female Racing Champion Barred From Defending Title

The Guardian (UK) ^ | 10-4-2006 | Robert Tait

[blam]

Iran's female racing champion barred from defending title

Robert Tait in Tehran
Wednesday October 4, 2006
The Guardian (UK)

She was the speed queen of the racetrack who became a feminist icon after triumphing over an all-male field to become Iran's national car rally champion. But now the high-octane driving career of Laleh Seddigh has juddered to a halt, with a ban from participating at a race by the country's motor racing authorities. Seddigh, 29, was walking towards her 1600cc Peugeot 206 at Tehran's Azadi stadium when stewards blocked her way, citing "security problems".

The snub followed days of wrangling with Iran's racing federation over her right to take part in an event she won two years ago on her way to becoming national champion. In the lead-up to the race, she was told her participation was not guaranteed but was advised to register her name. Her registration was passed after technicians gave her car the all-clear. "I thought I had been given the go-ahead," she said. "I was walking towards the grid thinking, thank God this has been resolved, when they shut the door on me. They said they didn't know why, but the head of the federation said I wasn't allowed to participate."

It was the first time Seddigh, whose exploits earned her the soubriquet "the little Schumacher", had been excluded from a contest. Senior federation officials said they had been unable to obtain permission for her participation.

[laweeks]

Let her enter as a man. They all look like men anyway.

[LasVegasMac]

I hear EMS is looking for a new driver.

ouch.

[LongElegantLegs]

Sort of looks like an Iranian version of Angelina Jolie...

[norton]

Bring her over here;
Absolutely EVERY racing venue is looking for a winning female driver.

[dighton]

Compare and contrast.

[mylife]

She dosent look like a man to me!

[blam]

Woman Racer Upsets Testosterone-Driven Iran

[mylife]

[Nuc1]

All things being equal with the cars, a female driver should have a weight advantage over her male counterpart. >2:1 in some cases. I have often wondered why women are not more represented in the motor sports. If a woman can pilot a top fueler well (remember Cha-Cha) a woman can drive anything.

[LongElegantLegs]

Caption: So, the first guy threw this big piece of glass at my head, but I reached up and caught it, like so...

[Clemenza]

Persian women are goddesses.

[MikefromOhio]

Let her enter as a man. They all look like men anyway.

And you're an idiot.

[mylife]

And she did it all at 200mph.
Good hand eye coordination I'd say ;)

[LongElegantLegs]

She is very striking...I agree with the previous poster, we should import her over here.
Since she's unlikely to pose for Playboy, Maxim, etc, I think she'd be a very positive female role model.

[radar101]

She is determined to improve her already high performance

With her father's encouragement, she has devoted her academic career to preparing to succeed him in the family business. She received a bachelor's degree in industrial management and a master's in production engineering, and is now working on her Ph.D. in industrial management and production, all at Tehran University.

[Dog Gone]

I dunno, one of the most drop dead gorgeous woman in my office of 6,000 people is a young woman of Iranian decent.

She is awesome.

She's young enough to be my daughter, but my opinion is widely shared.

[printhead]

I guess it's a bad thing when the chicks beat your odds-on favorite. Ask Saddams' sons, they would agree.

[Fee]

Iran (Persia) is a crossroad to many nations and races. Migration, intermarriages and etc will produce exotic looking women.

[Free ThinkerNY]

Another independent young woman in Iran banned from life for not knowing her place

[SevenofNine]

I want see her in NASCAR That be cool OH Norm what would you think of this???

[lesser_satan]

You obviously speak from a position of staggering ignorance. Persian women are some of the best looking on the planet.

[AFreeBird]

Let her enter as a man. They all look like men anyway.

Dude, you need to get your eyes checked.

Persian women can be quite beautiful. And it appears that this lady fits the bill. She's obviously not some islamonazi, cause she's driving a car, in a RACE, and kicking her male peers asses. Which is of course why she's now been banned. Not good for the islamonutjobs to have some gorgeous female winning races.

[laweeks]

She's quite a good looking woman. She should get OUT of that country and go where she's appreciated.

[laweeks]

"Let her enter as a man. They all look like men anyway."

"And you're an idiot."

After looking at her picture, I guess I'm an idiot. She should move to another country where her skills would be appreciated.

[laweeks]

"one of the most drop dead gorgeous woman in my office of 6,000 people is a young woman of Iranian decent. "

Altho I meant that in jest, she is quite a nice looking woman.

[Dog Gone]

You are forgiven.

[laweeks]

She is gorgeous. I stand in humble humility.

[kevkrom]

All things being equal with the cars, a female driver should have a weight advantage over her male counterpart. >2:1 in some cases. I have often wondered why women are not more represented in the motor sports.

Physical endurance. Long races at high speeds, especially on the oval tracks preferred in U.S. racing, put a lot of G-force on the driver.

[BibChr]

After looking at her picture, I guess I'm an idiot

Okay, so, now that you've admitted you're an idiot, that means you're not an idiot -- because real idiots (and I could name a few here) NEVER admit they're idiots!

Dan

"Sometimes irony can be pretty ironical!" (Buck Murdock)

[MikefromOhio]

Thank you.

Trust me when I saw the Iraqis and the Qataris have some absolute stone gorgeous women too.

[Nuc1]

"Physical endurance. Long races at high speeds, especially on the oval tracks preferred in U.S. racing, put a lot of G-force on the driver."

I would have to agree with you. Although, I have see a number of females that would, IMHO be capable. However, they were not interested one wit in auto racing.

Once, a long time ago, when I was young, Jackie Stewart, the Flying Scotsman, decided he was going to show the good O'Er boys of NASCAR how to drive. He was physically unable to complete the race. Daytona as I recall. Those grand nationals were a bit heavier than what he was used to tooling around in. :D)

[dc27]

Persian women are goddesses.

I work with a lady from Iran. Absolute beauty.

[laweeks]

I had a young female student whose parents were both from Lebanon (that's pretty close, huh?), and I have to admit that she is absolutely gorgeous (so was her mom), both facially and skin tones. Absolutely gorgeous!

[MikefromOhio]

yep

I can tell you why most Arabs are very overly protective and prohibitive of their women too.

Just look at them, they can be gorgeous.