A GIRL racer from West Oxfordshire has been given tips for the top by retired female Grand Prix driver Divina Galica.

Alice Powell, from Chipping Norton, was introduced to the former F1 driver at Brands Hatch as part of a BBC1 documentary.

The 16-year-old, who has just finished her first season in the Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship, has been followed by a camera crew throughout the season for the Inside Out show.

The only female driver and the youngest driver on the grid by two years, she came 18th overall out of 32 competitors, and scored two top-ten finishes and two ‘driver of the day’ awards.

She said: “I met Divina at Brands Hatch, and she was just saying how F1 is quite different to how it was in her day, and how hard it is to get into now.

“She told me to keep being positive, keep my fitness up, and keep going.”

Alice, who attends the Cotswold School, took the first steps on her motorsport career path at Karting Oxford as an eight-year-old, and has gone on to race in various kart competitions and the Ginetta Junior Championship.

Despite studying for A-Levels in business, psychology, and applied science, she manages to train four or five times a week at gyms in Chipping Norton and Oxford to help her compete with her male rivals.

Talking about being the only female racer in her class, she said: “When I was karting it was a bit weird being the only girl. But that was eight years ago, and I’m used to it now.

“On the driving side of things, girls and boys can have equal amounts of talent.

“But there’s one big factor, and that’s the physical aspect.

“I have to do more weight training than the boys — if they do ten of something, I’d have to do 15.

“But I’ve got a fitness trainer at the Oxford University gym, in Iffley Road, Oxford, and I’m working hard.”

She added: “This year was a very big step up.

“I’ve learnt so much every single race weekend and every time I test.

“The plan this season was to learn the circuits ready to challenge for the title in 2010.

“I hope to stay with championship-winning team Manor Competition next season.

“To get more females into the sport, the sport needs a role model.

“And if I get to F1, I feel that more women and girls will watch the sport and follow my lead.”