Carmen Jorda

Carmen Jorda is a former racing driver from Spain who spent most of her career in the lower ranks of formula racing. She also worked with several Formula One teams, not competing in races but as a development driver.

Carmen Jorda

Carmen Jorda followed the footsteps of her father

Carmen Jorda Buades was born in May 1988 in Alcoy near Valencia. She never was in doubt what will be her occupation. As a daughter of former racer Jose Miguel Jorda she was involved in the world of racing from the youngest age.

Her debut was in 2001 in karting, in the Valencian Community Championship, while in the following year Carmen was 7th in the Spanish National Championship.

The next step was Formula 3

After four years in karting, Jorda in 2007 in 2008 competed in the Spanish Formula 3. Her best result was the 4th place in the Copa F300 class scored in 2007.

In 2009, Jorda began competing in the European Formula 3 Open Championship with Campos Racing but without too much success. However, Carmen scored two podium finishes in Copa F 306/300 class, eventually finishing 6th in the standings.

Carmen Jorda in the 2010 Indy Lights Series

Short spell in the United States and GP3 Series debut

In 2010, Jorda moved to the United States to compete in the Indy Lights Series with Andersen Racing. She raced in five rounds and scored 84 points. Her best result was 10th place in the race at Long Beach while at the end of the season Carmen was 16th in the standings.

After not so glorious spell in the US and after having missed the 2011 season, Jorda returned to Europe. The next stop in her career was the GP3 Series, so she raced with Ocean Racing Technology in 2012. It was really poor season for the Spanish girl as she failed to score a single point out of 14 races.

The following two years weren’t any better. In 2013, as a member of Bamboo Engineering, she again failed to score just like in 2014 when Carmen was driving with the Koiranen GP team. However, she became the first woman to sustain in the GP3 Series for three years in a row.

Carmen Jorda in the 2014 GP3 Series

Formula 1 development driver in 2015 and 2016

In February 2015 it was announced that Jorda signed with Lotus Formula 1 team as a development driver. Many were thinking that Carmen soon will get a chance in the most prominent racing championship but that never happened.

However, in the following year she stayed with the team which was renamed to Renault Sport F1 Team after the French manufacturer purchased Lotus.

Parallel to her development driver duties, Jorda in 2016 raced in the Renault Sport Trophy, not scoring wins or podiums.

Carmen Jorda became Lotus F1 Team development pilot in 2014

Member of FIA's Women in Motorsport commision

Just it was the case with many other women in the world of motorsport, Jorda’s racing abilities were questioned by both media and other drivers. Interestingly, one of the most vocal was legendary Michele Mouton, who described Jorda as a marketing gimmick. Finally, the most frequent criticisms were that she earned the place in the F1 thanks to her looks rather than her skills.

In December 2017, Jorda was appointed to the FIA's Women in Motorsport commision.

Carmen Jorda is definitely better known as a handsome girl than a racing driver

Photo: carmenjorda.com, speedsport-magazine.com, chequeredflags.fr