“Lisa, she has a little something extra”, notes David Billard, the father of this champion, in whom we can guess a great pride. The young Norman is a little nugget of karting. only 12 years, she already has five years of karting on the clock. And she does not intend to stop there. Lisa Billard, licensed at the Anneville-Ambourville club, is trying to join the prestigious Ferrari Driver Academy.
Quickly promising beginnings
Lisa started karting in 2017, when she was 7 years old. “At the beginning, it was not necessarily the sport that I liked, it was just to try and to please my father”, motor racing enthusiast. But after a few laps, the magic happens. “I liked it, I like the speed, the challenge, the challenge”explains the young pilot.
Above all, installed in his go-kart, Lisa sets the best times. “She has a very particular way of driving, very much her own. She has a little something extra, which we don’t always explain but it goes super fast”, says his dad. Today, she rides among 11-15 year olds, boys and girls, and still loves driving, despite her busy schedule: “I have English classes in addition to college, I go to the gym and, when there are competitions, I miss school Thursdays and Fridays, we hit the road and if it’s far , we arrive late and I have to get up early to ride. I’m doing it because I’m happy to ride.”
Integrate Ferrari to propel his career
This talent led her to pass the first part of the selections in mid-August to join the Ferrari Driver Academy, on the Castellet circuit, in the Var. At the start, 146 nations were represented and then 14 took part in the pre-selections. For three days, Lisa goes through several sets of tests: track times, physical exercises, general knowledge test, press conference, etc. A successful first step since Lisa is one of the four young women selected for the rest of the events, two juniors and two seniors. A success with the way, says his dad: “In concrete terms, she was above the other girls on the track. Right away, she set the pace, she set the bar quite high and it stayed like that throughout the three days.”
The rest will take place at the end of November in Italy, on the Maranello circuit, Ferrari’s headquarters. “The winner of the juniors will participate in an international season and will be followed and helped by Ferrari”, says Lisa. Financial support which will be welcome because karting is expensive: between 50 and 60,000 euros per yeareven when you are 12 years old.
But the next events promise to be more difficult, because to do car racing, you not only have to be fast but also know how to sell yourself. “My weak point is English and also I’m a little too shy”, notes Lisa. Determined, she will go to England for two weeks to improve and get her place at Ferrari.
Formula 1 dreams
In the longer term, Lisa’s dream is to become a professional pilot. She would then follow in the footsteps of two other Norman champions, Formula 1 pilots Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) and Esteban Ocon (Alpine) but above all of the one who inspires her: Cathy Muller, the first Frenchwoman in Formula 3. And why not do it again? better and aim for Formula 1? “Obviously, we think about it but we take things as we go”emphasizes David Billard. “We know that there is very little chance that she will go to F1, there are only 20 drivers in the world so we are not getting fired up but we are working and we will see what happens. “