Leena Gade
| Leena Gade | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1975/1976 (age 40–41) Perivale, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester |
| Occupation | Race engineer |
| Known for | First female race engineer to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans |
Leena Gade is a British race engineer. In 2011, she became the first female race engineer to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2012, she won the FIA World Endurance Championship’s ‘Man of the Year’ award and the C&R Racing Woman in Technology Award. She is also an Ambassador of the FIA Commission for Women in Motorsport.
Leena Gade was born in Perivale, United Kingdom, the daughter of Indian immigrants. She was one of three sisters. She grew up in England with the exception of the three years between the ages of 9 and 12, which her family spent in India. During that time she and her younger sister Teena became interested in engineering. When they returned to England both girls started watching Formula One racing. Gade has said that they became "obsessive" fans, attracted not by the sport's glamour but by their fascination with "what the machines could do". Leena Gade's sister Teena also became a race engineer.
Leena Gade studied engineering at the University of Manchester, and graduated with a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering in 1998. She entered the university as one of five female students in a class of 100 and was the only one remaining when she graduated.
After university, Gade worked as a vehicle refinement engineer for Jaguar Cars for six and a half years. Meanwhile, she worked part-time as an engineer on racing teams in the Formula BMW, A1 Grand Prix, and GT racing classes. In 2006, she went to the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the first time as part of the Chamberlain Synergy Le Mans Prototype team. She went to work for Audi Sport Team Joest in 2007. In 2011, she became the first female race engineer to win at Le Mans, with drivers André Lotterer, Benoît Tréluyer and Marcel Fässler. She and her team won again in 2012 and 2014. In 2012, Gade moved to Germany, where she worked on developing new race cars for Audi in addition to being a race engineer. As the Audi LMP1 was closed in 2016, Gade left to work for Bentley Motorsport.
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