Page 19 - March 2019 IWMA News Interactive

Congratulations on your podium finish this past weekend at COTA. Can you describe your feelings or what was going through your mind when you crossed the finish line?
“Initially when I crossed the finish line, I thought I finished 4th. Then my driver coach informed me of my 3rd position. From that point I was extremely excited and could not believe that I had a podium finish in my first professional race. As the interviewers asked questions and I of course re- sponded you could easily tell my excitement level was off the charts. This seemed to last for the hour following the race.”
It was a thrill to watch you battle your way in the last six minutes into third, your skills truly shined. Can you talk us through what was going on? What was your thought process?
“Over the course of my racing I have been under the guidance of a single coach. He has taught me a lot, although I am sure I have learned a lot on my own. One thing I do well is to maintain patience and set myself up for a pass. A lot of drivers do not have patience and rush things which causes them to make mistakes. During the last 6 minutes, I was total- ly focused on gaining position and finishing the race. I fought hard with the drivers in front of me, maintained my patience and calculated when and where I would make my move to gain position.”
Do you ever find yourself facing adversity being a female in a male dominated sport? If so, how do you handle that? “Yes. I don’t see or feel it with World Challenge, but in the amateur Spec Miata series, there are always some of the drivers that can’t accept me beating them either because I am a female or because I am a total rookie with little expe- rience. To the contrary, I have been able to gain the respect of many drivers who see and understand my abilities and can look past the competitive nature of the sport.”
Happy National Women’s Day! You are such an inspiration to women and girls looking to become more involved in Motorsports. Do you have any role models that inspire you?
“For the most part, my role models are those racers that excel in the sport, male or female. While there are many females who compete in varied Motorsports, I tend to only follow those competing in road racing. I do look up to Kath- erine Legge , who is a highly competitive female racer. Since the beginning of my racing desire, I have always looked up to Patrick Long, he is a great driver and competes in Porsche cars, which in the end is my goal as well.”
Do you have any advice for other females looking to come up in the professional racing world?
“The best advice I can give is “just do it”. In the end, if I would have taken the position that I am a girl, I would not be here today talking about my racing. I personally plunged straight into racing head first with no prior experience and have shown them that I can compete. I am not one to back away and certainly not one to give up before I start because its a ‘mans‘ sport. When I race, I treat the racers with respect and expect the same in return. If one wants to push me around on the track, I can push back. To me there is no difference man to woman on the race track.”
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