Latest / BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show / Screen to Speed No.30: Anjali Vadgama Silva: Racing, Advocacy, and Walking for MS

Transcript

Screen to Speed No.30: Anjali Vadgama Silva: Racing, Advocacy, and Walking for MS · BREAK/FIX the Motorsports & Vehicle Enthusiast Variety Show

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Welcome to Screen to Speed powered by Ennit Esports.
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In this podcast, we dive into the journeys of remarkable individuals
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making waves in sim racing and bridging the virtual with the real.
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From the thrill of digital circuits to the roar of real life racetracks, we explore
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the passion, Dedication and innovation that drives the world of motorsports.
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We'll hear from athletes, creators, and pioneers sharing their stories,
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insights, and the powerful ways sim racing is connecting communities and
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creating pathways into motorsports.
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So buckle up, Screen to Speed starts now.
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Welcome everyone.
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Hello to another INITalks.
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Today we got Angie Silva.
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She is a racing driver for Team Breed, known for breaking barriers, inspiring
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disabled individuals in motorsport.
1:01
And, uh, she's going to walk the London Marathon next year to raise
1:06
money for MSUK, so we can start talking about this, uh, So can you
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tell me more about this marathon?
1:14
Yeah, sure thing.
1:15
Uh, so hi everyone.
1:16
I'm andrea Um, I will be taking part in the london marathon next year on the 27th
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of april, which is a sunday Um, I have ms.
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So My body works half the time.
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It doesn't the other half.
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Um, I became paralyzed for about two weeks from the waist down, so I
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didn't really have use of my legs.
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Um, now I am able to walk.
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I use a walking stick, so taking on the marathon is a big, it's a big challenge
1:42
in itself, but I'm really excited to kind of work with MSUK and actually help them
1:46
to hopefully get some funding as well.
1:49
Um, MSUK have been great help with me, um, when I got diagnosed with my MS.
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So, um, it's just me kind of saying thank you to them.
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And also I think it's an amazing thing to actually be able to take part in a
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marathon and that being the London one.
2:05
Great.
2:06
That's, uh, that's awesome that you, um, you know, trying to push your limits
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and boundaries also, uh, that's awesome.
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Uh, I know that you, uh, part of the team breeds, uh, can you tell me more
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about the team, what are you doing here?
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And I know that you're, uh, racing the same team with your wife.
2:23
Yeah, so, um, I've taken a bit of a step back from racing itself,
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but I'm still part of the team.
2:28
So I'm a Team Brit ambassador.
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Um, my wife races for Team Brit, um, at the moment and will be next year as well.
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Um, I had the, I guess I had the, um, the, the, the, the, the, the,
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the, the, the, C1 Cup, which was amazing, but actually seeing her
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this year actually kind of go from strength to strength has been amazing.
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Um, with Team Brit, I am there for kind of like events.
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I help out where I can.
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Um, I'm generally I guess right hand lady.
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So if I can help her with anything, I'm more than happy
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to kind of do that as well.
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And kind of same with Team Brit as well.
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So if there's anything that I'm able to jump in and help them
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with, more than happy to do that.
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Um, I think it's amazing to be part of the world's only all
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disabled driver race car team.
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So, um, just, yeah, I think it's a great thing that Team Brit does.
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And I'm kind of really happy to be part of that, the team.
3:24
Awesome.
3:25
Um, So you get opportunity to race the, the racing car also, and, um, where do
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you disable and can you tell people more how is it to race with, uh, different
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controls on the car as we, uh, know that we're using the pedals and you're using,
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um, something special on your wheel?
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So tell me more about this.
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So we have drivers who are paralyzed from their kind of waist down, who are missing
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limbs, who only have use of maybe one leg, one arm, or even like myself, I've
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got a, I've got a very weak left leg.
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So I wasn't able to kind of use that for pressure.
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And so the kind of great thing about Team Brit is we have a hand control
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that our race engineer designed.
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You're able to I guess you are able to drive the car with acceleration, brake,
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and change gear all on the steering wheel.
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So on a normal car where you have shift pedals, that's where you would have your
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acceleration and your brake and you'll have a um, kind of toggle switch for
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your up and down gear gears as well.
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So not only are you able to completely not use your legs at all and use
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everything with your hands, you can also have the ability to use
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maybe partly hand control and partly pedals as well, which is amazing.
4:37
That's awesome.
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Um, because, you know, a few times in some racing, I tried to use my
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hands, uh, on the wheel, uh, just for fun that was, uh, in, you know, found
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it, uh, quite easy after some time to just, uh, get used to things and it's,
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uh, like kind of natural to use, uh, the throttle, uh, with your hands.
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So yeah, that's great that you got an opportunity, yeah, uh, to just
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jump in the car and doesn't matter if you're disabled or not, and to
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be competitive and it's really cool.
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Yeah, exactly that.
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With Team Brit, in order to kind of be part of the team, you
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do have to have a disability, whether that's mental or physical.
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Um, but they do do kind of academy days where our sponsors are
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able to kind of come on board.
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Um, and they will be able to get some of their kind of colleagues or
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individuals that actually sponsor, actually get them into the car and
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actually feel how the car does drive.
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I mean, we always test them out on our sim controls.
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So all of our sim.
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Simulators at Team Brite HQ, they're all powered by the hand controls,
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so there is no pedals there, so they get the experience of how our
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drivers actually drive the race car.
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That's nice.
5:46
Awesome.
5:47
Um, so speaking about the Team Brite, what kind of cars do you have?
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What kind of championships do you race in, in real life?
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Yep.
5:57
So they've got, uh, forecasts.
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So they've got two BMWs.
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They've got a BM BMW one series, and they've got BMW MT 40 I.
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And they've also got two, uh, McLaren's five 70 SI believe.
6:10
Mm-Hmm.
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five 20 s.
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But, um, there's two of them, which is great.
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Um, so the championships are a part of, um, the McLaren was in the British
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GT Cup, um, and last, or this year it was in the Brick car Endurance,
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and both of the BMWs were in the.
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Brick Car Trophy.
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So next year we are looking to enter in the Brick Car Endurance Slash Trophy.
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I think they've kind of bundled it into one, um, championship, which is amazing.
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Um, and we may even be looking at doing a European series as well,
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but not too sure on that as of yet.
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Mm hmm.
6:45
Awesome.
6:46
Um, so yeah, uh, we've been speaking about the, the Team Braids and, uh,
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what you're doing now for them, yeah?
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Um, uh, can you tell me more about your past and how you started in racing,
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how you get involved into the sport and, uh, how your passion started?
7:05
Yeah, sure thing.
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Um, so I've always been kind of, Bought up around cars.
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My dad had his own, um, mechanics garage.
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So always, always around cars.
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My grandfather used to be a rally car champion out in Tanzania.
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So I kind of like to say racing is in my blood.
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Uh, racing is obviously a very expensive sport.
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So never really kind of dabbled into it.
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Um, and then I got diagnosed with MS and I completely stopped driving.
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So my road car just didn't have the confidence to actually drive that.
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And I was sitting at home with Usher and I saw a documentary on the, uh, one
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show, which was a TV show, um, on the BBC and, um, I believe I saw Aaron and Bobby
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there and I thought, hmm, okay, they're disabled and not only are they driving
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cars, they're also driving a race car.
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So I got in contact with the team founder and he kind of sent a couple
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of emails back and forth, had a Couple of phone calls and then he invited me
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down to a track day for me to kind of get a feel of what the team is about
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and he got me on the simulator and I just showed him what I could do and then
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gave me the experience to actually kind of take the car out for a for a couple
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of laps, which was amazing and did a little bit more work with them and then
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they said to me if I'm able to get.
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a certain amount of sponsorship, and would I be willing to
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kind of be part of the team?
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And I kind of thought, Oh, this is really exciting.
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I never thought anything like that would happen.
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And, and, yeah, just joined the team in late 2021, I believe it
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was and haven't really looked back.
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And I'm grateful that I found them because they They allowed me to actually
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enjoy driving a road car again and not be scared of kind of getting, getting
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on the road with a disability, which is, which is really good because I'm one of
8:54
those people where if you're stranded somewhere, call me, I'll come get you.
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And I kind of lost all of that.
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And now I've kind of got it back again, which is really nice.
9:02
That's awesome.
9:03
Yeah.
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Then you got opportunities to return back and, um, That's great.
9:09
I got this.
9:10
Um, so outside of the team breeds, are you doing something, uh, like
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to inspire the disabled people also, uh, like maybe some, you running the
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social medias and something like this?
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So, um, outside, not really.
9:28
Um, I just kind of.
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do my thing I guess on social media.
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I kind of do, I do anything I guess charity wise or raising awareness is
9:37
generally always for MSUK and they've just been such a great inspiration to
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me and I'm more than happy to kind of do what I can to kind of help them.
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So, um, in October this year in London we've got a building known
9:50
as the Gherkin, um, to climb that.
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So it was 39 flights of stairs.
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So I did it last year and I did it again this year for them as well.
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So I was able to actually kind of step out of my comfort zone again and climb
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lots of stairs, which was great fun.
10:05
Um, but I'm, I'm a great believer in not letting your disability hold you back.
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Just because I am disabled doesn't mean.
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That I should be I guess tarnished with that word Um, I want to just make sure
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that if anyone does have a disability or we're all human at the end of the day So
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if I can just kind of get at least one person thinking more positively or help
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them out That i'm i'm happy with that
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That's nice that you think in this way, uh, definitely.
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Um, so
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can you tell me about your, uh, your future plans and, uh, plans for your team,
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what do you want to do in the future?
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So I know with the team and I.
10:54
But be honored to kind of be part of that as well.
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They want to go to Le Mans 24, want to be the first ever kind
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of all disabled team out there.
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I think it would be a great, uh, a great achievement to get Team Brett out there.
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So, um, that's what we're aiming for.
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Um, I know we need to get a GT3 car first, um, in our, in our books.
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And then we're able to kind of Hopefully get invited to Le Mans 24.
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So, um, yeah, I'm looking forward to that.
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And we're always kind of growing, always looking for that kind of
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sponsorship, whether it's for a person, individual driver for the team as well.
11:27
Um, and we're always happy to kind of talk with organizations
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to talk with people as well.
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We do a lot of work with organizations on disability equality, um, acts as well.
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So we'll kind of go into the workplace.
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We'll kind of let them know, I guess, what it means to be a disabled person.
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And ways in which that we could hopefully help them as an organization as well.
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So we're, I guess, we're there to kind of share things and spread the word.
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Mm hmm.
11:57
That's a great goal to take a part in Le Mans 24.
12:03
That's one of the biggest events, I think, in real life motorsport.
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And I'm doing some racing and everybody really likes it.
12:10
Le Mans in 24 hour race as well.
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And so everybody like, you know, waiting for this event to happen.
12:18
Um, so yeah, that's a great goal that would that, uh, that your team got.
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Um, um, so what do you think, when is it going to be possible for you to get into,
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uh, 24 hour Le Mans and, uh, also, can you tell me, uh, what's your favorite track?
12:37
Sure.
12:37
Um, so timelines, we, we don't have a timeline.
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I think it's like those things you can't really put it on anything.
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It just goes down to, I guess, funding the drivers that we have and
12:48
also the cars that we have as well.
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Um, in order for us to kind of get on that, we do need to kind of get
12:54
a GT3 car under our books as well.
12:56
So, until we have that, we can't really go into that.
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Le Mans 24, and as for my favorite racetrack, everyone generally says
13:06
it's very boring, but I really like it.
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Like, I really do like Silverstone, but I just think because it's a very
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kind of patriotic and historic track.
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Like, I am happy to say that I may have gone off on a corner, but also
13:19
Lewis Hamilton has gone off on that corner, so I don't feel as bad.
13:22
Um, so, um, yeah, it's, uh, I just find it a really iconic track, and
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for me it's about an hour away from where I live as well, which I love.
13:30
Um, but yeah, um, Ooh, I say that, but actually I had the pleasure of going
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to, uh, Porto Mayo at the beginning of this year for, uh, preseason testing
13:41
and didn't get to drive the track, but I got to be a passenger, um, while
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Asha was driving in the, uh, BMW M240i.
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And, um, that track was unbelievable.
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Like I couldn't see the road at one point.
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All I could see was sky.
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Um, And the ups and downs, the turns, it was, oh, it was amazing, like, I
14:02
think that was one of the kind of best experiences I've had on track, and
14:06
I wasn't even driving the car, which definitely made me feel a little bit
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green, but it was a great experience, and hopefully we get to do it again next year!
14:14
Yeah, first of all, it was an amazing track.
14:17
I'm also a big fan of the tracks with the uphills and downhills.
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Even in simracing, it gets you so excited.
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And in real life, I also drove one of the tracks like this.
14:28
It was a Kazan Ring.
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It was awesome with some up downs, really fast track.
14:35
About Silverstone, yeah, you know, it's a, uh kind of unique track is
14:39
not for everyone definitely because some people hate it some people
14:43
love it and Yeah, it's it's really technical in the hard track to drive.
14:49
I think that's why people just Struggle with it a little bit.
14:54
No, I'm with you I I know a lot of people say because it's very flat you
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don't have the kind of gradients in there as well but I I kind of enjoy it.
15:01
So yeah, it's each to their own.
15:04
Yeah, you mentioned Lewis Hamilton.
15:07
Uh, what is your favorite F1 driver then?
15:10
And let's, let's talk about Formula One a little bit.
15:13
Uh, what's your favorite team and driver as well?
15:18
Team?
15:19
I've always liked Mercedes and I've always liked Lewis Hamilton.
15:22
Um, but I do also like Lando Norris as well, and McLaren.
15:26
Um, I think there are some great drivers.
15:30
I'm really excited to see kind of what next season brings as well.
15:34
Lots of change happening.
15:36
But I mean, Yeah, I think I think there are some fantastic drivers and I'm
15:41
actually looking forward to watching the Las Vegas race next weekend I got really
15:45
excited and thought it was this weekend And then I double checked and I was like,
15:48
nope, I am ahead of myself got another week to wait at least but um, yeah It's
15:53
gonna be exciting to see him whether Max is able to get is a fourth champion.
15:59
Yeah He's really fast and got Just huge experience in
16:04
racing and sim racing as well.
16:06
And, uh, I'm pretty sure he's definitely deserved this,
16:09
uh, to win this championship.
16:11
Uh, speaking about London Norris, I really like him as a person.
16:14
I think he's really good and open.
16:17
Um, So in, uh, alongside with it, uh, awesome driver as well.
16:24
Um, so this season, definitely more interesting, uh, didn't really follow it.
16:28
Uh, but because my community watching some races, uh, they just share
16:32
some news with me, uh, all the time.
16:35
So, yeah, it's, uh, actually, uh, I'm so happy to see, you know, different
16:39
people winning races right now in different teams and it's cool to see.
16:43
Because it was a little bit boring when it was all the way Red Bull or the all
16:48
the way the Mercedes, at least for me.
16:52
No, I'm with you.
16:53
I agree with you.
16:54
It got a little bit boring when it was just kind of the same winner and there
16:56
wasn't that much Excitement but the last kind of races, I think probably the last
17:01
kind of 8 10 races We've had has been really exciting because there's always
17:04
someone new Um, like last race with, um, Alpine getting kind of two podiums,
17:09
which was fantastic to see as well.
17:11
So yeah, it's, it's nice to see the change up, which is always good.
17:14
So definitely excited to see what next year is going to hold.
17:18
Yeah, exactly.
17:19
Um, you mentioned that you're living, uh, really close to Silverstone.
17:23
Did you visit any in real life?
17:25
Uh, racing events here, maybe Formula 1, maybe GT3's Global
17:29
Challenge, something like this.
17:31
Yep, so I did the F1, didn't do it this year, but did it last year, so
17:34
yeah, great event to kind of go to.
17:37
Um, yeah, I kind of love the atmosphere, kind of meet loads of
17:41
different people as well, so yeah.
17:44
Generally, if there is an event, kind of, car related and we're able to go to,
17:49
I'm always happy to kind of go there.
17:53
What will be your, um, your series to go with, uh, do you prefer formulas over
17:59
GT cars or do you like GT cars as well?
18:03
Um, don't mind GT cars at all.
18:06
Um, I think it for me, the cars are nice, but I think also
18:11
it goes down to the driver.
18:12
So, um, I was lucky enough to be coached by a lady called a Gabby or quick Gabby.
18:18
And this weekend she is racing in the Indian premier leagues.
18:23
It's the last round of the racing there.
18:25
So, um, she's been doing really, really well out there.
18:28
So, um, it's nice to kind of see.
18:32
Those different cars, but also for me, it's about kind of the driver and what
18:35
they bring to it as well So yeah, I know I know some people will say no It's all
18:39
about the cars and all of that But I think it's also the person who drives the car
18:42
in the way in which they drive it Exactly.
18:45
I absolutely agree with you uh, that's about the driver not about the car
18:49
because I'm a big fan of valentino rossi and he was driving in the moto gp.
18:54
Now.
18:55
He jumped into g3s driving You know Quite fast here as well.
18:58
And it's always a really cool thing when you see, uh, you know, drivers
19:03
switching from different categories and they still got great pace.
19:07
Uh, they fast and, uh, that, that really show the real skills of them.
19:12
And it's, uh, it's amazing.
19:15
No, I'm with you.
19:16
We were, we were lucky enough to, um, the racing down at Brands hatch,
19:20
um, Rossi was there racing, um, with the kind of GT three cars.
19:23
So we were able to kind of.
19:25
Be there.
19:26
That was the kind of headline racing and the brick car endurance brick car and
19:30
championship was able to actually race out there as well, which was pretty cool.
19:36
Yeah.
19:36
And, uh, quick Gabby, I know her from, uh, Twitch streams.
19:40
Uh, so we met each other in the racing, uh, from time to time.
19:44
I'm so happy to see that, uh, she returned back to in real life racing
19:48
because she really wanted to do this.
19:50
And that's awesome.
19:51
When you, um, you know, highlight somewhere and you got opportunity
19:55
to jump back back into real.
19:57
Live racing, uh, because it's crazy expensive.
20:00
Definitely.
20:01
Uh, I did it in the past and, uh, I was driving the open wheelers and
20:05
fortunately lost the financial, um, part.
20:08
Uh, so my team just completely shut down the program here in Kazakhstan.
20:13
Um, But, you know, like, uh, I really like that I switched to simracing and
20:18
now I'm in it and got great community and everybody supporting me and, uh,
20:23
that's awesome that you, you know, can kind of, uh, stop something, then
20:28
start it again somewhere in the future.
20:30
And here's always, uh, opportunities and, uh, different possibilities as well.
20:36
Yeah, exactly that.
20:37
Like, just because something stops somewhere doesn't mean
20:40
that's the end of the road.
20:41
I mean, you know.
20:42
Quick Gabby, she's doing fantastic.
20:43
Like she's one of the drivers for the Jaguar E Type as well, I believe.
20:48
So it's amazing to kind of see that.
20:50
So she's kind of going on the lines of like Abbey Pulling as well.
20:54
Um, Abbey Powell as well.
20:56
Um, I believe.
21:00
There's a few others as well actually.
21:01
So I think you've got, you've got some of the, the drivers at the moment
21:04
who are racing under McLaren as well.
21:06
So it's, it's nice to see.
21:09
Yeah.
21:11
Um, how do you feel about, uh, female and, uh, male dominated sports?
21:16
Uh, do you feel that, uh, we already a part of this world or we, uh, have
21:24
to inspire more, uh, girls to get into the racing and sim racing as well?
21:28
Yeah.
21:30
Always inspire more.
21:31
I mean, the championship that Asha was in this year, I believe she was
21:34
the only girl in the championship.
21:36
So it's still kind of showing you that there isn't enough female.
21:39
Yes, we've got kind of female like championships happening,
21:41
happening like F1 Academy as well.
21:44
Um, but it still needs more, still, still need more, more in there.
21:49
So everything at the moment is still very male dominated.
21:52
When you go to, I guess, race days, race events, you will generally
21:56
see probably 80 to 90 percent males and then a few more females.
22:00
So even with our team, it's me and Oshara who are the only females at the moment.
22:04
Yes, I've taken a step back.
22:05
I'm not racing.
22:05
So she's the only female driver that we have for Team Brat at the moment.
22:09
So it goes to show out of, I think there's eight, eight drivers,
22:13
well, eight, nine drivers.
22:15
Only one of them is female.
22:17
Yeah, I think that's, uh, we really need to You know, with, uh, our examples,
22:23
we can show, uh, other girls that, like, they can go to racing, they can
22:27
go to simracing, and, uh, Uh, just, uh, you know, feel welcome here, and, uh,
22:32
this is what Ineed Esports doing also, and, um, That's great, so actually I
22:38
can see that we got more girls right now in simracing, and in racing also,
22:42
and, uh, Girls also work in motorsports industry, which is, uh, which is great.
22:48
So I can, I can tell that, uh, you know, five, six years ago, uh, we didn't have a
22:54
lot of, uh, girls in industry right now.
22:57
Um, so we, we getting, uh, gaining a little bit more girls
23:01
and that's, uh, good to see.
23:04
Yeah, definitely.
23:05
I mean, we're getting there.
23:06
Slowly but surely, we're getting there.
23:07
Yeah.
23:09
How do you feel, uh, to be a girl in, in this, in this racing, in this sport?
23:16
Um, that doesn't really bother me, actually, in all honesty.
23:20
I mean, I probably dress as a, as a bloke most of the time anyway, so it's alright.
23:26
Um, I mean, I kind of see it as my, kind of, I guess, my, my power
23:34
being the, kind of, one of the few only females out there as well.
23:38
Um, but I kind of see it as an honour as well.
23:40
Because there's a reason why I'm doing it and hopefully by more individuals
23:45
seeing that there are girls in this field It's gonna open that door for other
23:50
other girls to actually jump on board as well So yeah, don't be shy just kind
23:54
of jump in jump in headfirst as they say That's true As you in the team with
24:02
your wife, uh, can you tell me more?
24:04
Uh, Where did you meet each other?
24:07
And how was it and how was it to be?
24:11
Uh with the two drivers in one, uh family Sure.
24:16
Uh, so I I met her, um through one of our have been Her friend was actually
24:20
looking for her, um, so we kind of met, um, online and then we started
24:25
chatting, um, and then we both just kind of clicked and been together for
24:30
about nine years now and married six.
24:32
So, um, yeah, we've been together a long time.
24:35
Um, as for having two drivers, she's definitely more competitive than me,
24:39
but she is, I will say it, hands down, she is the BART far better driver.
24:44
And she knows that to be fair.
24:45
Um, she's got um, ADHD and she's autistic as well.
24:49
So that is kind of her superpower.
24:50
So she's able to kind of calculate things much more in advance, whereas I'm still
24:55
working on the first corner and she's already on the fifth or sixth in her head.
24:58
So, um, yeah, but, um, it's, it's great fun.
25:01
And we kind of bounce off each other.
25:03
And I know when she just started, uh, actually driving the race car, it was
25:08
really nice for me to give her pointers on kind of some of some of the track and say,
25:12
Oh, yeah, okay, this is what I've learned.
25:14
This is what you've got to do here.
25:15
We've got to do this on that.
25:16
It was really nice to actually pass that information on to her.
25:19
And now she's like, Yep, I know what I'm doing.
25:20
You don't need to tell me.
25:21
I was like, Okay, that's cool.
25:23
You enjoy.
25:24
So yeah, I mean, still a little bit of competitiveness, but I'm just really proud
25:29
of her and everything that she's done.
25:30
And I'm excited to see what 2025 holds for her.
25:35
Yeah, that's great.
25:36
Um, you know, I got a husband and he's also, uh, into sim racing and we usually
25:43
also share our experience with each other and trying to work on labs together.
25:48
And it's really cool to have a partner next to you who can help you anytime.
25:54
And, uh, just, uh, you kind of can see the corners in different way.
25:59
And it's, it's really cool opportunity.
26:03
No, I'm with you.
26:04
Kind of work with each other and learn from each other as well.
26:07
That's that's one of the things that the drivers do as well.
26:09
So like with each car, each driver has a driver pairing and normally you'll find is
26:14
that where one driver is struggling, the other driver can kind of conquer that bit.
26:19
So they kind of work with each other and it's really nice to see.
26:23
So yeah.
26:26
Yeah, outside of the racing, uh, What do you like to do?
26:29
Like on your weekends, uh, with your wife, maybe you would, uh, you
26:33
like to go somewhere or something?
26:36
Um, we normally generally just chill.
26:38
We've got two dogs, so, um, we normally just kind of chill with them
26:41
or kind of chill with family as well.
26:42
Uh, brother in law just had a little girl, so, um, it's nice
26:46
to actually spend time with the family and watch her grow as well.
26:49
Um, which is always nice.
26:50
Um, but we're normally just very chilled.
26:52
We're busy working Monday to Friday.
26:55
So sometimes on the weekends, you just want to just relax.
26:58
Um, if there are some fun kind of events happening, so maybe
27:01
we'll go to like a car show.
27:02
Um, the weather's nice.
27:04
It's always fun to go to a car show when you've got good weather.
27:06
Um, yeah, we'll maybe do something like that.
27:10
What kind of dogs do you have?
27:12
Um, so we've got two, we've got two Chow Chow crosses.
27:15
So one is three quarters Chow Chow and the other is half Chow Chow.
27:19
So I've got Nala, who is going to be four in two weeks time.
27:23
And we've got Cody, who is two and a half years old.
27:25
So they are auntie and nephew, but brother and sister.
27:30
That's awesome.
27:31
I got also dog, uh, that's a Sheltie, Shetland sheepdog.
27:35
She's really cute.
27:37
She's super active, uh, we're doing some agility with her, uh,
27:40
so running together and, uh, also doing some nose work, uh, where she's
27:45
finding, uh, smells and everything.
27:47
It's really fun, that's my first dog and, uh, she definitely, you know, teach me
27:53
a lot of things and open, uh, like, my mind to a lot of things in this world.
27:58
It's, it's really, really cool and she's so cute.
28:02
No, I'm with you.
28:03
It makes it so much more, I guess, rewarding when you can kind of see
28:08
them enjoying the time that you kind of spend with them as well.
28:11
Like, I love it.
28:12
Like, literally, probably about an hour ago, just trying to go
28:16
upstairs, trying to get stuff ready.
28:17
And they were like, no, where are you going?
28:19
And I'm like, like talking back and I'm like, guys, come on now.
28:22
I was like, you need to just chill for a little bit.
28:24
My plan was to bring them up, but yeah, they both like to jump in
28:28
front of the, front of the screen.
28:32
That's awesome.
28:33
Yeah, they, uh, you know, dogs really enjoy this life and, uh, they
28:38
super positive about all things.
28:40
Oh, you with me, we're going for a walk.
28:42
That's great.
28:44
Yeah, it's like, oh, what am I getting?
28:45
You've got a treat.
28:46
Oh, you're cutting vegetables.
28:47
Let me have some.
28:48
Yeah, always there.
28:50
That's awesome.
28:52
Um, What can you suggest to people who, um, want to get into racing?
28:57
What will be your advice for them?
29:01
Um, so don't hold back, um, always ask questions, always kind of meet people,
29:07
um, I know like in the UK, I believe it's probably around this time, or
29:12
maybe even next week, so around kind of the mid to late November time, um,
29:15
I believe I think Silverstone holds it, where there's different championships,
29:20
different cars, and you're able to actually, you know, Go and see them, get
29:23
a feel for it, meet other team members, see other cars and people, and just
29:27
kind of see what's out there as well.
29:29
Always, I guess, connect with people, and I know I can say this for Team Brick,
29:34
we're very open, we're very friendly.
29:36
If anyone wants to have a chat with us, or they see us at a kind of race
29:40
event, like, we're always welcome.
29:42
So, we're a big family.
29:43
So, um, yeah, just don't be shy, reach out.
29:47
Yeah, that's, uh, great advice.
29:49
Uh, we, we've been talking about, uh, this, uh, on other in the talks, uh,
29:54
that sim racing community and Twitch community are really, uh, open and
29:58
welcoming all the time to newcomers.
30:01
So people like trying to help you, trying to guide you, uh,
30:04
for your journey into sim racing.
30:07
And, um, so do you see that the same thing happening in real life racing?
30:12
Because unfortunately, when I race in, uh, open wheelers, I think
30:15
it's a bit different from GT cars.
30:18
So, uh, I didn't get a lot of, um, you know, welcoming people around me.
30:23
They, uh, they all been, uh, really like competitive to focus on their self.
30:28
Yeah.
30:28
Really close.
30:29
Yeah.
30:29
Uh, do you see this also, uh, in GT community or not?
30:34
So.
30:35
I wasn't part of the, so I only went to a GT race, I believe, like one or two races.
30:41
So it wasn't really there for in the paddock and stuff, but,
30:44
um, I haven't seen any, anything negative kind of within that.
30:49
Um, I know in like the smaller championships, everyone is
30:51
always very welcoming as well.
30:53
So I know, I think, I think it was, uh, I think in the garage next door to us,
30:59
one of their tools broke and they asked if they could borrow one of ours and
31:03
our mechanics were like, yep, go for it.
31:05
So everyone was very friendly, very open and stuff as well.
31:07
So I think it also goes down to which championships you go to as well.
31:11
Um, certain ones are probably more not as open.
31:15
Um, so you're not able to kind of get into the pits and stuff.
31:18
Uh, but I would always say, always try and all you can do is ask.
31:22
And if someone says no, there's always next time as well.
31:25
Yeah, that's true.
31:26
Uh, all the time, like you, uh, you get no, uh, here's opportunities that
31:32
you're going to get yes from someone else, uh, because, you know, actually,
31:36
uh, most of the people, they're really open, they're really kind, and they're
31:40
happy to help you, uh, especially if you got, if they got a really big
31:45
experience in racing, uh, or in some racing as well, um, yeah, they're
31:50
trying to help you if you're new here.
31:53
No, I'm with you.
31:56
Yeah, um, so Can you tell me, uh, what do you enjoy the most
32:03
about racing and, uh, do you like endurances or sprint races more?
32:11
So for me, one of the things I kind of enjoy about racing, I
32:14
think it goes down to, I guess, the team that you're part of as well.
32:17
Um, I said earlier, Team Brett is a big family, so it's always
32:21
a kind of enjoyable event.
32:23
Um, all the drivers kind of get on with each other, all the management as well.
32:27
So it's nice to kind of just, you see everyone.
32:30
Um, when it comes to racing, I think it goes down to, I
32:33
guess, which car you're driving.
32:35
Um, I enjoy actually watching both racing, to be fair, because in a sprint race,
32:41
normally, you can kind of tell who's going to win earlier on in the race.
32:46
Um, unless there's a, there's a blowout or a puncture and then it kind of delays it.
32:50
Whereas in endurance, you just don't know because the car has
32:53
to run for such a longer time.
32:55
You just don't know that car's going to make it or what's going
32:57
to happen in the meantime as well.
32:58
So I think they're both different within themselves.
33:01
So I'm, I'm lucky enough to be able to kind of witness both, um, on a
33:05
race weekend, which is always fun.
33:08
I think endurance racing is, uh, really special.
33:11
So that like whole team working on the strategies and how to, uh, count the
33:16
fuel, count the steams for the drivers.
33:18
And, uh, yeah, also, uh, make some repairs, uh, faster.
33:24
Uh, so from my side, I think that endurance races,
33:27
they a bit more fun for me.
33:30
So I really like to do them in sim racing also, uh, but spring races, uh, just,
33:35
uh, give you kind of different mindset.
33:38
Uh, so you, you have to start, you have to really push, push the
33:42
car out of the limits and, um, um, just go as fast as you can.
33:46
Endurance, you have to think how to save the car.
33:50
For other drivers to not get into the troubles and uh, it's awesome that we
33:55
got different Type of racing and uh, yeah people can choose the best for them.
34:02
Yeah.
34:03
No exactly that I know with the kind of sprint races we had this year Um, sadly
34:07
the the car in the first couple of races was suffering with a boost leak So, um,
34:12
it was always a very quick kind of repair when it was, uh, driven driver change and
34:16
the mechanics did great to kind of get that issue fixed and for us to actually
34:20
finish the race and also get podiums as well, which is always good to see.
34:24
Um, and like you said, it's, it's not just about the drivers.
34:27
It's also about the mechanics and all the team as well.
34:29
The whole team is involved on there.
34:31
So you've got to make sure that if you're only going out with a full tank,
34:33
you've got to make sure that, that there is enough fuel in there for you to
34:37
kind of cross the finish line as well.
34:38
Um, so yeah, it's always a good thing.
34:41
Always a nice environment to kind of see the way in which those
34:45
individuals kind of work together.
34:47
Yeah, that's, that's absolutely true.
34:48
I agree with you.
34:50
Um, can you tell me what's your, uh, what's your plans
34:53
for the future in racing?
34:55
Uh, would you like to jump into a car again?
34:57
And what series it will be, uh, for you?
35:02
Um, so I think if I do jump back in the car, I'll definitely
35:05
be with kind of team Brit.
35:07
Um, future wise, I'm not sure if I see that happening, um,
35:11
in the next kind of few years.
35:13
And we're, we're kind of going through kind of fertility planning
35:15
and adoption at the moment as well.
35:17
So for me, my focus is to kind of start a family as well.
35:21
Um, I'm kind of happy to kind of be on the sidelines and kind of
35:25
watch Asha kind of do what she does.
35:27
Like I said, she is the far better driver.
35:30
So if If it had to be between one of us, I'm, I'm just glad that it's her
35:34
doing it and she's also able to kind of live her dream because it's something
35:37
that she, I know she always said to me that when she was younger, she said she
35:41
either wants to be a race car driver or a pilot and she's, she's not a pilot.
35:45
So, um, she's able to kind of be a race car driver, which is very cool.
35:49
All right.
35:49
Uh, so can you tell me 2025?
35:54
For upcoming years, yeah, so, um still be with team brit So I believe she
36:00
is going to be um staying in the bmw m240i Um, not sure not entirely sure
36:06
who she will be driving with I think there's going to be announcement for
36:09
that At the end of the year beginning of next year uh, but excited to kind
36:13
of see what that driver pairing will be like as well and hopefully, um Get
36:17
some more, um, first class podiums.
36:21
Um, no pressure Osha, but you know, we would like some more silverware.
36:24
I know the team would like some more silverware.
36:25
So, um, yeah.
36:26
Um, if it's going to, it's going to be an exciting year, 2025, definitely.
36:32
Yeah, it should be great season.
36:34
I hope you, uh, will get some podiums, uh, with the team breeds and, uh, As soon as
36:39
possible, you'll get to Le Mans 24, we're going to cheer for you, uh, because that's
36:44
personally one of my favorite events, uh, so as I said before, uh, it's awesome.
36:49
Um, so before we wrap up, uh, can you tell me what's your motto of the life, like,
36:55
uh, uh, So what do you think about that?
36:58
Um, for me, I'm generally a very kind of positive person, so I don't let
37:04
that negativity kind of hold you back.
37:06
I think what I would say to people is, if there is something that is kind of
37:11
digging at you, don't let it kind of, you know, drag you into a dark hole, try
37:16
and see the positive outlook on things.
37:18
Um, and we're all here to kind of talk to as well.
37:22
So if anyone ever wants to chit chat, I'm only a message away.
37:25
So, um, yeah, always happy to kind of be a, be a shoulder
37:28
or ear to kind of listen into.
37:30
And, but yeah, just try and stay as positive as you can.
37:34
That's true, you know, I got kind of the same, um, thoughts in my head, so I'm
37:39
trying to stay positive and, uh, try to look at things, like, in a positive way,
37:45
even if something happens, uh, something bad happens, I always, uh, get, like, next
37:52
opportunity, uh, next day to shine bright.
37:58
Exactly that.
37:59
It's not the end of the world, there's always another day.
38:02
Yeah, so thank you so much for being here.
38:05
Thank you so much for this talk.
38:06
I really enjoy that and wish you good luck for your future for the
38:10
team breed and also Hopefully your marathon will go great and you're
38:16
going to enjoy it Thank you so much.
38:19
I will keep you guys updated and it's lovely meeting you and
38:21
thank you so much for having me.
38:23
Yeah.
38:23
Bye bye guys.
38:24
See you.
38:25
Thank you so much for watching.
38:27
See you later.
38:28
Bye.
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