Ana Beatriz Figueiredo, or Bia Figueiredo is a Brazilian racing driver. Bia, as she is known by friends and fans, won her first Indy Lights race at Nashville Superspeedway on 12 July 2008, becoming the first woman to win a race in the Indy Lights series. On June 20, 2009 Bia won her second Indy Lights race and became the first woman to win a race car event at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.
Women Fitness joins the fast racer for an interesting conversation!
Namita Nayyar:
You won your first Indy Lights race at Nashville Superspeedway in 2008, becoming the first woman to win a race in the Indy Lights series and soon after became the first woman to win a race car event at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa in 2009. Tell us what attracted you towards auto racing as a career, if you were to sum up in a few words?
ANA BEATRIZ FIGUEIREDO:
Well, those two races I won in Indy Lights were definitely one of the most important of my career however I have more than 30 wins in Brazil before that in Karting and Formula Renault Series. Since I was a little girl I was attracted by cars and racing. My dad realized it and took me to a go kart race when I was 5. I loved it and kept bugging him until he finally took me to a karting school in Interlagos – São Paulo when I turned 7.
Full interview is continued on next page
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All Written Content Copyright © 2019 Women Fitness
Namita Nayyar:
Having begun your career with kart races at the young age of 8, you placed fifth in the Firestone Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2008, the highest finishing position by a female driver in that race. Were your eyes always set on this goal? Responding to one of a reporter you responded “I always say that I’m always going to be Bia.”, define Ana in few words?
Ana Beatriz FIGUEIREDO:
When you are a young kid you have dreams but we usually don’t know how hard its to achieve it. I didn’t have a common childhood and while I was a teen I couldn’t go to all parties and trips because I already had a goal: become a top racer worldwide. The good part is I really loved what I was doing. Bia is a really determined woman, have no fear and it is always looking to get better..
Namita Nayyar:
How do you like to kick start your day. What does your first meal of the day comprise of?
ANA BEATRIZ FIGUEIREDO:
Sometimes I like to do cyclying before breakfast. First thing I do is drinking lots of water. Breakfast is a natural juice, fruits, scrambled eggs and a wheat bread with no sugar jelly.
Namita Nayyar:
Before kicking off professional auto racing, what are the key points a beginner needs to keep in mind? 5 key essentials to success.
ANA BEATRIZ FIGUEIREDO:
Well I believe the key words are: determination, discipline, will to learn, work to be the best in and out of the track and never give up.
Namita Nayyar:
Three components that are a must in your fitness regime? 5 exercises to build full body strength and can be followed even while travelling?
ANA BEATRIZ FIGUEIREDO:
I always enjoyed weight training but I’ve learned to use my own body to work out hard. The exercises I usually do when traveling is: running, burpees, plank, side plank, jumps and push-ups.
Namita Nayyar:
Define Women Fitness website for our viewers.
ANA BEATRIZ FIGUEIREDO:
A place where people can find general information of inspiring and hard-working women, each in their own areas, who have health and well-being always as an important point in their lives.
Namita Nayyar:
As a sportswoman, what skincare and hair care routine do you follow to combat the stress of the sport?
ANA BEATRIZ FIGUEIREDO:
Since 2016 I’ve added multi vitamins and collagen to my daily diet. I also follow my dermatologist orientation for skin care. She is always worried I am too sun exposed on race weekends so I always have my sun lotion with me.
Namita Nayyar:
In the 2011 IndyCar Series season, you broke your wrist in the opening laps of the first race at St. Petersburg causing you to miss the next race and requiring to compete with a brace for the large part of the season. How do these incidents help you become a better racer? Also, how were you able to overcome the fear of life that involved in this sport?
ANA BEATRIZ FIGUEIREDO:
I consider myself a very determined and strong woman. On the day I broke my wrist I managed to end that 70 lap race. It was painful but on that moment the most important thing was to get to the end. This are things every person battle in their lives, maybe not in a race car, not with a broken hand but certainly hard and awful moments that we as human beings learn to overcome to be successful and happy. So racing challenges me to be a better driver and a better person.
Namita Nayyar:
Share with us your goals for the upcoming races?
ANA BEATRIZ FIGUEIREDO:
I still have 8 races in StockCar and 2 more races at IMSA championship. The main goal is getting the podium in all of them.
Namita Nayyar:
What are the biggest challenges for females entering this field?
ANA BEATRIZ FIGUEIREDO:
We are still so little in numbers worldwide. In Brazil women grow hearing they can’t drive a car well so I had many barriers to prove I was able to be a winner in a male dominant sport. Don’t forget that racing and Equestrianism are the only sports men and women compete together. However in racing the biggest challenge for drivers (male or female) is to be able to finance their careers as the machine makes our sport the most expensive one in the world.
You can follow Bia on:
- https://twitter.com/biaracing
- https://www.instagram.com/biaracing/
- https://www.facebook.com/BiaRacing03/
All content on this site is copyright of Women Fitness and no part of any article found on this site may be reproduced without an express permission and highlighted, do follow link crediting http:// www.womenfitness.net/ or preferably the original page as the source. This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2019 Women Fitness