When she's not dodging "old women or dogs" in Sao Paulo's super insane traffic, Ana Beatriz Figueirdo, aka Bia, is looking to go fast in the IZOD IndyCar Series.
Now Bia adds "Woman of pressdog.com" to her list of achievements, and goes on record about driving in her home town, winning it all at Iowa in 2009 and her prospects for Indy 2010.
Props to Bia's manager Andre Ribeiro for helping me get her most excellent responses below.
pressdog: After driving an Indy Lights car, what was it like switching to the bigger IndyCar? What differences did you notice.
Bia: Besides the fact that an IndyCar has 200HP more, better brakes, paddle shifting and that it is a much bigger car, I found driving style very close to an IndyLights car.
pressdog: How crazy was it driving in your home town? Was your family completely excited about it? Did you get tons of requests for tickets?
Bia: It was very special. First, I was debuting in IndyCars which was a dream, and second I had all family, friends and fans close hooting for me. For sure I got a lot of tickets request, I believe all Brazilian drivers did, but it is all right.
pressdog: We're you super nervous on the parade laps at Sao Paulo? Describe your feelings as you got ready to go.
Bia: I was very relaxed all the time. It's hard to explain, but I felt I was ready for that and I was very happy to be there. All I wanted to do was finish the race and maximize my experience.
pressdog: ndyCar seems to be very popular in Brazil. Any insight into why that is? Is it because of the many Brazilians in the league or something else?
Bia: IndyCar was forgotten in Brazil by a big part of the fans during these 10 years of two split Championships. Having a strong series and having a race in Brazil made people here excited about the series again. Bandeirantes TV and the organization made an excellent job building the race track and promoting the race here.
pressdog: How did you get into racing?
Bia: I love racing since I was a little girl. I enjoyed watching Emerson win in IndyCars and Senna win in F1. First time I saw a go kart I wanted to drive it. When I turned 8, my dad put me in a racing school and I never stopped.
pressdog: What was the transition from Formula Renault Brasil and Formula 3 to the Firestone Indy Lights like? Biggest adjustments for you?
Bia: In every step towards IndyCar, the cars get faster and the series, more expensive. Driving style changes a little bit but it’s always going to get more competitive and tougher.
pressdog: I see you on Twitter (@biaracing). Do you enjoy that? It seems to be a growing trend among drivers. What have you heard from other drivers about Twitter?
Bia: Twitter is cool because it’s a simple and fast tool of communication. There you can tell your fans and friends news about your career and nice things you’ve been doing. It’s hard sometimes to keep your privacy. I don’t like to talk about my personal life but sometimes I do it unconsciously. I have to write things both in Portuguese and English, so it’s more work. It looks like many drives are enjoying it.
pressdog: You've won two ovals in the Indy Lights, Nashville and Iowa Speedway, which is only 45 minutes from my house. Do you have this oval thing figured out then? What is the biggest difference in how you approach/drive an oval?
Bia: I was surprised about how fast I got the ovals but to every race I go there is something new. Now I have to feel what it is like in an IndyCar. I believe ovals are smoother and more mental. Every small detail is important.
pressdog: Speaking of, your name is kicked around a lot for Indy? Will you be in the field?
Bia: I really hope so. Andre Ribeiro and my personal team made a fantastic job promoting and signing me up to Brazil’s race. We keep working hard with our sponsors to make sure I will be at Indy500.
pressdog: Sponsorship is always an issue in racing. Is finding sponsorship harder now than it has been? Talk about the challenge of finding sponsorship.
Bia: Since I started racing, sponsorship is hard. I had a great opportunity to start working with Andre Ribeiro, who is a master in getting sponsors, and he taught me a lot. I had the chance to work and interact with many sponsors and people. I gained a lot of experience and now I can do big part of the business by myself with Andre’s supervision. I have a fantastic team working for me in Brazil to find sponsors and we were very successful in Brazil’s race.
pressdog: IndyCar seems to be in the midst of a female invasion. Do you have a sense of why there are more and more women in the sport?
Bia: I believe it is a cultural thing. I can say more from where I came from, where women couldn’t vote before 1932, and allowance to drive came after that. In a family, if you have a boy and a girl that want to race, the family would always give preference to the boy. Things are changing now and women are achieving professional levels like never seen before. The same with racing. Americans love women in racing, and after Lyn St. James, Sarah and Danica being successful, girls started to have a reference.
pressdog: I've heard the traffic in Sao Paulo is pretty insane. Is it as bad as they say? Are you ever tempted to use your road-racing skills on the public roads?
Bia: It is true. São Paulo’s traffic is terrible. I am not tempted to use my racing skills on public roads because I have a different responsibility there. I can never guess when an old woman or a dog will cross the road, so, I am always on the speed limit.
pressdog: When you have a moment and start swearing at whatever, is it in Portuguese or English ... or both?
Bia: Swearing? I don’t do that….LOL
pressdog: Any racing idols growing up?
Bia: Emmo (Fittipaldi) and (Ayrton) Senna.
pressdog: Who is the most popular IndyCar driver in Brazil? Any sense of why he or she is most popular?
Bia: Humm, it’s a tough fight between Tony and Helio at the moment. Probably Tony because he comes more to Brazil, so he is more in the media.
pressdog: What's your favorite activity away from the track?
Bia: I don’t have a favorite one. I like to do sports, be with my friends and family but sometimes I enjoy being alone to stay with my thoughts.
pressdog: When you were 10, what did you want to do when you grew up?
Bia: Be a top race car driver. But I had no idea how tough it would be.
Learn more about Bia on her site, www.biaracing.com. Check out the rest of the Women of pressdog.com HERE.
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