 Ashley Freiberg |
 Shea Holbrook |
The two newest Women of pressdog®, Ashley Freiberg and Shea Holbrook, actually go way back to Skip Barber days. Now they are teammates and beneficiaries of TrueCar.com’s multi-million-dollar “Women Empowered” racing initiative.
Last week Shea announced her team for Pirelli World Challenge and on Monday Ashley followed suit with her team announcement. Here are the two talking about their teams, hopes and dreams for 2012.
Ashley: What really excites me is that I will get the opportunity to work in such a great environment. I know they are a strong team, and are very supportive of each of the drivers who run with them. I look forward to building a relationship with them, and getting the chance to work with my engineer Burke Harrison. I just look at this as being such a great place to learn and have the ability and support to perform at my best and grow as a driver. To me, that is everything I want in a team.
Shea: Well, I’m still racing under the Shea Racing banner with the support of Compass360 Racing and Honda Performance Development. I went with Honda and Compass360 for a number of reasons but, the primary reason was: IT’S GOING TO BE THE CAR TO BEAT! . Compass360 is the arm of Honda Performance Development. They’ve won numerous championships in Pirelli World Challenge and Grand-AM. So, I’m in good hands! What made me geek about them started back in 2009 -- their performance, livery, professionalism and total dominance. I always wanted to beat them, and now I am them!
pressdog: What are your goals for your first season?
Ashley: My goals for my first season in Star Mazda is to learn as much as I possibly can. I haven't been in a car for over a year, and although I ran a couple of races in this car before, I still have a lot of learning and work ahead of me to transition from a Skip Barber car to a car with downforce and just more overall grip. The competition will be tough this year, so I just need to put my head down and do my job.
Shea: I’m definitely shooting for a Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car Championship this year. The last two years we were the underdog and we did considerably well! My expectations are very high of myself -- I’ve had it in me to win and now I just need to make it happen for the championship.
pressdog: Will you be putting massive pressure (more than normal) on yourself to win and rock the world now that you have a shot you've waited for so long? In other words, are you creating a big sense of urgency for yourself to justify TrueCar's confidence.
Ashley: The opportunity that TrueCar has given me definitely doesn't put any more pressure on me than "normal." To be honest, I think in some ways TrueCar has taken pressure off in that they have given me more confidence in myself because they believe in me, and also made me incredibly humbled to even be a part of it all.
Shea: Pressure? Oh, yes! I feel that TrueCar put me in this situation because they believe in me as a driver, a brand, and know with the proper budget, equipment, support, and mindset I can deliver the goods. I want to do my absolute best which means I have to give 110%. It’s not that often that a great opportunity like this comes along so I need to take full advantage of it.
pressdog: What's the Team TrueCar dynamic like?This is the first multi-discipline, all-female racing team that I know of. Are you guys all bonded and Facebook BFFs or is it less than that, more than that? Give us a flavah of the greater TrueCar team atmosphere.
Ashley: The TrueCar team bonded from the day we all met at the HQ in Santa Monica. We are all extremely supportive of each other and want each of us to succeed. We all have the same goals, even though they may be in different areas of the sports, but thats what makes it so much more interesting and powerful. The fact that we can all come together for the same "goal" I think not only empowers other young women but each one of us too!
Shea: The TrueCar Racing “Women Empowered Initiative” is definitely the first of its kind. You know, I’m usually around a bunch of men all the time! So, it’s really nice to hang with women that fully understand the industry. We (Katherine, Ashley, Emilee, Shannon, and Verena) all have very different personalities but similar interests. I think that’s why TrueCar loves us! Before this I knew the majority of the girls -- now it’s like we’ve known each other forever. When we all met at the TrueCar headquarters was then that I really realized what we were in for!
We definitely could of made a reality show out of it! We got into some to-die-for personal chats as well! The entire force behind TrueCar and TrueCar Racing is unbelievable. Who knew you could put six women in a room and we’d all play nice? J (you’re supposed to laugh!) We are teammates and support one another. We have everyone’s cell number and yes we facebook and tweet to each other often! The best part about this initiative is that we can all learn from one another. Oh, and did I mention help people buy “affordable” cars all from the comfort of their own home?!
For more on Ashley, visit AshleyRacing.com. For more on Shea, visit SheaRacing.com
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