Meet Lindsay Brewer: From snowmobiles to racing | Sports News

Lindsay Brewer’s journey to the grid began removed from the polished paddocks the place she now pilots Lamborghinis within the Super Trofeo sequence.

Raised close to the mountains of Colorado in Arvada, her childhood was outlined by the pace of a totally different variety—carving via snow on high-powered snowmobiles long earlier than she ever strapped into a race car. What started as a thrill-seeking interest within the Rockies advanced into a full-time pursuit of skilled motorsport, reworking Brewer into one of essentially the most intriguing feminine skills in racing. The 28-year-old’s need for pace wasn’t bestowed upon her by her household, who had no curiosity in, nor a background in, motorsport.

Instead, Brewer began on snowmobiles at 3, earlier than getting a style for karting at 11, which sparked a ardour for high-speed competitors towards ladies and boys her age. Brewer’s apparent on-track expertise prompted her dad to buy her her first Mini Max Go-Kart.

The investment was an on the spot success, with Brewer successful the regional championship in her first 12 months. Seeing the likes of Danica Patrick, Katherine Legge, and Susie Wolff swimsuit up towards the boys additionally impressed Brewer to need to do the identical.

“I grew up snowmobiling, four-wheeling, just driving, jet skiing, driving things from a really young age, about three years old,” Brewer instructed Express U.S. Sports on the Web Summit in Lisbon. “I got my first snowmobile, and then I went to a birthday party at a go-kart track when I was 11 years old and absolutely fell in love with it. They couldn’t get me out of the go-kart, just yeah, I was obsessed with it.”

“My dad bought me my own Minimax go-kart and ended up winning the regional championship my first year, so my family has zero racing background,” she continued. “I just feel like I hopped in and instantly fell in love, and I’m a very competitive person, so I just enjoyed, I don’t know, I just took really well to it.”

It’s simple to see why Brewer was drawn to trailblazers reminiscent of Patrick, Legge, and Wolff. Patrick grew to become the primary girl to win an IndyCar race and begin a NASCAR Cup Series race from pole place. Legge proved versatile throughout a number of disciplines, like Patrick, and have become the quickest qualifying girl in Indy 500 historical past in 2003. While Wolff has performed a important function within the world open-wheeled racing sequence, F1, being the driving drive behind the all-female F1 Academy.

“Growing up, I would say some big inspirations, Danica Patrick was a huge inspiration as a kid because I felt like back then there really weren’t a lot of female drivers in the space, so she was one of them,” Brewer stated. “Katherine Legge’s always been a really good inspiration for me and Susie Wolff, you know, I always have looked up to her and I love what she’s doing with F1 Academy.”

Brewer took a break from racing to deal with school, attending San Diego State University, the place she earned a degree in business. It additionally occurred to be the place the place she met her fiancé, NHL agent Drew Solomon.

“I had to take a few years off for university, so I wasn’t able to race just because of funding; it’s such an expensive sport,” Brewer stated. Once her schooling was accomplished, she returned straight to racing. Brewer attended Skip Barber’s Racing faculty to earn her SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) license earlier than taking over USF200, Legend Cars, Indy NXT, and now Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America with RAFA Racing.

“So, I went to San Diego State University, got a business degree, graduated in 2019, and then I did a couple of these GT4 Saleen Cup races in sports cars, which went really well,” she added. “We got a couple podiums in that — but again, I wasn’t able to scrap anything together until 2021, where there’s a company called Clubhouse, which was a social media group, that ended up sponsoring me in 2021, and I kind of, that’s how I got back into racing.”

Brewer additionally examined within the all-female W-Series in 2022 — however did not make the cut regardless of performing strongly in testing. The W-Series, which ran from 2019 to 2022, was on the lookout for the “full package,” in accordance to Brewer, who has coupled her racing potential with a notable social media presence, amassing over 2 million followers.

“I mean, that was for sure disappointing at the time, it was in 2022, there was this shootout for the W Series, and I thought it was a great opportunity to be able to drive in European circuits and stuff like that,” Brewer stated. “I knew they were going to do stuff alongside Formula One, so yeah I was really quick in the test, but for some reason they didn’t choose me and I was quicker than the people they chose, which was an interesting thing, but I remember their feedback was it’s about having the full package, not just pace, which I was a bit like taken aback.”

“I think I was a bit older, I don’t want to make excuses, I mean, I don’t know what they saw in me or what they didn’t,” Brewer continued. “That was obviously a bit of a disappointment, but the girls they chose, I think, were a bit younger, and they maybe saw more potential to be able to shape their careers. Everything happens for a reason, and the fact that you didn’t make that opportunity led to other opportunities, and they were able to give those spots to people who deserve it.”

W-Series snub stung

“That one stung a bit, but it led to other opportunities that were better, so yeah, now I’m with RAFA Racing and racing Lamborghini at Super Trofeo this year, and that’s been really well,” she added. At RAFA Racing, Brewer is joined by Jem Hepworth. Before heading to Lisbon for the annual tech convention, Brewer gained her final race in Italy. As a duo, they narrowly missed out on the championship — however the consequence bodes nicely for subsequent season.

“I just came from Italy, actually, for the world finals in my last North American race, and it went really well. I won my last race, and so I have a co-driver who’s also a woman, her name’s Jem Hepworth, and she’s incredible,” Brewer stated on her exploits in Italy and her co-driver.

“We missed out on the championship by two points. That sucked, but at least you got something to build on, yeah, something to build on for a rookie season, it was a great year.”

Brewer’s Formula E take a look at

Brewer additionally obtained behind the wheel of a Formula E car for DS Penske for the ladies’s take a look at in Valencia, Spain, final month. Formula E distinguishes itself from F1 via its absolutely electric automobiles and the strategic quirks that include them, reminiscent of regeneration zones that recharge the battery underneath braking.

Coupled with options like Attack Mode—the place drivers briefly go away the racing line to gain further energy—the sequence turns power management into a central half of racing, offering a sharp distinction to F1’s deal with outright pace and engineering dominance. “Those cars are incredibly powerful, but again, that car had zero power steering, so it was super physical for me,” Brewer stated in regards to the expertise.

“I really struggled in the battery regeneration zones. You have to turn the wheel back and forth, and so my pace wasn’t exactly where I wanted it to be for the test. However, I really enjoyed driving that car, and hopefully, I could get the opportunity again. It was just such a cool experience.”

Motorsport ace and attention-grabbing model

Outside of precise competitors, Brewer is one of essentially the most marketable feminine racing drivers. Brewer has carried out business modeling, way of life shoots, and model partnerships, incomes thousands and thousands of followers on social media. It’s a powerful balancing act, says Brewer.

“It’s honestly really difficult sometimes because I feel like I have a lot of opportunities where you make a living,” she stated. “That’s how you make your money, doing social media, stuff like that, and so I’m traveling a lot for that.

“But in season particularly, it is actually powerful as a result of I need to be within the fitness center coaching all of the time or I need to be at home driving my sim, and so I feel typically I’m simply by no means home on the finish of the day. I strive to do all the pieces abruptly, and I get actually wired, so it is powerful. I do unfold myself skinny, however I’m ready to commit to each. I’m infrequently home, which is hard.”

‘Anything is possible’

What message is Brewer hoping to deliver? That everything is possible for girls and women in motorsport. Brewer hopes to see an increase in female drivers in the top motorsport disciplines globally.

“I would like to show girls and ladies that they will do what they need to set their minds to and that, like, there may be a space right here for you and you’ll nonetheless be true to your self, and like for me, like I’m nonetheless female and girly,” Brewer said. “I’ll pose in a gown and I’ll, you recognize, be who I’m, however you do not have to put your self in a box and like match a mildew to be within the sport.

“You can stay true to who you are, but there is a space for you, and I just want to show that, like you know, with hard work and dedication, you can achieve what you want to.”