“Gentleman racing driver” is a term for a non-professional, or amateur, race car driver who pays his own way instead of being hired by a team. These days  “amateur” is often used to refer to someone with a low level of skill, but the word originally refers to someone who competes for the sake of competition and not for pay. That’s me. Except I’m a woman, so I’m a gentlewoman racer.

Racing is my hobby. I have a full time career in user experience that I love, and I have no interest in becoming a professional race car driver. I race because I love the focus and challenge and because it’s ridiculously fun. The business of racing is a lot of marketing, and I don’t enjoy marketing. In fact, part of my day job involves disagreeing with the marketing department!

Because I’m not trying to win sponsors or impress anyone, I can share a perspective that’s not often seen in the racing community. I created this blog to honestly and authentically tell my story. As an amateur racer who happens to be a woman, there have been times along my journey where I’ve struggled to find information and insights relevant to the challenges I was facing. My hope is that I can leave a breadcrumb trail of knowledge and inspiration to those who come after me.