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Shea started 3rd and finished 5th overall in the
Pirelli World Challenge Championships Touring Car
Round 5, Touring Car-B Round 3 race, part of the
Privacy Star Utah Grand Prix at Miller Motorsports
Park.
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Bio
Born April 10, 1990 in
Jacksonville, Shea’s childhood was typical of
most young girls growing up with one exception, she
seemed to show early on of being a bit fearless.
Shea spent a lot of time
around the water and boating with her family and at
the age of 8 became a competitive water skier with
the American Water Ski Association, competing in
slalom, jump and trick skiing events all over the
country. She quickly became a nationally ranked
competitor holding numerous State, Regional and
National Titles.
In the summer of 2006,
while at the Daytona International Speedway Shea
got her first experience at 150+mph in the Richard
Petty Experience ride-along program. Upon exiting
the car Shea realized a completely new passion. She
had always dreamed of being a race car driver but
the thrill of actually experiencing the sensations
changed everything.
With help from a friend of
Shea’s dad, Michael Kern of MJK Racing, she
embarked on her new racing career. First starting
out attending High Performance Driving Events with
her new race ready Acura Integra with organizations
like Chin Motorsports and the National Auto Sports
Association (NASA). After almost a year of honing
her driving skills, Shea attended her first Racing
Licensing Accreditation Schools with the Sports Car
Club of America (SCCA) back were it all started,
Daytona International Speedway.
While in a room full of
testosterone and feeling a bit intimidated being a
female and the youngest person there Shea made her
way on the track. The intimidation quickly went
away though. Instead of being passed by other cars,
as she initially thought would happen, it was the
other way around. Shea was not only passing cars,
she was passing all of the cars. By the end of the
school weekend Shea was placed on the Pole Position
for her first race and was granted a wavier for the
second school requirement by the SCCA Instructors
allowing her to start racing immediately.
Snippets
Shea Holbrook in the Pirelli World Challenge
Series
* * *
Piloting the #67 2012 Honda Civic Si race car in
the Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car, Shea
Holbrook landed an impressive and hard-fought 5th
place for Race 1, but tangled with a GTS-class
competitor on Lap 11 and was unable to continue the
race, finishing 12th. She has her sights set on the
next event in Utah on April 8.
* * *
Shea Holbrook, a 21-year-old UCF student, drives
the No. 67 Honda Civic Si in the Pirelli World
Challenge
* * *
Shea Holbrook, 18, of Groveland, FL was named
the inaugural recipient of the Cooper Tire &
Rubber Company Scholarship for the first phase of
the Women in the Winner’s Circle (WWC)
Foundation Driver Development Academy. 
News
What I Learned From
Hanging Out With The McLaren P1's Development
Chief
McLaren's stand was always busy at the Geneva Motor
Show, with great people around including Ron Dennis
himself. They also had the best dessert, champagne,
the MP4-12C with and without a roof and the F1 LM
XP1. Of course the main attraction was the P1
hypercar, and we talked to someone who probably
knows more about that than anybody else: Paul
Mackenzie, leader of the P1 development program,
and head of Special Operations at McLaren.
Google doesn't help much when you want to do
your research on this guy. He is the head of
Special Operations which made the insane X-1 among
others using the MP4-12C's platform. We were also
assured that "he is great", and we will "really
enjoy talking with him". Both turned out to be true
while according to Paul, he is not even a proper
petrol head.
That's because he is a material engineer who
started at the aerospace industry before joining
McLaren in 1999. After learning about composites
and being aware of the supercars of the era like
the F1 or the Jaguar XJ220, he almost ended up
working for the automotive industry straight away
when was offered a job by the company involved with
Yamaha's never happened OX99-11 supercar. Never
mind, a bit of aerospace knowledge is always
welcome at supercar makers!
We are standing behind the P1, but I still want
to start with its predecessor. The F1 is a legend,
and McLaren is very much aware of its importance.
They keep track of about fifty F1s around the
world, and with two or three changing hands every
year, they are usually also helping with the
transactions. Not too many F1s were destroyed so
far, and no matter if it's just a regular service
or a complete rebuild like Rowan Atkinson's car,
owners take them back to their birthplace 23 miles
from London: Woking.
Talking of Rowan Atkinson's $1.4 million repair
job, he can't help having a proud smile. Since the
impact was so severe that the engine got detached
from the chassis, getting it fixed was a
challenging job even for McLaren as they had to
look for all the long forgotten tooling and
drawings. I thought everything have been
digitalized at the spaceship called McLaren, but it
turns out they still have to do some old-fashioned
library research for special cases like this.
So there we are, standing not far from the
Papaya Orange legend (which Lewis Hamilton is not
getting after all), and very close to the yellow
car that they hope will become one. The P1's
development needed some sacrifices from all
parties. Paul's job was mostly about making sure
that the team of around a hundred engineers and
technicians work together with the aerodynamics
team and the designers led by Frank Stephenson
instead of everybody trying to push through their
own ideas at all costs. The P1 program started with
some very hard target numbers, and everything had
to come together in order to reach them.
With a 903 horsepower hybrid capable of getting
to 186 mph in under 17 seconds and the organic body
wrapped around the clever mechanics, I guess
they've might just about done it. Paul also had to
drive the car occasionally, and the thought of that
made him this happy:
Understandable.
When I ask why they make only 375 P1s instead of
let's say 400, he says that at this level, volume
is the driving factor for most buyers. They
promised to make "under 500" cars in the beginning,
Ferrari will produce 499 (already sold) LaFerraris,
so the P1 will be much more exclusive at 375.
If the P1 is just as impressive on the road as
on paper, that $1.3 million price tag will most
likely to get much higher in the following
years.
McLaren made the best car in the world in 1992,
and only time will tell if they've done it again.
Sitting in the P1, I can only feel that everything
they know from Formula-1 and previous road going
McLarens was built into this car. Bare carbon fiber
is everywhere, there's a steering wheel in front of
me wrapped in lightweight Alcantara with two
buttons aimed at my thumbs, one of which is for
deactivating the massive rear wing for the ultimate
high speed run. Who knows what could it do without
being limited to 217.
We are just about to say goodbye to Paul, but
before doing that, we got some great news from him
about a smaller model coming no later than 2015.
Paul said after ticking both the supercar and the
hypercar box, an entry-level McLaren is the next
step for the brand. For those of you out there who
didn't make it to the P1's or the MP4-12C/12C
Spyder's order list, here is your chance to
smile!
Source: jalopnik.com/what-i-learned-from-hanging-out-with-the-mclaren-p1s-d-451597805
Shea Holbrook's Fireball
Run blog: An "adventurally" to remember
Shea Holbrook, who drives the TrueCar Racing Honda
Civic in the Pirelli World Challenge, recently took
part in the Fireball Run. It's a little bit like
the legendary Cannonball Run…except it
requires intelligence, imagination and it's done
for a great cause: to raise awareness of America's
missing children. Here's her report, with a video
summary of the event following at the end.
Race crews enjoy the off season, while drivers
typically go crazy. The adrenaline starts to
trickle out of our veins and we've got to find
something to keep us occupied. Back in May an
opportunity presented itself that would keep me in
the seat for eight straight days during the off
season. So, when my championship race came to an
end in August you bet I was looking forward to this
so-called “adventurally” called the
Fireball Run.
Fireball Run is a live destination-based
competition in America with some of the most
character-driven personalities ranging from
successful business owners, elected officials,
celebrities, and corporate leaders from abroad. In
the words of Executive Producer, JJ Sanchez,
“Fireball Run Northern Exposure will be EPIC,
EPIC, EPIC!” You have no idea how many times
we heard the word “epic” in one day! For
eight days, through 14 cities, and 2,500 miles we
got hands-on with grassroots America, receiving
unprecedented access and leaving destinations
better than when we arrived.
From a fireworks send off in Independence, Ohio
on Sept. 21, to a parade finish in Bangor, Maine,
we had to navigate solely based off of clues. We
could use anything and anyone to solve clues, and
accomplish missions. Clues lead us to find pieces
of history, road side points-of-interest,
attractions, brands, even pop culture. The only
address we had was where we were to sleep at night
and let me tell you, some days all we were looking
forward to was going to bed: Some 80 people and 40
teams went head-to-head uncovering clues, driving
and running around like crazy for 12 hours non-stop
every day to complete missions and bonuses (which
could have been real or completely fake).
You name the personality and Fireball Run had
it. You name the car and Fireball Run had it. My
teammate, Tarah Mikacich (pro wakeboarder and my
lifelong friend) and I competed against an
astronaut, the president of the Hard Rock Hall of
Fame and even a female lumberjack. Some teams had
exotic and sexy cars, others more typical and
historic, and then there were the extremely odd
cars. To ramble off a few: there was a Lamborghini
Aventador, a 1981 DMC-12 DeLorean Time Machine as
featured in the Back to the Future trilogy, a
Ferrari 458 Italia, a Devon GTX, a Porsche 911, a
Fisker Karma, a Rally Fighter, a water truck, an
ambulance, and our sexy blue and pink hotrod, a
2012 Honda Accord V6 (with sat-nav of course)
provided by Hendrick Honda.
We traveled from Independence to Wellsboro, Pa.,
Jamestown and Watertown, NY., Waterbury, CT, and
Ogunquit and Bangor, Maine. Thankfully, we
partnered up with some other more experienced teams
to help us as we were the rookies. Using more
brainpower than horsepower, we were doing fairly
well within the first hour of the first day when we
snapped a photo (which we get extra points for) of
a fellow Fireballer pulled over by a cop!
Uncovering clues led us to partake in some of
the most amazing well-kept secrets in America. We
sat in Lucille Ball's Mercedes and held her Emmy,
we also sat in Robert H. Jackson's chair at the
desk he used as chief prosecutor in the Nuremberg
trials, things that no one has done since the
pieces were restored. I felt at home when we went
to Watkins Glen and met president of the track
Michael Printup, then met up with Skip Barber
himself at Lime Rock...and then there were
pumpkins. Yes, we raced in gigantic 500-1,000lb
pumpkins in the water with a paddle. I thoroughly
enjoyed meeting the hard working people of Cummings
Diesel and felt the power of a 500hp diesel engine
that they make for 18-wheelers.
Speaking of great people, every town we went to
truly hosted us. We would roll into town seeing
thousands of proud citizens on the streets
welcoming Fireball Run. The community effort was...
unbelievable. Have you ever wondered where those
little great smiling trees that you hang in your
car come from? Somewhere in Watertown, NY., in a
remote area… that's hard to find!
You know how every once in a while someone wants
to know something about you that not that many
others know? Well, I have a thing for graveyards,
so when we went to a real graveyard where Pet
Sematary was filmed, and had re-enacted a scene,
you could say I was in heaven… no pun
intended. (OK, maybe a little…) While we
actually did many other things, these were some of
my favorites.
Lastly, I'll share one bonus that seemed a bit
risqué from the beginning. We got very up
close and personal with the beautiful Pennsylvania
Grand Canyon where we were to wear nothing…
well, nothing but a toga. I will never forget the
face of a nearby sightseer when we ran by in
togas.
I said there were a few “fake bonuses”
thrown in the mix. I don't remember the clue but we
were to find a specific baseball field. We'd been
on a roll, cranking out bonuses and then we ended
up at Cooperstown Dream Park where we were to go
throw a baseball only to find out the guard at this
baseball park had absolutely no idea who we were
and why we were there. Nor would he even let us in.
It was a fake bonus and we didn't tell too many
people about that one.
Everywhere we went we helped a local charity
along the way. Together we donated over $10,000 in
toys, sports equipment, learning games, and more.
Some call Fireball Run a rally, car show, or a game
and, in fact, all are accurate but it's so much
more. The purpose of the “adventurally”
is to aid in the recovery of missing children by
being a massive awareness campaign. Along the way
people asked us how to donate and the truth is, "We
don't need donations to find missing children: We
need people looking and we need business owners to
be willing to hang a poster.
Each team got a child to represent from their
region. Every time Tarah and I stepped foot out of
the car we had posters in hand of the missing child
we were representing. In our case, it was youngster
Donald Jackson. So, we found it only fitting for
our team name to represent Donald and put our girl
spin on it, PrettyTough4DJ. Fireball Run
distributed over 200,000 posters and received $42
million worth in news media. We were covered by
live stream webcast and local news everywhere we
went. From this live rolling production, Universal
will be making a full-length movie for next year's
Orlando Film Festival, plus a series of "webisodes"
that will air on fireballrun.tv next summer. There
were over 350 news stories regarding this year's
Fireball Run and its Race to Recover America's
Missing Children, which ultimately gave these
children a voice again.
Fireball Run gave me a different perspective on
life. In Schenectady, NY, at dinner I sat next to a
man I didn't recognize. When I asked him who he
was, I was very taken aback. He introduced himself
with the following: “I'm a father of a missing
child you're looking for, and he's been missing for
eight years.” Needless to say, I welled up. He
told me how every day he wonders where he is or if
he's even alive. We hugged and the last thing he
said to me was, “I can never repay you all for
what you're doing for my family.” Well let me
tell you, that hug said everything – and I'm a
hugger myself!
The last day of the Fireball Run was probably my
favorite. At the end of every day, teams could go
online to see where they currently placed in the
overall rankings, but in the last two days of the
rally that option is removed which, as you can
imagine, builds anticipation. Given how competitive
Tarah and I are, we definitely wanted to do well.
We were at the banquet in Bangor, eating an amazing
dinner and sipping on some wine while listening to
the awards, when suddenly we heard JJ refer to
“The Girls.” We had won the Sedan class!
I tell you, I've never been more excited over a
plastic road sign in my life!
We have many people to thank for putting us in
the Fireball Ball; TrueCar, Hendrick Honda, O'Brien
Wakeboards, Lucas Oil, Growing Champions For Life,
Race4Girls, Livin Over Board, beatbyagirl.org, Live
Your Legacy Summit, Ten-80, and Hangtyte. We also
express our sincere appreciation to the communities
that hosted us and to the whole Fireball Run
production. It was EPIC!
In a week I get to rekindle my love for my
fellow Fireballers when we get together to attend
the Orlando Film Festival to watch last year's
Fireball Run. Before that though, you can read
about my Pirelli World Challenge season, here on
RACER.com.
Source: app.racer.com/mobile/pages/apparticle.aspx?articleid=263537&pagetypeid=128
Holbrook overcomes
challenges to take Top-10 finish at
Mid-Ohio
Shea Holbrook piloted her No. 67 TrueCar/Virgin
Honda Civic Si to her ninth top-10 finish of the
season despite challenging conditions both on and
off the racetrack. In this past weekend’s
doubleheader Pirelli World Challenge at Mid Ohio
Sportscar Course, Holbrook overcame mechanical
difficulties in qualifying as well as a slick race
track in round 2 to come away with one top-ten
finish and maintain her fourth place points in the
Championship.
“Mid Ohio is one of those races you never
know what to expect. Track conditions constantly
change and weather is unpredictable,” said
Holbrook.
After finishing on the podium twice at her
previous race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park,
the 22-year old TrueCar Racing Women Empowered
initiative driver was hoping to continue that
momentum into rounds ten and eleven at Mid
Ohio.
During qualifying for race one Holbrook had an
incident on the exit of turn seven which damaged
the car beyond repair forcing the Team to prepare
the back-up car.
“After qualifying we deemed our primary car
un-drivable,” said Holbrook. “However,
thanks to the relentless efforts of our crew they
were able to prepare our backup car for the rest of
the weekend.”
Because of the new car entry Holbrook was forced
to start from the back of the field (15th) on
Saturday. Saturday’s race was dry and humid
and Holbrook looked to be very comfortable in the
backup car as she charged through the field
finishing sixth. “Every time we go on track
the crew amazes me. We’ve really come a long
way,” Holbrook said with arms around her
team.
Forecast showed rain for Sunday’s race and
as predicted the rain came. Based off her fastest
lap time of race one Holbrook started fifth on the
grid. “Track conditions were extremely tough
and even the rain line had very limited grip. I was
actually pleased with our performance in the rain
as we had implemented overtaking strategies in very
wet conditions. But to win that race we needed to
stay on track.” Towards the end of the race
Holbrook went off in turn eleven and when
reentering the track she found herself caught in
the GTS field making the situation hard to catch
the TC field. Holbrook finished eleventh in the
rain.
“This weekend was a learning experience for
all of us. We faced our challenges and ended up
with one top-ten and maintaining our position in
the Championship. I’m proud of the entire
TrueCar Team because we can walk away knowing we
all gave 100% and gained additional on-track
experience. We are confident that as we continue to
gain on-track experience we will continue to
improve. But Mid Ohio sure does have true love for
TrueCar, thank you race fans!”
Holbrook currently sits fourth in the Touring
Car Championship with 881 points. Watch the Pirelli
World Challenge races from Mid Ohio on NBC Sports,
Saturday, August 25th at 1:30-3PM eastern.
The season comes to an end with an exciting
tripleheader weekend at Sonoma Raceway August
24-26, 2012 alongside the IZOD IndyCar Series.
Continue watching Shea Holbrook’s live
in-car video during all race weekends and revisit
Mid Ohio right from her cockpit on Livestream.com.
Source: femaleracingnews.com/road-racing/holbrook-overcomes-challenges-to-take-top-10-finish-at-mid-ohio
Shea Holbrook Wins
the Cooper Tire Scholarship At The Women in the
Winner’s Circle Driver Development Academy
Holbrook is one of 12 women drivers invited to
participate in the 15th Academy classes
Shea Holbrook, 18, of Groveland, FL was named
the inaugural recipient of the Cooper Tire &
Rubber Company Scholarship for the first phase of
the Women in the Winner’s Circle (WWC)
Foundation Driver Development Academy.
“Cooper Tire’s decision to support the
Academy and Shea demonstrates not only their
support of training and educating young women
drivers, but also their belief that women can be
successful in all areas of motorsports,” said
Lyn St. James, former professional motorsports
driver and founder of the Women in the
Winner’s Circle Foundation and Driver
Development Academy. “By choosing to partner
with this program, Cooper Tire is helping move
motorsports forward as a gender integrated
industry.”
In 2008, Holbrook raced in the Sports Car Club
of America (SCCA) ITS Class in her 1998 Acura
Integra. She has also driven this car in the
Formula and Automobile Racing Association (FARA) MP
Classes and in National Auto Sports Association
(NASA) events. Her next race is 25 Hours of
Thunderhill in Richmond, CA on a four female team
called DivaSpeed.
Holbrook’s long term goals in racing are
driving open wheel race cars. In early 2008 Shea
attended the Skip Barber two and three day advanced
racing classes and earned her open wheel racing
credential with the Skip Barber Racing Series. On
October 25, 2008, Shea finished on the podium in
the Skip Barber Southern Regional Race at Carolina
Motorsports Park. For more information on Shea
Holbrook log on to www.shearacing.com
The Foundation’s Complete Driver Academy is
a comprehensive educational and training program
for talented women race drivers who aspire to the
professional levels of motorsports. Entry into the
Academy is highly competitive and all women drivers
who want to be considered must have raced at least
three years, complete the Academy application and
provide a documented race resume. The first phase
of the 2008-2023 Academy was held November 14 -16
at Athletes Performance Institute and Arizona State
University in Tempe, AZ. The weekend included hands
on workshops by Dr. Jacques Dallaire of Performance
Prime who taught the young women how to maximize
their performances through focus and “rules of
the mental road.” The weekend also included
baseline physical fitness evaluations; an exercise
session to shape programs to improve fitness
levels, and nutrition, bio feedback and
visualization workshops.
Established in 1994, the Academy has a two-fold
purpose: (1) identify potential champion women
drivers who have demonstrated success on the track
and have a desire to pursue a career in
professional motorsports; and (2) create an
experience that will provide the tools to further
women drivers’ careers in motorsports as well
as enhance their lives on and off the track.
The Academy is a full year program including
three onsite weekends: Weekend 1 – Physical
and Mental Preparation; weekend 2 – Business
Seminars and Media Training; and weekend 3 –
On-track time and technical. Each participant
leaves the weekend session with a series of
assignments and deliverables that must be completed
prior to be invited to the next session. Academy
staff are available throughout the year to give
counsel and support to the participants.www.lynstjames.com
Results
- November 25th, 2008 – 3rd Place Finish
in the Skip Barber Southern Regional Race at
Carolina Motorsports Park
- August 29-31, 2008 – 4th Place Finish
in ITS at the SCCA Labor Day Race, Sebring
International Raceway
- August 9-10, 2008 – 3rd and 4th Place
Finish in the Mazda Teen Challenge,Road Atlanta,
Georgia
- July 11-12, 2008 – 5th Place Finish in
the Mazda Teen Challenge, Mid-Ohio- Lexington,
Ohio
- July 8, 2008 – Skip Barber - Road
Atlanta
- June 22, 2008 – 4th Place finish in
Teen Mazda Challenge, Hyperfest Summit Point,
WV.
- June 7, 2008 – 24th Lakeland USA
International Speedway, Goodyear Challenge
Series 100, Late Model
- May 16, 2008 – 17th Place finish at
Orlando Speedworld, Goodyear Challenge Series
100, Late Model.
- May 10, 2008 – 3rd Place Finish FARA
Homestead Speedway, Shea is now the Points
Leader for the 2008 Season.
- May 3, 2008 – 11th Place Spec Miata
National Class Finish, Daytona International
Speedway.
- April 12, 2008 – 6th Place New Smyrna
Speedway, FASCAR Competition Late Model –
Race
- February 2008 – Skip Barber lapping
day, Sebring International Raceway
- January 26, 2008 – Talent of the Year
Award, Sobre Rodas Racing Media
Association.
- January 17, 2008 - 31st Place Finish –
Porsche & BMW Club, Six Hour Night Endurance
Race, Sebring International Raceway. A field of
66 cars started the race. At the 1 1/2 hour mark
Shea was in 6th Place overall and 2nd place in
Class. At the 3 hour mark Shea was in 10th Place
overall and 2nd in class. At the 4 ½ mark
the engine suffered a catastrophic ignition
failure that the team could not repair. Having
completed over half the race the official
results put Shea at 31st overall.
- December 28, 2007 –Skip Barber Two Day
Advanced Open Wheel School, Moroso Motorsports
Park
- December 23, 2007 – 3rd Place, FARA 2.5
hour Endurance Race, Homestead Speedway
- December 9, 2007 – Skip Barber Three
Day Open Wheel School, Sebring International
Raceway
- November 25, 2007 – 11 Place, SCCA
Turkey Trot Sebring International Raceway
- October 20, 2007 – 8th Place, SCCA
Sebring International Raceway
- September 8, 2007 – 4th Place, FARA
Homestead International Speedway
- September 1, 2007 – 1st Place, NASA
Homestead International Speedway
- July 14, 2007 – 2nd Place, FARA
Homestead International Speedway
- June 3, 2007 – 11th Place SCCA, Sebring
International Raceway
- August 4, 2008 – Skip Barber, Road
Atlanta
- August 9-10, 2008 – Teen Mazda
Challenge, Road Atlanta
- September 11-14, 2008 – Teen Mazda
Challenge, Mid-Ohio
Schedule
2007 & 2008 Racing Seasons for Shea
has her competing in several different
organizations driving both closed and open wheeled
cars.
Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) she has been
racing the ITS Class in her 1998 Acura Integra. She
has also driven this car in the Formula and
Automobile Racing Association (FARA) MP Classes and
the National Auto Sports Association (NASA).
Shea’s long term goals in racing are
driving Open Wheeled race cars. In 2008 Shea
attended the Skip Barber two and three day advanced
racing classes and earned her Open Wheeled racing
credential with the Skip Barber Racing Series. She
plans on Racing in the Southern Regional Series in
the fall of 2008. Shea plans to fine tune her Open
Wheeled driving skills by continuing to do
practice/lapping sessions with Skip Barber unitil
the fall Southern Regional Series starts.
* * *
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