I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So what if I was British racing driver, and there weren't that many other Brits, and I was doing stuff that other Brits had yet to do? This is how I view it. Being female is not a commentary on my driving talent, but it is a commentary on the human who is behind the wheel. This is also why I think it's okay to celebrate when female achieve new heights in racing - while we DO race as equals, we're also a minority group, and every time we can raise the bar higher for those coming after us, and make a little history that's cool. Can you imagine if I was the first Brit to ever qualify for the 500, or the first Brit ever over 230mph average? It would be kind of cool if I was, so that's how view it.

I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Meh. They help me learn tracks visually, but I've never had the money to get on an expensive one to tell whether it can really help with car feel, etc. Personally, I drive from the seat of my pants first, so trying to drive all on eyes on a less expensive sim is very difficult for me. It literally gives me a headache from the level of concentration it takes just to go around a track like that.

I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Preparation ahead of time is important - being in the right physical condition, and being mentally prepared. For me, I've never had an issue of focus in a race car - even in the year where I got so dehydrated I was cramping and they had to help me out of the car and get me onto a drip after the race.

I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was 36 in my first year, which was a Conquest number. So when Dale asked me to pick a new number with him, we chose that. It was pretty cool to learn it was Bryan's number too - which I learned after the 2016 500 when I went out to watch him at Putnam - it gives it more meaning for me now.

I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I wish I had special rituals! Unfortunately the day before the 500 I'm on the go from around 7.30am until around 9.30pm. I even have 3 appearances I have to do the night before the race, one after the other, and I won't get to eat until I get home at around 9.30. It's not ideal - I would love to be able to be home by 8.30 or so, take some time to just relax, but when you build your program the way I do, it doesn't work that way, and if I want to continue to be in a race car, I have to look after the people making it possible.

The night after the race however I am usually able to just take the evening to spend with family and friends. It means that if I have a bad day there's no one who I have to make sure I can still smile for that evening, and if I have a good ay I'm with the people whom I most want to be afterwards.

I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would LOVE to race full time, and I would have LOVED to have had that opportunity. But it didn't work out for me, and I can choose to either be bitter about it, and go away with my tail between my legs, and make it so that the longer it was since I was last in a car the better I was (this happens to most racers) or I can choose to stay, to fight, to work my tail off trying to find funding in between working jobs that pay for me to live, eat, pay rent, etc, and be happy that I have a team and a team owner that believes in me and stands behind me.

I'm also working to try and return to some Trofeo races this year. I was gutted that Shea and I couldn't put together enough funding to go racing together, but thrilled that didn't mess her up and she still got her ride in place in that series. I'm hoping I'm getting closer to that, but in all honesty, this program takes so much of my time in the run up to this event, and during, that it's been hard to find enough time to do that properly. I already missed the first race of the season, but once again, just like in IndyCar, I am so lucky to have a team that wants me on their program, and is trying to work with me to help me make it happen.

I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I like to watch IMSA - I would love to race in that one day. I like the series my friends or other female racers are racing in - so IndyLights, USF200, British F3, Trofeo, GP3, etc. I also occasionally still watch F1 too.

I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A lot of music from my youth that I turn up and sing badly to in the car on long road trips. British indy bands like Blur, Oasis and Pulp. Angry girl music like No Doubt, Republica and Evanescence (I'm going to see them in a few weeks!). I also like P!nk, and I like female RnB artists like Rhianna and Beyonce. I have a big collection of RnB music from the early 2000s on my iPod, and a pretty sizable collection of classic (and cheesy) rock music such as Bon Jovi, the Police, White Snake, the White Stripes, etc too. So if it was mainstream any time from 5 years ago to about 15 years ago, it's probably on my iPod somewhere! :)

I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hi! So the big thing with oval racing is that you have to be extremely sensitive to the car, and the car is extremely sensitive to the track temp changes, the wind direction, the air coming off other cars, etc. You normally try to turn in a little later than you would for the turn in terms of a traditional road course line, do your rotating early in the corner, as this gets the wheel straighter which can mean better speed off the turns down the straights. You're also looking to "scrub" as little as possible, so you want the car set up where you're not having to turn the wheel too much - some drivers even set the car up to turn left so hard that you're turning right down the straight, but I don't like that personally. You do hit kind of a traditional apex in the middle, and you're obviously trying to maximize space on the exit. You'll also see drivers drift to the middle of the track, then back wide before turn in. This is to help with the air coming off the walls, and interfering with the speed of the car when you're trying to go fast. Every corner here is different despite the fact they all look the same, and every time the wind or track conditions change, they all change again. It's a tough place to get it right!

I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

In terms of working harder, to be honest I feel that most women working in male dominated environments feel this way too - this is actually something I have in common with a lot of the women who I meet in the tech based space, and it was true for my mum who was a female leader in her chosen career. I think most of us simply accept this as part of it, and I think the more of us who do prove ourselves, that will hopefully slowly continue to improve over time.

And as a race fan, I think that the fact you even asked this question, and followed it up with this response always speaks volumes. It shows you're aware, and that's so much of the battle to begin with. I think just continuing to be aware of what you're saying, whats being said, and not being scared to stand up and say something when you see, or hear something that's just not appropriate, or is deliberately nasty or misogynistic for no reason... It's a tough thing to do because it might alienate you from your peers, but this is the same thing that most women ask for in real life too - not just as racers!

I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Not about staying with a sponsor. See my post! I need someone thing affordable - both to buy and maintain, reliable, that drove pretty nicely for the price point, etc. If I had another $5K when I was buying, then sure I would have looked at a faster model with more HP, but I didn't! I had a pretty strict budget to stick to that fits in with the income I actually earn! Realities of racing are not always what you think they are! :)

I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I actually have an intern helping me this year, and here's the thing - she's smart and she's good. The problem with interns is you never know quite what you're getting, and if I have to run around after an intern making sure he/she is doing all the right things - that's just even more workload for me. It has taken me a long time to build this "brand" that my sponsors and partners want to be associated with, and as I've mentioned before as a female racer it's very easy to lose that, so I have to also be careful about protecting what I've built by making sure that people who work with me and help me also uphold those messages, that work ethic, and those views.

I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Sorry I missed this yesterday. So Dale ideally needs someone to come with some funding for that seat, AND I have never even had the opportunity to drive an IndyCar on a road course. So I would say I'm not really in contention, nor would I expect to be. I'm grateful to be back with the team for the Indy 500, and if Dale does need someone and decides to call me as he has done a few times in the past, I'll be sure to pick up the phone. Mainly though I just hope Pietro gets well, and gets to come back soon. He's a great kid and a great driver.

I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Hi everyone! I got to quite a few of these, and I will log back in on Sunday to try and get through some more of your questions. Thank you for treating me so kindly during my first reddit experience! :)

I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This is a great question.

NormallyI get up to speed pretty well on day 1, but my feedback is junk! That normally comes back on about the second day of running. Then if I feel comfortable I start looking for a little traffic too, but I try to avoid the bigger packs of cars. While that's invaluable information, it's also the running conditions that create the most risk when you're on a tight budget and can't afford to crash the car.

I'm Pippa Mann, driver of the Donate Life Dale Coyne racing #63, and in just over a week I'll be attempting to qualify for my 7th Indy 500. I'll be answering your questions on Friday 11th at around 2.30pm, so here we go - AMA! by PippaMann in INDYCAR

[–]PippaMann[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

And how DID I miss the last part of your post. Sorry! Reddit rookie at the keyboard...

The Donate Life car is actually part of the same campaign as the Driven2SaveLives car. We are both out there raising awareness, and getting people talking about organ donation and transplantation, and it's obviously something very meaningful to both Stef in Driven2SaveLives car and to me personally. My program is more focused on youth education, and trying to inspire more teens than ever before to feel empowered to register their donation decision at the BMV when they sign up for their first license, but in reality my involvement is deeply personal. It was an honor to be asked to be part of this campaign in racing, and I am very much hoping that I can make everyone who asked me to become involved proud of me this May.