Stefy Bau: She Lost Her Racing Career And Built A New Path For Women In Motorsport

Opening And Sponsor Message

SPEAKER_03 0:42

Listening and celebrating women in motor score.

Meet Steffi And Her Origin Story

Melinda Russell 0:46

One story at a time. Have you recently hit a pothole? Did you end up with a bent wheel? The tire shop's gonna try to sell you a new one, but you don't need to drop hundreds of dollars. Call Mark at a cut above welding in Kalamazoo. He'll repair the wheel, sand it, paint it, and have it looking like new for a fraction of the cost. With over 50 years of welding and fabricating experience, a cut above welding gets it done right and fast. Call Mark at 269-760-1109. That's 269-760-1109. A cut above welding. No job too small, just big results. Hello everyone. This is Melinda Russell with the Women's Motor Sports Network Podcast. And I have a friend with me today. Steffi and I met quite a number of years ago, actually. And she was on one of my very first podcasts back in the day, but she's doing so many exciting things that I wanted to have her on again so that we could talk about all the fun things she's doing. She's traveling all over the world. And so, Steffi, I want you to kind of introduce yourself, share a little bit about yourself, and then tell us how did you get involved in motorsports?

A Four-Year-Old On A Pee-Wee

SPEAKER_00 2:11

Yes. Hi, everyone, and thank you, Melinda, for having me on again. It's always a pleasure to talk with other women that they are involved in motorsports. So every time I get the call, I'm always like, Yep, let's do this. So very happy for that. So a little bit of a story about me for the ones that don't they are not familiar with. You can probably hear that I have an accent. So I was born in Italy. I lived in Italy until I was 21 years old. So my entire family is over in Italy. And but at the tender age of four, I asked my mom and dad to buy me a motorcycle. So they ended up getting me a Pee-Wee, you know, like a Yama Pee-Wee. And then, you know, bought all the gear, you know, helmet and chest protector and boots and anything that was needed. And they put me on. And my family has not a background in motorsport at all. Like the only thing that they were involved with was the fact that they really liked motorsport. So two and four wheel wheels. So when, for example, the Motocross World Championship for the guys were coming in Italy, the round in Italy, they always were going to watch it. But that's kind of like the extent at that stage, you know, that they were involved with. So as a little girl in a country, they tend to be kind of conservative and a little bit patriotic. No, the word is ah, I don't come up with the word. Okay. But a country that is a little bit conservative, you know, like it's a very, it was a very big shock for everybody, including my extended family, right? But mom and dad said, You want to do this, we support you. And again, they put me on and I knew how to do it. So from that time, you know, we kind of like uh came two years later to know that there was a races for little kids. So we decided to go and try, you know, again, completely inexperienced, you know, like we ended up uh just going, showing up and uh and see what I could do. The very first race in my life, I finished third with the little boys, and after that, that year, I won every race I I competed with. So, as you can imagine, you know, like a little kid, you know, coming home with a trophy, you know, every other weekend that you go to the races, it was kind of like something that I fell in love with, and and I made my life mission to continue to do that.

Melinda Russell 4:38

That's so fun. And to think that at four years old you were interested in a little motorcycle. Had you seen it on TV, or where did you get the idea about a motorcycle?

SPEAKER_00 4:50

I guess it was because my mom and dad were going to watch the round of the motocross world championship. And since I was a very, very little, they brought me to it, so it's kind of like I grew up by listening, you know, to the two-stroke sounds back then, you know, and uh smelling the gas and all of that kind of things. And uh, I just felt that I loved it, you know. And in addition to that, there were magazines in the in the household, so you know, like you go up and you look at the magazine and you see all of these, you know, like colorful athletes, you know, because motocross tend to be very colorful, you know, and then you you I mean, I just fell in love with it, and um, I actually can tell you that uh at the age of six, I looked at my mom and dad in the eyes and I said, one day I will become the best motorcycle racer in the world, and I will move to the United States of America at six, and I ended up doing it.

Melinda Russell 5:49

But you know what? I have a good friend, and and what he always said is the story in your mind is the story of your life, and that was you, even at six years old.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Yeah, I I I agree with that statement. Like when you put your mind into something and you really want it, you know, there is nothing that can stop you, and I feel like the more and more women around the world need to believe that.

Melinda Russell 6:15

Yes, I agree, and and they have to put all the naysayers to bed and say, I'm not gonna listen to those people. I this is what I want to do, and I'm gonna do it. And I love when I talk to so many women who really do that, they they just say, I'm not gonna let anybody stop me. And that's that's so fun to hear their stories.

SPEAKER_00 6:37

Yeah, I believe that's the key, you know. Like if you really wanted to do something in life, you have a passion, just follow it, just keep going and follow it, and uh you're gonna get to where you want to be.

Melinda Russell 6:48

Absolutely. So now, Steffi, when did you stop racing and start this new? It's not that new of an adventure now, but sort of still new. So tell me where you got to where you are today.

Career-Ending Crash And Recovery

Switching From Athlete To Leader

Init Esports And Sim Racing Access

SPEAKER_00 7:03

So I ended up racing for a very long time. You know, I was able to win three world titles for the women's class, and I became the first woman ever to race around of the men FIM Motocross World Championship. So for me, that was very important because uh it was a way to show everybody that it is possible in the world stage, and it was something that I wanted to do since I was very little, so I'm I'm happy that I was able to accomplish that. And I also in the US I also race in Supercross and Monocross with the guys. So a lot of the time at the racetrack when the WMX, which is the women's national series, back then it was called WMA. It was done usually, you know, at the same day of uh the guys. And uh what happened is a lot of stuff, a lot of time I was uh doing double duty, I was racing the girls and then come out, just change the the helmet, you know, because it was drenched, you know, get a little bit refreshed and then back at the gate again to race with the guys. So I really wanted to show that it was possible, so it was not too much of a stretch for me. I really wanted to uh to do it. And in 2005, when uh I did that round of uh the FIM Motocross World Championship and you know, enter it for the first time. A woman did that. That was my bittersweet ear because even though I did that, so I made history happen in a way. You know, at the end of the season when I was already starting to prepare for the 2006 season, I ended up getting hurt very bad. I had a career-ending injury, it was uh very dramatic for a few you know months there, touch and go, because what happened to me, I misjudged a jump, and I landed you know on in the wrong way, and uh I destroyed both of my ankles so much so that uh immediately the doctors wanted to amputate my legs. So it was it was hard, but beside the physical aspect, you know, that well, we are a racer, so we go through this, and um every time you you crash and you get hurt, in your mind is always like, okay, I crash 10 times, I get up 11. But when you know, like uh it happens, they you need to start to realize that you might get up, but you might not do this again, it's very difficult, I can tell you. It was a big change in my life because a lot a lot of the time when you are a professional athlete, you never believe you're gonna stop doing what you love. So when it happens like that in a split of a second, that um now what? Right, it was very, very difficult, and I had dark moments, you know, like for a for a little while, but uh thanks of to family, you know, and the people around, I was able to turn negative into positive and decide that uh hey, I was 28 years old when I got hurt that bad, and I was able to start a brand new career, you know, like so I I turned it around and thought about that. So that's kind of like my biggest uh shift happened, you know, with that accident. And but again, because I love what I do, you know, and I love motorsport, I needed to just move from one side of the fence to the other side of the fence, and um, that's exactly what I did. So, luckily for me, you know, when I was able to kind of walk again, you know, it took some time, but you know, we manage the um FIM and the Motocross World Championship decided that uh, hey, you were racing those things, those events, you were winning them. What about now that you become the general manager and so you can bring your knowledge and experience to all the other girls? So I said, yes, that would be an honor. And it was good to see the industry kind of like rally around me and help me out in this transition. And uh, and that was kind of like my my you know switch from a professional athlete to being involved in the industry. And then fast forward to today, you know, where you were uh mentioning what I do today, because I am a person that really likes to break those glass ceilings and really likes to figure out ways to get more women involved with motorsport, I created a company called Init Esports, and init esports uh grab the attention of uh young people, young women or even minorities, and give them the chance to be involved in motorsport via video games, so sim racing. The reason why is because we all know that this sport is expensive, two-wheel or four-wheel, it takes a lot of financial commitment to be able to make it. And a lot of the time we lose people along the way because it's not easy, you know, like to come up always with a budget. And especially for women, you know, it's been a struggle for a long time. So by creating this movement for women globally around the world, we are having the chance to give whoever you know wants to get involved in motorsport a chance to be seen digitally, because as we all know, we live in this digitally connected world, so it's you know, we meet them where they are, right? And create a full-on pathway to give them the chance not only to be seen, because esport is very prominent nowadays. Just a fun uh data point here. A third of the world population identifies as a gamer, so 3.3 billion people said said they are some sort of gamers. So even if we have 80 0.01 percent of that, it's a big number, you know, and uh we can influence and continue to put confidence in women that they want to get involved into the this world, and then thanks to the connection that I have in the real motor sport world, it becomes a no-brainer, right? So we really take them step by step, we get them to compete online, being seen, you know, by many, many people, and then connect to the bridges and give them the opportunity to enter in real life racing.

Melinda Russell 13:46

Wow. You know, I I'm I'm listening to your story, and that spanned, you know, a number of years, and yet there was there was such purpose to you when you wanted to compete and then uh compete with the men. You had such a drive to do that that you did break a lot of barriers and and that. And then when that was taken away from you, luckily you had all that family and support around you because you know that can be that can be a crushing, and it was a crushing blow, but that can be the end all for many people when they just feel like who they are is is how what they were. They were an athlete and and that they can never be anything else. And yet you've turned it around to where now this is huge. The into in it, it it's huge. I mean, people hear about it all the time, and to be able to have women all over the world, Steffi. That's the fun part. Yep, women all from all over the world can compete against each other, and they can not have the expense of the travel, the bike, the helmet, the all the things, and so I I just love it. I love that that's where you took it and you had a vision because really what year did you what did year did you start in it?

SPEAKER_00 15:15

We started in 2020 when the pandemic happened.

Melinda Russell 15:18

2020.

SIM For STEM In Schools

SPEAKER_00 15:19

So yes, so you know, I mean and uh and it continues to grow, it's insane, you know. Like uh, and again, it's it's a very cool way to involve people and connect them. This is the other thing, is what you're doing is amazing with the podcast, you know, because you amplify the voice of people, but in our case, we are creating a community that is in touch with them days in and days out, you know, like so it's very powerful, and just by utilizing the power of the internet and gaming, you know, and uh and giving spaces and a safe space, you know, like that's what is important too, because we also know the online it can be kind of like difficult sometimes, you know, yeah, but by creating in this uh safe space space for women by women, it creates this sense of like, oh man, I can do that, you know, and uh again, the goal is not just to compete digitally, you know, like they really the goal is to create a full-on pathway to participation. And one thing I wanted to tell you, Melinda, they actually we are finding that it's very, very interesting is the fact that throughout this process we are discovering that not only people and women wanted to be involved as a driver, but a lot of them wanted to be involved as engineers. So that's very interesting. You know, meaning that um they they are more than once they wanted to be kind of like part of the team, you know, like and figure it out ways to how they can improve, you know, like even data analysis or uh, you know, like create some new product, you know, that can be used on a car or a motorcycle. You know, they really care about that too. So you really find a mix of people, the drivers, yes, you know, like by the same time you find somebody they say, oh, I can have a career in motorsport that then doesn't necessarily have to be the driver, you know, but I can still apply my passion into and be part uh of something glamorous and fun, you know, and uh that I have a passion for. So it's it's very interesting the finding that we're getting.

Melinda Russell 17:42

Now I would have not thought of that, I would have thought that it was more people who wanted to either enjoy gaming and and didn't really care about going full on live, and yet, you know, there would be people that also would want the path to do that. But engineers, there's all kinds of fields in motorsports accounting, yeah, photography, PR, travel, you name it. Any other business has the certain kinds of jobs, motorsports has the same ones, absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:18

That's exciting. And one thing on top of that, I wanted to add so why we are seeing also all of this is because uh we have created a vertical called a sim for stem. Because you probably know, and everybody knows that motorsport is all based on math, everything is mathematical, you know, like the racing line, you know, like anything to be able to improve, you know, the car yourself. It's all based on math, right? So we have created this program that's called SIM for STEM, where basically we give a job preview of what it would be to be in a team, and you do it all digital, digitally, so it becomes experiential learning. So we are in schools with this. So we just signed a contract with four districts in Southern California. We are in Indiana, of course, you know, in the 500 is there. We are up in Michigan, you know, Detroit area, you know, we are expanding now, potentially even to New York State. So, and and globally, and but the beauty of this is that uh it is what I was explaining, you know, with this program, kids get the opportunity to learn the behind the scene and what it takes, you know, like to be faster on the track. And they do it through activity to a program, a progression program, but then they apply their learning to the simulators. So if they are not doing the math right, then they are immediately seeing why they are not fast, right? Like it's we will do a lot of telemetry, you know, and analyzing of that. So while you see this, that's where where you see people shining a little bit more on the engineering side of it, and then that they have to help the driver, you know, to get better. So it becomes all this team-building thing and a new way to teach math in schools, you know, by just really getting them engaged, you know, interested, and they're learning without even learning. But the the beauty is that it's all based on their own data, so they are interesting and wanted to continue to do it because it's not like they are analyzing, you know, a Lewis Hamilton lap time that they're gonna be like, hmm, you know, like how can I reproduce that? It's like themselves. So simulators, you know, in the classroom is able to do that. And again, we have seen that one, you know, they started, they maybe don't even know nothing about motorsport at all, you know, but they get involved in this way, then we see, okay, this is can be also a career in technical education, so therefore, getting involved in engineering and marketing and accounting and all of that, you know, but also give them an opportunity to become real fan of the sport and therefore consumer of the sport, that being again two or four wheels. So it is a full pathway that we have created, and uh we're very excited because it's taking on not only in the United States but globally now.

Melinda Russell 21:18

You know what's interesting about that? I'm thinking about kids that don't like school, uh-huh. And so, you know, let's say there's girl or boy, and they just don't see the reason for algebra or geometry or any of those things, and they're like, this is stupid, I'm never gonna use this. And so if you teach it out of a book, I would have I would probably have thought the same thing. And I love math, that's one of my favorite subjects in school, but I can't say that geometry was my favorite. But but they see how it makes it fun. Yes, and and if they're like competing against the other classmates, it makes it more like a game and not so much like Like school.

SPEAKER_00 22:01

Exactly. Exactly. That is all the point. And for us, of course, we are using Motorsport to do all of this because uh it translates, you know, like sim racing translates into in real life. It really is like a job preview when you do the class. And then you can already experience what it will be like to be part of a team, for example, you know, and uh it's very it's very interesting. That's why we are getting a lot of traction, I guess, in schools, because as you said, it gets the kids to want to be in school, you know, go there and have fun, you know, and they're learning without even learning, but most importantly, they see the applicability of it, you know, right there and then.

Funding Racing Through Sim Competition

Melinda Russell 22:43

Yeah. So how would not not necessarily through the school, but if I was a woman and I wanted to get involved, how would I do that? Like with the same racing.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

Yeah, for uh there is definitely different ways, you know, to get involved. We do if you want to be a racer, you know, like into the same racing world, we create uh women-only competition every other weekend. It's free to enter, you know, like you just have to have the game and the simulator, which we can help you with that, you know, and uh and then you start you know competing, you know. And uh the other good thing is like all our races are uh on also live on Roku television, so yes, so you know, like we are having so much traction with that too, because uh you can go on Roku if you have that, you know, on your TV. We also have it on YouTube and Twitch, Twitch is the platform for uh for gaming, but the fact that we are in regular television with Roku is very powerful, and uh so you get the chance to be seen, you know, compete and have fun and grow in that way. There is another part of this because uh there are um like the super elite international competitions, the you have the opportunity if you are getting good at this to win a lot of money, and there are competitions that I've seen that for the first day arrives is global, so you have to be good at a global level, but you can maybe even win$500,000. Wow. So to me, this is like for any woman that is out there that is looking for ways to fund their career. I keep saying, look at this, yes, because not only it's practice for you, because instead of going into at the racetrack, you know, the simulation is just as good, you know, and it's cheaper because you don't have to pay for tires and gas, and you know, and the car that maybe can get crashed or whatever. So spend a lot of laps in the sim. And if you're getting good, you can compete in this competition. And if you win the money, guess what? You can use it for your season, yes, right? Right. So to me, it makes total sense that more and more people get involved in sim racing, and uh it's been proven, you know, that works. For example, not this year, but the last uh two years, the 2025 and 2024, the the guy that won the NASCAR 500, it's a sim racer. He has not started with a go-karting career at all. You know, he started with a sim and it got so good that then eventually, you know, like the team picked it up and he won the title on a 500 NASCAR. So the correlation is incredible. And I just want to tell you this. I just read this morning an article where uh Doreen Payne, she is a one of the Formula One Academy graduates, and she's under the Mercedes kind of like uh umbrella now. She has been putting so many laps in the Formula One simulator at Mercedes that now because she's doing so good on the sim, they are interested in putting her in the real Formula One car. So this is the this is what we can do, see, you know, because that will be her ticket to potentially be seen to get a finally a woman on that grid. Wow, yes, but without a simulator, it will not be possible because it will cost so much money to be able to go F3, F2, you know, like in the teams, and then you're competing with all of these other guys, you know, like what if there is somebody that goes ahead of you because just because they have the money, you know, like so it's so difficult. But if you can prove yourself in the simulator, now you know the conversation becomes way more like why not? Explain why not exactly, you know. We need some women in that sport. Oh, yes, indeed. Not just behind the scene, not just behind the scene. It's time to have somebody on that grid for sure.

Melinda Russell 27:00

Absolutely, absolutely. I'm I'm waiting for that day, and that's gonna be so exciting, yeah. And to think, and to think that you might have had a part of that, you know, yeah, someone who's gone through this program ends up there, yeah. How's that gonna make your heart feel?

SPEAKER_00 27:18

I know, right? And and we are dictating this from the very early on. I wanted to share also this like the program that goes in the school, so to be able to find that talent, right? We always say to any school principal or superintendent that it has to be at least 50% girls. Oh, so by saying that, you know, like the boys is of course, you know, like uh they are gonna want to do it, you know, like uh, but if there is not enough girls, then the boys need to recruit the girls, otherwise, they cannot do the program. So, with that mentality, we are instilling right off the bat that it's good to have a 50-50 team, you know, and then potentially these kids are gonna grow up with that mentality, so it's gonna help even more the fact like of course we're gonna have a war a woman in Formula One, why not? Should be 50-50 greed, you know.

Melinda Russell 28:16

Yes, I love that. That's I would not have thought about doing that, but otherwise, uh the girls are intimidated too. It's like, oh, that class has got 20 boys, and they're I'm the only girl. But now, if it's like, oh hey, and she gets a bunch of her friends and they're like, Oh, they need half girls, let's do it. Makes makes it a whole different mindset of what they're doing.

Building Women’s Legacy In Motorsport

SPEAKER_00 28:42

Absolutely, because uh, I mean, I've been through, I know, you know, as a racer, it's very difficult to find that one that steps up. Yes, I was lucky enough to do that because I have incredible parents, they always instill in my self-confidence, so they always say, Hey, if you are good at what you're doing and you work hard, there is no reason that you cannot succeed, right? But society is built different. Society is always built in a way that, especially for girls, is like, uh, I don't know, do you really want to go through this? And you know, it's difficult. So it's it's uh it's very common to see, and history tells us, only one, you know, every few years, you know, start to get that spotlight. And one thing that I think is very important that we all need to work very hard to change is the legacy aspect. As women, we don't have a true legacy. Is it's always like every time a woman does that step, oh, she's the first, oh, she is the is no, there's no first, you know. There is many others that did it before, right? And all of these other ones should be celebrated because otherwise it becomes just a sensationalism, yes, and that's what society is looking for, and sometimes brands too. But I feel like with the women's sport elevating, we are now in a position that maybe it should be thought in a different way, also our beloved sport or motor sport, which is let's give room to the one that came before and tell the story, because this is what little girls will look at and say, Oh, so it's not just her, there were others before, so then I can be that too, you know. Whereas if it is only one that gets the spotlight, it becomes very difficult to find others that wanted to do it because they think, oh, it's impossible, I can get making so all of this component, you know, for us the sim racing, you know, the going in the school, they're all little pieces of this puzzle, but of course, we need the media too to be able to start more and more to create the legacy. And thank you for doing what you're doing, you know, because you really highlight a lot of women, you know, like in your podcast, and that's incredibly important. We just need more the broad the the the broader broader leader to do it too.

Melinda Russell 31:12

You know, it's interesting. I was just at uh an event with Wimna, which is Women in Motorsports North America, yep, and so that's part of the Detroit chapter. And I was just at an event and we saw the movie about Paula Murphy. Yes, excellent, excellent, and I didn't even really know who she was, exactly. So that's a classic example of giving giving highlights or or teaching these younger girls about the women that came before, and she's not the only one. There's a there's a whole host of them, but even as someone involved in this sport, I don't always know who those people are because they haven't been brought to the forefront, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:01

And we need to all as women, you know, help that, you know, and demand it, you know, like and say, Hey, why are you talking about all of these guys from the past? You know, like why you don't talk about the women from the past, you know, exactly in the broader, broader scheme of things, right? Yeah, we just need to push it and say, No, that's not the first one, you know, like there was somebody before, and it's not to take away the spotlights to the the one that is doing right now, it's never that because we know how hard she has worked to get that spotlight, but it is about create this legacy, and if you do a legacy, she will get much more in the spotlight because she's the one doing it, yeah. So again, it inspire all the younger ones, and they started to believe in that they can be in that seat, you know, one day, but like uh continue to talk about you know what happened, you know, and it's not just something that just happened today.

Melinda Russell 33:04

Well, and it as a younger person, if she can see that others have done it, it might encourage her and give her, she's like, Oh, if they can do it, I can do it. And give them the you know, I want to be part of that community or that group. And and so instead of thinking I have to do this all myself, they can watch those movies about those women and what they did, and and they can learn about them, and then they can be like, Oh, I can do that, and I'm already starting to do that, and that's what's I think really important.

SPEAKER_00 33:40

I 100% agree on that, yeah. So it's all on our shoulder, too, to continue to push this, you know, and convince you know, Hollywood, even, you know, to make more movies, you know, about this incredible women, you know, they came before us. And uh it's it's just like it takes a village. And I finally see the through here in the US with wimna, you know, like and the efforts done behind the scene by many, many women, you know, we are finally getting to a point that hopefully, you know, we're gonna get listened to and therefore create a sort of like a legacy in front of everybody, you know, so everybody can learn, right?

Melinda Russell 34:23

So, Steffi, tell me where would somebody go? What's your website, or where would somebody go to learn more or to sign up or all those good things?

Encouragement And Closing Goodbye

SPEAKER_00 34:32

Yes, so the website is called initesports.gg because in the gaming world, the gg stands for uh good game. Oh, okay, yeah, this is a very common in the gaming world. I mean, we all own the other URL, the dot com. So if you use that com it still gets you there, okay. Um, but yeah, that's where we have uh all of the information on how to enter, you know, how to participate and whatnot. And then in the gaming world, what happens is uh the everybody communicates on this platform called Discord. So once you uh you are signed up, you know, you will get receive a role in Discord, and that's where we have the community. So, like all of this women, you know, like uh space, it's on our own init Discord, it's a separate one underneath init. So you get the role, so you can be in there, you can talk about anything you want, you know, and help each other. And another thing is like the help aspect, you know, we are very we have noticing that uh once you create this sense of community, everybody wants to help each other. So even if you are new and you don't know, you know, like how to get in sim, first and foremost, you should do it because it's good for your racing, it's practice, you know. Like, and if you don't know how to get involved, ask us because we can help you on that. Computers, we are working with a company that can give computers to very, very, very small budgets, you know, and uh simulator, anything, you know, we can help you. The game, too, we can help you, but get in there, you know, like and then start and and don't be shy, even if you might not be the fastest one, it doesn't matter, you know. Like you get you always get faster by continue doing it. So like start somewhere, just do it, just get in there and you know, like uh try to do the practice, you know. We also also create sometimes just fun practice, you know, like that they are not broadcasted on television, so it's a way you know to get there with the community and confront yourself, you know, against others, but it's very low-key, you know, and fun and and whatnot. So that's the biggest, the biggest plot part, you know, and then follow us on the social media because we need the love there, you know, and um it's everything under init esports, so on uh uh Instagram mostly, you know, like you can go there and uh yeah, and if you ever wanted to get in touch with me, I'm more like a Linkin person. Okay, you can find me on LinkedIn and then always happy to have a conversation with anybody that wants to get involved in this sport. That's awesome, Stephanie.

Melinda Russell 37:24

I'm so glad we had you back on. There are so many things you're doing now that you hadn't been doing when, of course, when you first start, you know, you start with an idea, right? And then people people say, Hey, what why don't you try this or why don't you do that? or you're laying in bed at night and you can't go to sleep, and and all of a sudden an idea comes to you. And and I love the part about the schools, yeah. I think I think that's gonna be huge. And and if there's any school people out there that want to know more, I highly encourage you to get in touch with Steffi because man, that's just that's that's starting at a place where even if they don't go into motorsport, it gives them uh something to base. Oh, I want to be an engineer or whatever it might be. And so I I love that. And I you're awesome, kiddo. I love you, and I'm glad that you're doing all this. Hopefully, I'll get to see you in person here one of these days.

SPEAKER_00 38:22

Yeah, that would be awesome, most likely some of the women event because I happen to go to a few. So yeah, yes, you know, like I'm looking forward to meet you in person and uh continue this family, you know, like of uh really motivated women that wanted to make a difference. So yeah, absolutely for having me.

Melinda Russell 38:41

Well, thank you for being on, and you have a good rest of your week.

SPEAKER_00 38:45

Thank you so much, bye Melinda. Thanks, thanks, everybody. Bye bye.

SPEAKER_04 38:52

Start your engines, and this is the Women's Motor Fun Network.