When Amanda Stretton set foot in the paddock of Sebring International Raceway for the first time as a race driver last month, she brought with her a helmet bag full of emotions and admitted she faced a self-proclaimed “tall mountain” of challenges.
As a rookie in the American Le Mans Series and its season opener, the 52nd Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, the 30-year-old racer from Oxford, UK welcomed the steep learning curve. She was familiar with Sebring as a broadcaster. She had covered the event for the American Le Mans Series Radio Web broadcast in 2001 and as a pit reporter for Speed Channel in 2002. But this time, she was in embarking on fresh territory as a race car driver. This would be an all-new experience not only for Stretton, but her fellow rookie teammates, Christopher Stockton and Gareth Evans, as well. Adding to the challenge, they arrived at Sebring with a new chassis, the #91 British-built TVR Tuscan 400R entered by Chamberlain-Synergy Motorsport in the GT class.
Stretton and her comrades were nevertheless upbeat, yet philosophical, as they approached their first start (qualifying 12th in GT) in America’s oldest sports car race. “To have come here as a bunch of rookies in a car we haven’t had any time to test in, and to finish would be a testament,” Stretton said. “We don’t have any expectations of ourselves; we are just happy to be here.”
The 12 hours of racing ahead would test the drivers and car as Stretton and her teammates would face numerous mechanical woes, contact with another car and a brutally hot cockpit during the heat of the day. During one of Stretton’s stints late in the race, she found trouble looming at Turn 17, the fastest corner on the 3.7-mile circuit. “As dusk was falling, I was coming to the end of my session, when, going into turn 17, my steering collapsed,” Stretton said. “I have never been so shaken. After nearly two hours in the car, you are really in a rhythm so when something breaks, it gives you a real wake-up call. Fortunately, there was no (severe) damage and with 3-1/2 wheels, I limped back into the pits for repairs.”
Twelve hours later, Stretton and her co-drivers had achieved their goal. They had made it to the top of the Sebring mountain, finishing the historic race (24th overall and 12th in the GT class). “Sebring was quite an experience,” a happy Stretton said afterwards. “We did go on to finish, which under the circumstances was an achievement I am very proud of. But we were a little disappointed to have been so far back. Now, the goal is to finish where we should have - in the top-six (in class).”
In a career that began at the age of 13 driving Motor X bikes, one of Stretton’s dreams was to race in the British GT. She more than achieved that goal last August, when she and Liz Halliday became the first woman tandem-team to win a round of the British GT Championship in the Spa 1000 in Belgium.
As an endurance racer, The 12 Hours of Sebring was always right there at the top of her list of challenges. “I’m so further ahead than I really ever expected I might be,” Stretton said, who also co-drove a TVR to ninth in class in the Le Mans 1000K at the Bugatti circuit in France last November. “You know, it’s your dream to come to Le Mans or Sebring and race at that level but you never really expect to get there. Yet, suddenly you are.”
Stretton has yet another mountain in her sights; to compete at the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. “I can’t wait to go to Le Mans, just as I couldn’t wait to come to Sebring,” Stretton said. “Getting to Le Mans is the highest pinnacle I can possibly have and racing at Sebring is the equivalent in America.”
Stretton plans to test at Pre-Qualifying and then hopes to compete at Le Mans with a two-car team. She would like for one team to be an all-female effort, an idea that almost materialized for Sebring but had to be shelved due to a last-minute sponsorship withdrawal. “As a commentator (covering the ALMS), I always thought there is no reason why three women can’t be competitive,” Stretton explained. “Endurance racing is about stamina, it’s about maintaining high levels of concentration, about being consistent. I’d love to see more women doing it. So, I hope this project is something that goes on. It’s meant to be empowering; it’s meant to be different. It’s meant to say to everyone, ‘look, it’s possible.’”
In her personal life, Stretton dotes on her daughter, 16-month old Mia. “I can honestly say, hand on heart, without wanting to be soppy about it, my life is enriched by knowing Mia,” the proud mother said. “Her enthusiasm for learning and absorbing what’s going on around her has given me a different perspective on life. I feel I’m a better person for knowing her.”
And in what spare time she has, Stretton loves to cook. “I’m actually a bit of a secret gourmet,” she admits. “I don’t really have a best dish because I always keep changing things. At the moment, I’m on North African flavors. I just wish I had more time in my nine-day week.”
For the immediate future, Amanda Stretton hopes to continue competing in the American Le Mans series this season. She has her eye on conquering more tall mountains.
