Ana Beatriz
Ana Beatriz Caselato Gomes de Figueiredo | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ana Beatriz Caselato Gomes de Figueiredo March 18, 1985 Brazil |
| Occupation | Racing driver |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Known for | First female to win an Indy Lights race; participation in IndyCar Series and Stock Car Brasil |
Ana Beatriz Caselato Gomes de Figueiredo, commonly referred to as Ana Beatriz or Bia Figueiredo (born March 18, 1985), is a professional racing driver from Brazil. She has participated in both the IndyCar Series and Stock Car Brasil, and holds the distinction of being the first female to secure a victory in an Indy Lights race.
Early years
De Figueiredo started kart racing at the age of eight. By the time she was 12, she was under the guidance of Nailor Campos, who had previously coached prominent drivers including Tony Kanaan and Rubens Barrichello. When financial support from her family ended at age 15, Campos arranged sponsorship from Medley, a pharmaceutical firm owned by former racer Xandy Negrão.
With this sponsorship, she achieved runner-up positions in several karting championships and captured the Sorriso Petrobrás Kart Cup title in 2003.
Following three seasons competing in the Brazilian Formula Renault series, De Figueiredo progressed to Formula Three Sudamericana in 2006 with Cesario Formula. Additionally, that year she piloted a Volkswagen Touareg for PPD Sports, a team owned by ex-Formula One driver Pedro Diniz.
2008
In the 2008 season, De Figueiredo competed in the American Indy Lights Series driving for defending champions Sam Schmidt Motorsports, using the name Ana Beatriz. This shift from her previous nickname "Bia" led to some confusion in media coverage.
She achieved a fifth-place finish at the Freedom 100 held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 23, 2008, marking the best result by a female competitor in that event. On July 12, 2008, she led the majority of laps and secured her inaugural Indy Lights victory at Nashville Superspeedway, becoming the first woman to win an Indy Lights race.
Her accomplishments earned her both Rookie of the Year honors and the Tony Renna Rising Star Award.
2009
De Figueiredo returned to drive car #20 for Sam Schmidt Motorsports during the 2009 campaign. After missing the race at the Milwaukee Mile due to a crash in the preceding week's Freedom 100, she claimed her second Indy Lights win on June 20, 2009, at Iowa Speedway. Financial constraints forced her to forgo the final race of the season, resulting in an eighth-place finish in the overall standings despite missing two events.
2010
On February 23, 2010, De Figueiredo’s official Portuguese website announced her participation driving a third car for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the upcoming São Paulo Indy 300 scheduled for March. Her involvement in additional rounds of the 2010 IndyCar Series season was confirmed on May 12. She qualified for the prestigious 2010 Indianapolis 500, but was caught up in a last-lap collision involving Ryan Hunter-Reay and teammate Mike Conway.
2011
During the 2011 IndyCar Series season, she competed full-time with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing behind the wheel of car #24. Early in the season at St. Petersburg, De Figueiredo sustained a wrist fracture that caused her to miss one race and required her to compete with a brace for much of that year.
2012
On March 8, 2012, De Figueiredo participated in a test session with Andretti Autosport, piloting James Hinchcliffe's #27 vehicle at Sebring as part of preparations to field a fourth car for the April race in São Paulo. It was confirmed on April 5 that she would take part in the 2012 São Paulo and Indianapolis events representing Andretti Autosport, with backing from Conquest Racing.
Stock Car Brasil
De Figueiredo commenced her involvement in Stock Car Brasil in 2014. Throughout approximately 120 starts, she secured two top-five placements and attained her highest championship standing of 24th in 2018 before pausing for maternity leave. She made a full return to competitive racing in 2023, competing in the Copa Truck series.
In June 2020, legal charges were brought against De Figueiredo’s husband and father-in-law for allegedly embezzling BR$9 million from the Lagos Rio Health Institute, with accusations that some of these funds were utilized to finance her career in Stock Car Brasil.
Career summary
| Season | Series | Position | Team | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Formula Renault 2.0 Brazil | 11th | Cesário Fórmula | Tatuus-Renault FR2000 |
| 2004 | Formula Renault 2.0 Brazil | 5th | Bassani Racing | Tatuus-Renault FR2000 |
| 2005 | Formula Renault 2.0 Brazil | 3rd | Cesário Fórmula | Tatuus-Renault FR2000 |
| 2006 | Formula 3 Sudamericana | 5th | Cesário Fórmula | Dallara-Berta F301 |
| 2008 | Indy Lights | 3rd | Sam Schmidt Motorsports | Dallara IP2 |
| 2009 | Indy Lights | 5th | Sam Schmidt Motorsports | Dallara IP2 |
| 2010 | IndyCar Series | 30th | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | Dallara IR-05 |
| 2011 | IndyCar Series | 21st | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | Dallara-Honda IR-05 |
| 2012 | IndyCar Series | 29th | Andretti Autosport | Dallara-Chevrolet DW12 |
| 2013 | IndyCar Series | 29th | Dale Coyne Racing | Dallara-Honda DW12 |
| 2014 | Stock Car Brasil | 32nd | ProGP | Chevrolet Sonic |
| 2015 | Stock Car Brasil | 32nd | Bassani Racing | Peugeot 408 |
| 2016 | Stock Car Brasil | 26th | Bassani Racing | Peugeot 408 |
| 2017 | Stock Car Brasil | 29th | Full Time Sports | Chevrolet Cruze |
| 2018 | Stock Car Brasil | 24th | A.Mattheis Motorsport | Chevrolet Cruze |
| 2019 | (IMSA SportsCar Championship – GTD) | (16th) | (Meyer Shank Racing) | (Acura NSX GT3) |
| (Stock Car Brasil) | (25th) | (A.Mattheis Motorsport) | (Chevrolet Cruze) | |
| 2021 | (IMSA SportsCar Championship – GTD) | (51st) | (Earl Bamber Motorsport) | (Porsche 911 (991.2) GT3 R) |
| 2022 | (TCR South America Touring Car Championship) | (17th) | (Cobra Racing Team / Crown Racing) | (Audi RS 3 LMS TCR / Honda Civic Type R TCR FK8) |
| 2023 | (Copa Truck) | 3rd) | (ASG Motorsport) | (Mercedes-Benz Actros) |
| 2024 | (Copa Truck) | 1st) | (ASG Motorsport) | (Mercedes-Benz Actros) |
| 2025 | (Copa Truck) | (
|
(ASG Motorsport) | (Mercedes-Benz Actros) |
American Open-Wheel Performance
(key)
Indy Lights
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final Position | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Sam Schmidt Motorsports | HMS 7 |
STP1 3 |
STP2 16 |
KAN 14 |
INDY 5 |
MIL 19 |
IOW 3 |
WGL1 4 |
WGL2 3 |
NSH 1 |
MOH1 14 |
MOH2 5 |
KTY 16 |
SNM1 6 |
SNM2 3 |
CHI 2 |
3rd | 449 |
| 2009 | Sam Schmidt Motorsports | STP1 4 |
STP2 23 |
LBH 5 |
KAN 4 |
INDY 17 |
<style="background:#FFFFBF;">IOW 1 |
WGL 9 |
TOR 13 |
EDM 12 |
KTY 3 |
MOH 12 |
SNM < small >5 < / small > |
CHI < br > < small >14 < / small > | HMS | 8th | 320 |
IndyCar Series
Years !! Teams !! Races !! Poles !! Wins !! Podiums - 4 ||3 ||29 ||0 ||0 ||0 ||0 ||0 ||0 ||
Indianapolis 500
Full Stock Car Brasil results
† Although the driver did not complete the race, classification was granted for completing more than 90% of the total distance. Complete IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results(Template:Motorsport driver results legend#key) (Bolded race names signify pole position) (Italicized races indicate fastest lap)
External links
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- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- Living people
- 1985 births
- Racing drivers from São Paulo
- Brazilian racing drivers
- Brazilian female racing drivers
- Indianapolis 500 drivers
- IndyCar Series drivers
- Brazilian IndyCar Series drivers
- Female IndyCar Series drivers
- Indy Lights drivers
- Formula 3 Sudamericana drivers
- Brazilian Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
- A1 Grand Prix Rookie drivers
- Stock Car Brasil drivers
- 24 Hours of Daytona drivers
- Brazilian WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
- Arrow McLaren SP drivers
- Dreyer & Reinbold Racing drivers
- Dale Coyne Racing drivers
- Conquest Racing drivers
- Meyer Shank Racing drivers
- Andretti Autosport drivers
- TCR South America Touring Car Championship drivers