Hannah’s Story
My interest in racing started when I was only 4 years old, my dad decided to get my mom and I go-karts for a Mother’s Day gift, although it was a gift for my mom it was really the best gift I’ve ever received. From the first day I hit the track I was hooked, sadly I wasn’t old enough at the time to officially race so I made my parents promise me when I turned 5 that I could race my go-kart. They thought I would forget that promise, but I did not, the day of my 5th birthday the first thing I said was “I want to race my go kart.”
I loved being at the track even if it was 35 degrees and wanting to snow, because all I wanted to do was turn laps and become better with each session. After a couple years of club racing along with a few national races my parents decided to take me to the next step in 2013 and put me in a “international” winter series although it was still based in the US. At first, I got discouraged because I wasn’t at the top like I was at the club races but by the end of that winter tour season I was running solidly in the top 10. When my 2013 club season started you could clearly see the progress I had achieved from the international races. At the end of the season, I won a ticket to be a member of Team USA for the 2013 Rotax Grand Finals.
As the years passed, I became more and more committed to mastering my craft in karting. I had always been fast but being a girl, I was pushed around on track a little too much. With the help of my coaches Bonnier Moulton and Mike Beeny I was able to learn more race craft to better help me hold my ground, and when I was still missing a little aggression one of my karting heroes, Ashley Rogero, helped teach me how to fight back against the boys on track. Once I got the respect I deserved on track the results started to follow.
In 2021 I had my best and my most challenging season to that point in my career, after suffering a rib injury just two races into the season I was forced to prioritize healing my ribs over wanting to race as much as possible. For years I wanted to be a SKUSA Protour champion and 2021 was no exception. My focus was to get myself healthy enough to compete for the championship, even with the weakly PT appointments I would still arrive to the track knowing that I couldn’t hit curbs like others, or I would instantly cause myself pain. That season taught me to adapt and overcome. With a win (first female to win a SKUSA Protour main event) and some consistent finishes, I was in a three-way fight for the championship with teammates heading to the final round. Heading into the final day, I was in a lot of pain, but I asked myself how bad I wanted it. Needless to say all the normal curbs were hit on the final day, but it was all worth it when I crossed the finish line and got the scale line where I was told I had just become the X30 senior SKUSA Protour champion, making me the first female to win a SKUSA Protour championship in a premier class.
The next logical step was moving into cars, so 2022 was a building year with both some kart races but also some F4 testing. The 2023 season marked my first-year racing F4 cars, it was a year of learning and progression leading to a test at the end of the year with The Heart of Racing where I won a once in a lifetime opportunity to race Aston Martin GT4 cars with them for the 2024 season. Making the most of the opportunity my teammate, Hannah Grisham and I, were able to collect one win, two 2nd place finishes, three 3rd place finishes, and two hard charger awards.
I look forward to what the future brings, hopefully it includes reaching my goals of one day winning the 24hrs of Le Mans, 24hrs of Daytona, and a IMSA Sportscar championship.