2012 Grand Prix's Only Female Driver Spends Time With Baltimore School Students
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- With the Grand Prix of Baltimore just a few days away, the drivers and their crews are arriving in town.
Mike Schuh caught up with the only woman in this year's race.
Last year's Rookie of the Year, Simona de Silvestro, is called the fastest woman on earth. She has driven the white and green No. 78 for two years.
She arrived in Baltimore on Wednesday via perhaps the slowest transport-- a boat. Her destination? A class of middle school leaders at the Living Classrooms.
"And she's come to Living Classrooms and the Crossroads School to talk a little bit about science, technology and math," the president of Living Classrooms, James Piper Bond, said.
Student: "Where is your racetrack going to be?"
De Silvestro: "My racetrack is going to be right in the city."
Student: "Do you pray before a race?"
De Silvestro: "Yeah, more for the safety."
Student: "Are you scared you're going to crash?"
De Silvestro: "No. If you are doing a sport and you are scared, I don't think you should be doing it."
Last year, after running well, a bad pit stop left her in 11th at the finish. But she loves our town.
"I like coming to Baltimore. It's beautiful, right on the harbor. Stay downtown, mix with local people," she said.
And as any modern driver worth their logos will tell you, sharing what they know and who they are comes with the territory.
"Racing and horseback racing are the only two sports where males and females compete against each other," de Silvestro said. "So I think, as a role model, it's important to have a dream and achieve it, to focus to try to achieve it."
For more information about the Grand Prix of Baltimore, click here.
