Bia Beatriz - Futo Anyoji

Ana “Bia” Beatriz Caselato Gomes de Figueiredo, or Bia Figueiredo is a female Brasilian racer born in 1985. In 2008, she participated in her first Indy Lights series, the Firestone Indy Lights series, and won the race at Nashville Superspeedway, which catapulted her to fame as the first female to win a race in the Indy Lights series. As is commonly expected, she will probably have had difficulty through her career because it seems that males have been dominant in the racing circuits. People tend to focus on the fact she is a female racer, but she may not like it. In the interview after her first win at Nashville Superspeedway, asked if it was special to her to become the first woman to be the top at that kind of race, she emphasized the importance of being successful as a Brazilian racer, not as a female racer. It may be that we, spectators, still remain to be biased as long as we admire her for being the first woman.