The Heart of Racing Team have announced the two winners of their female talent search. Hannah Grisham of the United States, and Rianna O’Meara-Hunt of New Zealand, emerged as the top two talents and both have been rewarded with a full-season racing opportunity in the Pirelli GT4 America series.
Grisham and O’Meara-Hunt will share driving duties aboard The Heart of Racing’s Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 next season in the SRO America-sanctioned series, which begins on the weekend of 31 March-April 2 at Sonoma Raceway in California.
Over 100 women applied to take part in Heart of Racing’s talent search, with nine finalists invited to the APEX Motor Club in Phoenix, Arizona for two days of evaluations. The two-day event saw the drivers spend significant track time aboard, and learning how best to use the Pirelli P Zero racing tyres in both qualifying and race simulations. Team principal and driver Ian James, Alex Riberas, Roman de Angelis, sporting director Paul Charlsley, and 2022 GT World Challenge America Pro-Am Champion, Ashton Harrison lent their respective experiences to work with each of the finalists on and off track.
Originally, the plan was to select one talent for a GT4 America drive, but the exemplary performances of Grisham and O’Meara-Hunt led The Heart of Racing Team to reward them both with their GT4 racing debuts.
“All of the drivers did an incredible job in the car, which made our decision that much more difficult,” said James. “It was important for us to see growth over the two days, someone who was willing to take in the feedback and apply it on the track – and all of the drivers did this exceptionally well.”
“Both Hannah and Rianna were very open to learning, they reached out for help and feedback and were focused on the task at hand. We had originally intended to bring one driver on, but it was clear after reviewing everyone’s performance through the event, that pairing these two in Pirelli GT4 America was the best solution and we are pretty excited to be able to offer both of them this opportunity to race together.”
California native Grisham made the leap from karting to Spec Miata racing when she was 16 years of age. Competing in select Mazda MX-5 Cup races and the World Racing League (WRL), Grisham is a member of the Shift Up Now programme, which aims to help advance the careers of women in North American motorsport.
“Getting this opportunity means everything to me,” said Grisham. “The whole team has been amazing and they truly care about what they stand for. It really just feels like a big family and I’m excited for that. I think this opportunity is a great new step for me to enter a competitive series that will push me.”
O’Meara-Hunt, from Wellington, will make her North American racing debut after carving out a successful national karting career, and competing in the New Zealand Toyota 86 Championship with The Heart of Racing.
“To be selected for this drive next year is a dream come true, I am speechless but also so proud of the achievement,” said O’Meara-Hunt. “Myself and a great number of supporters back home in NZ had put in a lot of hard work before the test to prepare and it is awesome that it has all payed off. I am happy not only for myself, but also for all the people that really got in behind me.”
“Through my karting career I made sure to have people around me who felt like family, so to now be apart of and drive for The Heart of Racing family is such a privilege – this is exactly the way they operate – it’s a perfect fit! “I am very excited to be able to drive alongside Hannah, I felt we gelled really well at the test. With the experience of The Heart of Racing, we will have the right tools and team behind us to perform – the rest is up to us!”
In addition, 17-year-old Annie Rhule, an accomplished kart racer from Pittsburgh, has also been given a testing programme with The Heart of Racing Team as they continue to review her growth behind the wheel of a sports car.
Images © The Heart of Racing
