Heimgartner joins Girls on Track program
Kelly Grove Racing driver Andre Heimgartner has stressed the importance of showing young women the different pathways into motorsport.
More than 40 schoolgirls at Launceston's Riverside High School on Friday took part in the latest edition of the FIA Girls on Track program.
There, Heimgartner attended as a guest coach at the event, which is part of Motorsport Australia;s initiative.
Heimgartner facilitated simulator sessions and a fitness workshop during the half-day event for girls aged 12 to 18.
"It’s really cool program by Motorsport Australia," Heimgartner told Supercars.com.
"I do a lot with Driving Solutions as a coach, and they facilitate the event; so I went along to help out.
"It’s great to get girls into motorsport, I really like to get involved.
"I mostly did fitness and reaction sessions; with the kids, it’s making sure they are having fun but also making them aware of the career paths into the sport for women."
It was the third event in 2021 following the postponement of the workshop in Melbourne.
The program continues to deliver opportunities for young girls to gain an understanding of the different elements of motorsport.
Participants took part in pit stop and STEM challenges, and spent time on the simulator before undertaking a fitness workshop with light reaction training.
Heimgartner, who won Race 9 at the OTR SuperSprint in May, says it's important for girls to interact with all aspects of the sport.
"It's important for them to know it’s not just about being drivers but as mechanics, engineers, physios; anything," he explained.
"To see more young karters coming through would be awesome and to see some female Supercar drivers too.
"It’s a tough sport, but of course, I want to see more women involved.
"There are so many jobs that women can do and use their strengths, there are lots of areas where they can be quite strong.
"At Kelly Grove we have quite a lot in the commercial area and the person I report to is a female, so it’s cool in that way.
"We have Shannen [Kiely] who runs Erebus Motorsport, we’ve got Jess Dane at Triple Eight, we’ve got some really cool females doing some great stuff; so the more they can get involved, the better.”
Elenah Rankin, who began karting last year, attended her first Girls on Track program at Riverside High School.
"I had the best day, it was so fun," Rankin told Supercars.com.
"I was so happy to see my friends form karting and really loved the simulator.
"I wish Molly and Jess could have been there but they did a video message for us. Andre and everyone else that helped were so nice and I can't wait to do it again."
Heimgartner also lent his coaching skills to the Ricciardo's Racers programs at Baskerville Raceway and Symmons Plains.
The program for children aged 12 to 17 demonstrated the basics of motorsport through exercises provided in cars on a closed track.
"It's always cool to see the young kids there, ranging from go karters, to kids that have driven Excels or never driven before," Heimgartner added.
"It’s really cool to give them that experience and to show them the different areas they can get involved in and show them some cool things on the car.
"The opportunity to drive a Ford Mustang that Ford provide us is so cool.
"A 13 or 14-year-old doesn’t normally get to jump in a V8 and give it some around a skid pan."
Speaking to the benefits for him as a driver and coach, Heimgartner admitted there remain advantages for him both on and off-track.
"It’s always good to be around motorsport, anytime you can drive anything on the limit and have fun is good,” he continued.
"It’s mainly a satisfaction thing, it’s cool to give back to the sport and pass on the enthusiasm for the sport, that’s what it’s all about."
Heimgartner will resume his 2021 campaign at this weekend's NTI Townsville 500. Tickets are available here.
The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo, and will be broadcast live and free on Seven.
