The Pink Arrows are a new force to be reckoned with in the motorsport world as Africa’s first all-female endurance race team! They are gearing up for their debut at the largest motorsports event this weekend where they will see outdated narratives eat dust.
South Africa (27 October 2023) — Gearing up for their debut at the largest motorsports event in Africa is the Pink Arrows — Africa’s first all-female endurance race team who are letting outdated narratives eat dust.
As the sisters, girlfriends and wives of the all-male Silver Arrows Team, the Pink Arrows opted to move from the supportive sidelines, full speed ahead, to race alongside them instead.
The team consists of BeauAnn Hegyi (a Charted Accountant), Jo-Anne Gibbon (who works in film and is a yoga teacher), Lea-Anne Massey-Hicks (who runs her own interior design business) and Natalie Weston, the squad’s ‘Lady Stig’ who is now a driving instructor after a career as a stunt driver.
Together, the arrows united to target two important goals in a single speed: having adrenaline-inducing fun together while driving women’s interest in motorsport further.
“We are pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones and whilst we’re doing it we are shifting perceptions about the capabilities of female drivers,” Jo-Anne Gibbon tells Good Things Guy.
“The age old narrative is that women are bad drivers but as our teammate Natalie Weston says, ‘Women have a natural finesse behind the steering wheel and that’s what a car likes, it doesn’t matter if you’re in a race car or a normal car on the road’.”
The Pink Arrows will take part in the largest motorsport event on the continent this weekend: The MF Autobody 24 Hours of iLamuna. Yes, that ’24 Hours’ is quite literal as racers will lap the circuit for a full day’s length on Saturday and Sunday at the Redstar Raceway, just shy of Delmas.
“The Pink Arrows aim to be driving in two to three hour relay stints for 24 hours. It’s a daunting prospect but luckily women have a high pain threshold,” says Jo-Anne.
“We have to keep lapping decent times and keep the car on the track (and out of the pits) as much as possible,” she adds.
Fabulous, fierce and ready to rumble, this squad’s message and momentum couldn’t be more on point.
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