Ana "Bia" Beatriz Caselato Gomes de Figueiredo, or Bia Figueiredo (born March 18, 1985) is a Brazilian

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

. She won her first Indy Lights race at

Nashville Superspeedway Nashville Superspeedway is a tri-oval intermediate speedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. The track has held a variety of racing events since its opening in 2001, including NASCAR and the IndyCar Series. It is currently owned by Speedway Motorsport ...

on 12 July 2008, becoming the first woman to win a race in the Indy Lights series.IndyCar.com. (12 July 2008
History -- Again
''IndyCar''. Accessed 12 July 2008. On June 20, 2009, Bia won her second Indy Lights race and became the first woman to win a race car event at

Iowa Speedway Iowa Speedway is a oval short track in Newton, Iowa. Since its inaugural season of racing in 2006, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, including events sanctioned by NASCAR and IndyCar. NASCAR has owned the facility since 2013, wi ...

in Newton, Iowa.DesMoinesRegister.com. (20 June 2009

''Des Moines Register''. Accessed 20 June 2009.

Career

Early career

Ana started her career in

karting Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motor ...

races. Initially funded by her family, "Bianinha" ("Little Bia") began kart racing at age eight.Wagner, Phillip. (30 July 2008
Is Bia Brazil's Danica Patrick (Part 1)
''Motorsport.com''. Accessed 31 July 2008. At the age of 12, racing coach Nailor Campos, former coach of racers

Tony Kanaan Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed "TK", is a Brazilian racing driver who is the team principal of Arrow McLaren. He is best known for racing in Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) from 1998 to 2002, an ...

Rubens Barrichello Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for Full Time Sports. Nicknamed "Rubinho" (), Barrichello competed in Formula One fro ...

Enrique Bernoldi Enrique Antônio Langue e Silvério de Bernoldi (; born 19 October 1978) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who raced for the Arrows Formula One team in 2001 and 2002, and was the test driver for British American Racing (later Honda) be ...

and Andre Ribeiro, became her coach and chief mechanic. When Bia's family could no longer fund her racing endeavors at the age of 15, Campos helped her attain sponsorship from the Medley pharmaceutical company, owned by former racer Xandy (Pollini) Negrão, father of racer

Alexandre Sarnes Negrão Alexandre Sarnes Negrão (; born October 14, 1985), better known as Xande Negrão and nicknamed ''Xandinho'', is a Brazilian entrepreneur and race car driver. He raced in the first three seasons of the GP2 Series, all with the Piquet Sports team, ...

. With formal sponsorship, Bia finished as runner-up in a variety of karting championships and won the Sorriso Petrobrás Kart Cup championship in 2003. After three seasons in the Brazilian

Formula Renault Formula Renault are classes of formula racing popular in Europe and elsewhere. Regarded as an entry-level series to auto racing, motor racing, it was founded in 1971, and was a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before mov ...

championship, Ana started competing in

Formula Three Sudamericana Fórmula 3 Sudamericana was a South American Formula Three championship. It was inaugurated in 1987 and primarily held races in Brazil and Argentina, with a small number of events held in other countries across the continent. Its most notable ...

in 2006, driving for the well-established Cesario Formula team. In 2006, she also drove a

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

Volkswagen Touareg The Volkswagen Touareg (German pronunciation: ) is a Luxury car, mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by Volkswagen since 2002. The vehicle is named after the nomadic Tuareg people, inhabitants of the Sahara desert, Saharan interior in North A ...

for PPD Sports, owned by

Pedro Diniz Pedro Paulo Falleiros dos Santos Diniz (; born 22 May 1970) is a Brazilian former racing driver, businessman and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in São Paulo, Diniz began karting aged 18 and achi ...

2008

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, Bia began racing in the American

Firestone Indy Lights Series Indy NXT (pronounced "Indy Next"), previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as INDY NXT by Firestone for sponsorship reasons. Indy NXT is the highest step on the Road ...

for defending championship-winning team

Sam Schmidt Motorsports The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren, competing as Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team due to sponsorship, is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports (SSM). The team operates the N ...

under the name Ana Beatriz.Knapp Schilke, Nancy. (1 January 2008
Schmidt gives opportunity to Beatriz-Figueiredo
''Motorsport.com''. Accessed 1 January 2008. Prior to racing in the United States, she was referred to as "Bia", not "Ana", and many people, including Bia herself, continue to call her "Bia". Several American reporters have begun to use the name Ana "Bia" Beatriz in their written articles. Bia placed fifth in the

Firestone Freedom 100 The Freedom 100 was an automobile race held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, as part of the Indy Lights. The event was a support race for the IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500, and since 2005, it was held on the Fr ...

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

on 23 May 2008, the highest finishing position by a female driver in that race.Lewandowski, Dave. (1 January 2008
Battistini holds off Antinucci at the Yard of Bricks
''IndyCar''. Accessed 24 May 2008. On 12 July 2008, she led the most laps and won her first Indy Lights race at

. With the excitement surrounding Bia's victory a reporter asked if she was the next

Danica Patrick Danica Sue Patrick (; born March 25, 1982) is an American former professional racing driver and model. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel car racing—her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win ...

. She responded "Everybody is making that comparison... But I always say that I'm always going to be Bia. I'm never going to be Danica... I hope there is a place for a Bia now."

2008 Awards

The results she demonstrated on and off the track gained the attention of many, and as a result, she was awarded the

Tony Renna Anthony James Renna (November 23, 1976 – October 22, 2003) was an American racing driver who competed in Indy Lights and the IndyCar Series, Indy Racing League (IRL) from 1998 to 2003. Renna began competitive racing at the age of six, winning ...

Rising Star Award. Named after the late driver, the award was given to Beatriz for demonstrating qualities as Renna—teamwork, physical fitness, and resourcefulness. Also, her third-place result in the final championship standings earned her "Rookie of the Year" honors and places her in a position to be a championship contender in 2009.

2009

Bia returned to the #20 Sam Schmidt car for

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. She was forced to miss the

Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectat ...

race due to a lack of funding caused by a hard crash in the

Freedom 100 The Freedom 100 was an automobile race held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, as part of the Indy NXT, Indy Lights. The event was a Card (sports)#Undercard, support race for the IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500, and ...

the prior week. However, a week later she won the race at the

, her second series win. She also skipped the final race of the season due to funding issues. She finished 8th in points despite missing the two races.

2010

Bia's official Portuguese language site revealed on 23 February 2010 that she will drive a third car for

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American automotive racing organization that competes in the IndyCar Series and Nitrocross. The team is owned by Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen, Mini (marque), MINI, and Subaru dealer D ...

in the

São Paulo Indy 300 The Itaipava São Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestlé was an event in the IRL IndyCar Series, contested in the 2010 through 2013 IndyCar Series seasons. The event was originally announced on November 25, 2009, as the first championship event f ...

in March 2010.BiaFigueiredo.com (23 February 2010
Fórmula Indy: Ana Beatriz fecha com a equipe Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
''BiaFigueiredo.com''. Accessed 23 February 2010. Further participation in the

2010 IndyCar Series season The 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series was the 15th season of the IndyCar Series, and the 99th recognized season of top-level American open wheel racing. It was the series' first of six planned seasons under Izod title sponsorship, a multimillion-dolla ...

was confirmed and announced on May 12, 2010. Bia qualified for the

2010 Indianapolis 500 The 94th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 30, 2010. It was the 15th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and was the premier event of the 2010 IndyCar Series season, 2010 ...

on the outside of row seven with a four–lap average of 224.243 MPH and finished in 21st position after retiring on the final lap of the race, as she was involved in an accident with

Ryan Hunter-Reay Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is an American professional racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. He currently competes part-time in the IndyC ...

and teammate

Mike Conway Michael Robert Conway (born 19 August 1983) is a British professional racing driver. He lives in Sevenoaks, Kent and is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Motorsport GmbH, Toyota Gazoo Racing. Early caree ...

. In December, she won the second race of the Brazilian karting event,

Desafio Internacional das Estrelas The Desafio Internacional das Estrelas ("International Challenge of the Stars" in Portuguese language, Portuguese) is an annual charity kart racing, kart race organised by Felipe Massa since 2005. The first edition was held on Kartódromo Toca da ...

. Bia became a fan favorite in the event as she went from her starting position of 11th to 1st, overtaking experienced drivers such as

Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (; born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for TMG Racing, TMG and in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Riley Technologies, Riley. Massa competed in Formula One from to , and w ...

and

in the process. She ended 4th in the final standings despite scoring the same number of points as the winner,

Lucas di Grassi Lucas Tucci di Grassi (born 11 August 1984) is a Brazilian racing driver, who competes in Formula E for Lola Yamaha ABT. In formula racing, di Grassi competed in Formula One in , and won the 2016–17 Formula E Championship with Abt. In endu ...

(it was a four-way tie).

2011

For the

2011 IndyCar Series season The 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series was the 16th season of the IndyCar Series and the 100th recognized season of American open-wheel motor racing. The season was sanctioned by IndyCar and was part of the Mazda Road to Indy. The season began in March ...

she competed full-time for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in the #24 car. Bia broke her wrist in the opening laps of the first race at St. Petersburg causing her to miss the next race and requiring her to compete with a brace for the large part of the season.

2012

On March 8, 2012, Bia tested for

Andretti Autosport Andretti Global is an American motorsports organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, Indy NXT, Formula E, and joint entries in IMSA and the Australian Supercars Championship. Starting in 2026, Andretti will also operate the Cad ...

, driving

James Hinchcliffe James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadian race car driver currently competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship driving the No. 9 Lamborghini for Pfaff Motorsports. He is also a commentator for Fox Sports, FOX Sp ...

's car #27 during a session of the open test at Sebring, with an eye to her running that team's fourth car at April's

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...

event in her home town of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. On April 5 it was announced that she would compete in the 2012 São Paulo and Indianapolis races for

with assistance from Conquest Racing.

2014–present

In 2014, De Figueiredo began competing in

Stock Car Brasil The BRB Stock Car Pro Series, formerly known as Stock Car Brasil, is a touring car racing, touring car auto racing series based in Brazil organized by Vicar. It is considered the major Brazilian and South American motorsports series. Starting in ...

. Competing in around 120 races, she scored two top-five race finishes and a best championship result of 24th in 2018 before taking maternal leave. De Figueiredo returned to racing full-time in 2023 via the

Copa Truck The Copa Truck is a Brazilian auto racing series, composed of trucks prepared for race. The category replaced the Fórmula Truck series in 2017. History The origin of the category came after nine teams left Formula Truck because of disagreeme ...

series. In June 2020, De Figuereido's husband and father-in-law were charged with

embezzling Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

BR$9 million from the Lagos Rio Health Institute, around a sixth of which was alleged to have funded her career in Stock Car Brasil.

Motorsports career results

American open–wheel results

( key)

Indy Lights

IndyCar Series

Indianapolis 500

Complete Stock Car Brasil results

^† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as she completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

* *
Ana Beatriz
at IndyCar.com
Torcida Bia Figueiredo fan site

IndyCar 11 in '11 video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beatriz, Ana Living people 1985 births Racing drivers from São Paulo Brazilian racing drivers Brazilian female racing drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers IndyCar Series drivers Brazilian IndyCar Series drivers Female IndyCar Series drivers Indy Lights drivers Formula 3 Sudamericana drivers Brazilian Formula Renault 2.0 drivers A1 Grand Prix Rookie drivers Stock Car Brasil drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Brazilian WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers Arrow McLaren SP drivers Dreyer & Reinbold Racing drivers Dale Coyne Racing drivers Conquest Racing drivers Meyer Shank Racing drivers Andretti Autosport drivers TCR South America Touring Car Championship drivers