HIGHLY GIFTED Sara Misir is a young motorsports sensation who at the age of 24 is most certainly living life in the fast lane.

Sara made history this year becoming the Caribbean’s first Formula Woman finalist and is part of the Formula Woman team competing at the 2022 GT Cup Championship.

Whilst racing her way around the globe, next up at Donnington Park is September 17 – 18, Sara also studies architecture in Florida.

Matthew Chadder spoke with Sara about her story and the history she is creating

How did your love affair with motorsports begin?

It was a rough start. I used to compete internationally in equestrian and that was my first passion but whilst training, I got into an accident with my horse where I got kicked in the face and cracked my skull in half. In November of the same year, I fell off the horse again and broke my shoulder in half.

My dad gave me a go kart and said let’s just give horseback riding a small break, and I fell in love with go karting. At the same time, I hated it, because I went from a sport where I was a pro into something where I knew nothing, and it was very competitive. It was hard, but I had a passion for the adrenaline, the head-to-head racing, using your mind, it’s more than just how fast the car can go. It is race craft, like a chess match.

With the adversity you’ve had to face do you think it is that competitive mindset that you possess that helps you to overcome these obstacles?

One hundred per cent! I have a very diverse background in sports. When I was in high school, I used to play about seven different sports, from football, to volleyball, swimming, tennis, any clubs that there were I would join it. I’ve always wanted to balance both team sports and individual sports. So, I think having that diversity of different types of training, different types of coaches has really allowed me to appreciate the competitiveness and to have a good perspective of it.

You’re also pursuing a degree in architecture, how do you find that you juggle the two efficiently?

It’s not easy. I would say that your work ethic and your dedication is what leads you to your characteristics, your habits are your character. So, if you apply and work on your habits and good habits, that becomes who you are. So that is how I juggle balancing and being organised and being able to finish my homework ahead of time so that when I do have racing, I can take that weekend off and not worry about falling behind in school.

Do you enjoy living out of a suitcase or do you hope to have more of a base in the foreseeable future?

I do love the feeling of home and my trick is that no matter where I go, even if it’s for one night, I set up the hotel room as it was in my bedroom. It kind of allows me to familiarise myself a little bit with the place.

What’s a long-term life goal?

I try not to set any distinctive goals for myself, because I’ve found that that makes me short sighted, it’s more of working on myself. I want to be the best in my class, so I’m working hard, and I see where that can take me. I want to be able to leave behind a legacy, especially for Jamaican women, to show that it doesn’t matter how impossible things are, it’s your hard work that gets you to where you want to be.

Motorsport has predominantly been a very male dominated industry. What more do you think needs to be done to get women involved?

Changing the mentality. Rather than, women can achieve everything, which it has always been like, it’s more of getting women to believe in themselves more, I find that the world can be a little bit more intimidating for women, so I think that it’s just a matter of women realising that it’s not a man’s world, you can do it and it doesn’t matter what gender you are. It only matters on how hard you work and if you want to do it.

What advice would you give to someone who doesn’t believe that they can do it?

One quote that I’ve always lived by is ‘if you always do what you can, you’ll never be more than you are.’ So therefore, if you’re always in your own comfort zone and doing what you already know how to do, that is all you’re ever going to be