• At the Montreal Auto Show, a panel discussion sponsored by Nissan featured four inspiring women who have blazed new trails in their domains.
• We spoke with champion race driver Valérie Limoges.
• The Quebec driver was crowned 2022 Sentra Cup Series champion.
As part of the recent Montreal Auto Show, Nissan organized a panel entitled L’adrénaline : moteur de changement (Adrenaline: A driver of change), moderated by brand spokesperson Karine Vanasse. Four inspiring women took turns to share their stories and explain how each, in their own way, have broken conventions and become leaders in their respective fields.
Among those invited to take the stage was race driver Valérie Limoges. Last year, the Quebecer made history by becoming the first woman to win a Canadian track racing series championship, her crowning achievement coming after the Fall Classic at Circuit du Mont-Tremblant in Quebec.
See also: 2022 Nissan Sentra Cup: An Historic First Title for Valérie Limoges
Despite being the first female driver to take that title, Valerie is more focused on her driving; the results can speak for themselves. “I always want to win and perform. It's when I give interviews that I realize what I've accomplished.”
Karting Champion
In the final 2022 championship standings, Valérie Limoges took the title with 482 points, three points ahead of her closest rival. And actually, it was her first title in quite some time. “The last championship I won was in 2001. I was the first girl to win the Quebec Karting Championship. It was a big deal because in the Shifter class, there were only guys. It was rough and it went fast! That kart accelerated like a Formula 1 car.”
"I was twelve years old when I started racing karts. I didn't believe at first that it could become my profession.” Introduced to the sport by her racing enthusiast father, Valerie worked her way up through the ranks and competed in numerous championships on both sides of the Atlantic.
At the age of eighteen, she started in Formula 1600 before moving on to Formula Renault and then to a touring series. After her debut in Canada, she discovered the world of car racing south of the border between 2006 and 2008, under the aegis of a manufacturer.
"In 2007, I did the 24 hours of Daytona, which had long been on my bucket list! I think I'm the first woman from a Quebec and maybe even the first Canadian woman to have done that. That same year, I was the first woman of any nationality to get a lead position at Homestead Speedway in Miami.
Stunted by the recession
The recession of 2008 put a damper on her success in the United States. For Limoges, it was just one more obstacle to overcome. “I was still able to race in the U.S. and get paid to do so. There are few people who get this chance. If I had been American, I would have been in big teams and I would probably still be racing there. Because in Europe and the United States, the budgets are 100 times higher than here. In Quebec and Canada, we're a little more limited.”
In 2015, Nissan set up the Nissan Micra Cup Series in which Valerie participated through 2019. That series became the Nissan Sentra Cup in 2020. Her big championship title came two years later.
As long as the series stays in good shape and continues to be competitive, Valerie will be there at the starting grid. “I wouldn't want to go to another series where there isn't a lot of competition, just to do laps in races with some cars just faster than others. What I like about this series is that everyone is in the same car, which makes for some great battles on the track.”
When asked about the possibility of returning to race in the U.S., Limoges, just entering her 40s, is candid: she’s past the age. “When I did the 24 Hours of Daytona, I was 22 years old, I was on an upward slope. But I realized this year that I'm on a downward slope. I could do it, but I'm realistic, I wouldn't perform well enough, it's been too long."
Older and wiser, for sure. Not that the competitive spirit has gone anywhere. “I'm not interested in going back and finishing 15th, 20th or 30th out of 50. Some people are happy with that, but not me! I know I can't win every race and I'll never win them all, but if I'm not competitive anymore, you lose me!”
The weight of sponsors
Sponsors are also a big factor when Valerie starts thinking about her next season. “It's thanks to them that I can race. If they aren’t there, that’s it for me, because it costs too much. Just the tires on my car, it's $2,000 every race.” You also have to add in expenses for mechanics' accommodations, food, transportation and gas. The bill goes up quickly. Not to mention the always-present risk of fender benders and the maintenance and upkeep of cars.
Much as talent is a must to make a career out of racing, money is essential, she says. “If you don't have a lot of it yourself, you have to be super good at knocking on doors and selling yourself to get sponsors.”
“But when you really want something,” she adds, “you always end up finding a way to get there. Sometimes the road is more difficult. We've all had our challenges. But you can't give up. Work and practice make us better. When I'm not performing as well on a certain track, I'll go out and practice more than the others, to try to get an advantage for the next race.”
Spoken like a champion.
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