COLLETE DAVIS ON DRIFTING, ENTREPRENEURISM, AND THE VALUE OF LEARNING.
Photo courtesy of DRIFTEM Correspondent Owen Garrett
Interview by DRIFTEM Correspondent Owen Garrett
AN UNQUENCHIBLE DRIVE TO DRIVE.
If you know about Collete Davis, you know she’s a superstar female motorsport icon that has literally carved her own path into the male-dominated industry; simply by ‘being awesome’ at virtually everything she puts her mind to.
If you don’t know Davis, look her up. We guarantee you won’t be disappointed, and you’ll probably want to join her humungous fan network.
You’ll also be wildly entertained - and maybe even awestruck - by everything this talented young lady has accomplished thus far in her short, but hyper-intentional, career. Not to mention, the ‘GO GIRL’ spirit she continually infuses into the motorsport world, both behind the scenes and behind the wheel.
We like to think of Davis as the ‘GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN’ poster child of motorsports, so we’re pretty stoked she locked into the idea of taking her drifting skills to the pro level.
She’s a tough one to pin down, so we were super grateful she gave us a little interview time last year - just before she went out to shred tires at a US Drift Circuit competition. Her time with us was short, but she packed a ton of wisdom into her thoughtful answers. Thanks, Collete!
You are one of the rare women in your time that has pursued a higher education in STEM. How has this education path added value to your racing career?
Yeah, so my decision to go to school for mechanical engineering was purely based off of the matter that seat time in racing is so expensive. So, for me (especially early on in my racing career, when I was just getting started), I wanted to maximize my knowledge when I was outside of a car so that I could really maximize the value when I’m in the seat of a car.
Going to school to get a better understanding of mechanical engineering, and how a car works, definitely helped me. You know, I was able to get into classes that specifically relate to high performance vehicles and that was awesome. So it definitely helped to transition into actual race cars.
Photo courtesy of DRIFTEM Correspondent Owen Garrett
You've competed on the Go-Kart track, in Rallycross and Monster Jam, and now you're about to compete in Formula DRIFT. What is it about drifting that has captivated so much of your attention?
One of the biggest things I love about drifting is that you can infuse so much of your personality into the vehicles that we are driving, especially from the grassroots level and up, because you’re building the cars yourself. In a lot of other forms of motorsport - like when I was in Monster Jam or RallyCross - it’s a spec race car that you have to buy and it is what it is.
For me, it’s more than just the driving and drifting, it’s the whole journey from building a car from the ground up and being a part of that. Putting your blood, sweat and tears underneath the paint, inside the engine bay, kind of everywhere, and then getting that full moment of satisfaction that goes from building it to actually winning with it.
Photo courtesy of DRIFTEM Correspondent Owen Garrett
You had great success in your rookie season with US Drift Circuit and then earned your PROSPEC license at the Sonoma FD Shootout - what factors have contributed to your success?
I think the success in seeing podiums at USDC, Sonoma, and overseas has just been attributed to more seat time. Now, I do sometimes take a while to build up my confidence, and I did make the realization that I’m just not that confident in the C6 Corvette; so it’s taught me a lot. I’ve learned a lot in that car, but I’ve also debuted a brand new car I had zero practice in, so I think it’s just about repetition and seat time.
I’ve been really focusing on putting myself in more competition scenarios globally, and that’s all you can do to get better, and I’m definitely focusing on just having a reliable car, a reliable team, and everyone around me having the same goals also helps a lot.
Photo credit to Larry Chen
Did it really all start with your amazing RX-7 build or was there something else nudging your career toward drifting even before that?
Drifting for me definitely started with a three-rotor RX-7 build. I will say that I’ve only been drifting for around four years, because when I started building the RX-7 seven or eight years ago, I never actually drove it. It was always broken, and I was always just building it, but it was still a really meaningful build and car for me. I learned so much, and did so many things for the first time on that build, but that’s what started tipping the scales toward drifting for me. At the time, I was still racing RallyCross professionally and I did Monster Jam as well. Really, only in the past four years, have I actually started getting drift seat time and made it more of a focus, but it did all start with the RX-7.
Photo courtesy of DRIFTEM Correspondent Owen Garrett
How has your training and focus on 'entrepreneurism' helped you shape new goals and see a bigger career picture for yourself?
For me, being an entrepreneur has always come hand-in-hand with being a racing driver. I'm a first generation racer in my family. I don't come from money. I'm a military kid, so I had to form a business around my racing if I even wanted to do the racing. So early on, even in Go-Karts, I was walking around getting sponsors at 15, or trying to get sponsors. I was figuring it out as I went, because I didn't really have anyone to turn to for advice. I just had to send it and figure it out along the way.
I’ve definitely learned a lot! My very first attempt at a sponsorship was calling the 1-800 number for spy glasses back in the day, so you know, you gotta start somewhere…. and racing is a business for me. It has been since Go-Karts and I’ve had to figure out a way to make it all work.
I wouldn't trade it for anything! I think early on in my career, I was very envious of other people that didn’t have to work that hard to race cars at the time. Because, racing is a rich man sport and it’s also a sport you usually get grandfathered into, or you have to have connections. So, having to work so hard at 16, 17, and 18 - when at the time, I was pursuing IndyCar which is even way more expensive - it was frustrating to see everybody who comes from money just be there, but not appreciate it as much. But, I wouldn’t change my path for anything; especially with how important marketing and social media is. I’ve been building this platform for over a decade now, so I wouldn’t change anything, and I’ve definitely learned a lot.
What message do you have for other female drivers aspiring to drift professionally?
My message to other female drivers - or women in the motorsports community or industry - is just to do what you want to do. Find what you love, and if you really love it, work hard to achieve it every single day. I think I was lucky, because I grew up as a military brat, so I was moving constantly and didn’t let stereotypes necessarily set into my head at a young age. I was always moving and I was just interested in what I was interested in.
I used to do STEM talks at middle schools and realized that isn’t the case for a lot of young girls. They grow up in one place, maybe for a long time, and sometimes stereotypes set in. I literally talked to young girls that thought they couldn’t be good at math, because it was a boy thing or a science thing. If you find something you love, whether it’s in motorsport or not, just work hard to make that goal happen. Be open to things pivoting and changing as you go along and just always learn from every failure.
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Thanks again, Collete. Wishing you well this year in your debut PROSPEC season!
