Geri Amani

September, 2009

NASA Profiles:  Geri Amani

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Vital Stats

Hometown: Gilbert, AZ

9-5: Multimedia for a  publishing company

Run Group: HPDE4/Time Trial

Vehicle: The Paseo, Mazda Miata

Best NASA Region: Arizona, naturally!

Surely everyone has seen the legendary silver Toyota Paseo making brisk hot laps around PIR.  Well, brisk might be a little generous, but given the limits of the car and the overwhelming passion of the driver behind the wheel, the next candidate for the Who’s Who Showcase, naturally, is Geri Amani.  Surely most have seen Geri with her silver Toyota on track, or perhaps her camera in the pits.  While the readers have struggled through many months of terrible photography thanks to yours truly, this month is much different as all photos have been taken by Geri herself!  As the writer, I’ve enjoyed this feature the most simply because I had the pleasure of scrolling through thousands of art gallery quality photos for this article. We’ll get into the photography part in a bit, but for now, let’s get to know Geri Amani a little better.

The Paseo, like you've never seen it before!

The Paseo, like you've never seen it before!

One distinguishing factor that lets everyone know Geri is piloting the car in front of them, is the trademark British flag on the back of her various track cars.  While not a native of the UK, Geri has spent much of her life living and working in the UK, which is where her motorsports interest originated from.  The various stints in Europe weren’t without a trip to LeMans to stroll through the city and walk around the actual race course.  Combining an interest, or should we say, obsession with motorsports and her hobby/career of multimedia together, leaves Geri with an exciting cycle of motorsports involvement and us with a plethora of amazing output in the form of photos, videos and websites.  Currently Geri is developing the official USA website for the Gumper Apollo supercar–an opportunity that arose after working for Evolution Motorsports and Bondurant in Arizona.

Quick Facts

Favorite Movie: Dune

Spec 944 or Spec Miata: Spec Miata

Favorite Food: Chips  (we’re not talking about Doritos here either)

Sting v. Bono: Sting

Coffee or NOS: Coffee

Lift through NASCAR 3-4?: Never!

Geri driving a Spec Miata

Geri driving a Spec Miata

Of course when it comes to NASA Arizona related activities, one critical factor is what Geri does on track.  Sure, the silver Paseo spent many years as the obligatory learning car, in which Geri spent many late Sunday afternoon sessions doing lap after lap to learn the basics of car control, driving etiquitte and the in’s and out’s of NASA.  In recent developments, after much debate (which lead to some epic Spec Miata vs. 944 Spec debates on the NASA AZ forum!) Geri has taken posession of a first-generation Mazda Miata–a specific interest that was developed after some time spent behind the the wheel of a SM racer in the NASA Texas region (more on that, later).  After nearly a year of driving with NASA Arizona, NASA Texas and a trip to the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, Geri and her crew have began prep work on the Miata.  For now, Geri plans to stick with the Time Trial program fielding the car in either TTE or TTF, while doing modifications that align with Spec Miata rules in order to leave that door open.

Geri's newest project - a Mazda Miata for TT and eventually, Spec Miata

Geri's newest project - a Mazda Miata for TT and eventually, Spec Miata

Aside from her NASA Arizona endeavours, Geri is the Creative Director for the NASA Texas region, which partially involves attending all of their events,  (And you guys thought you were hardcore!) in addition to developing NASA TX’s internet and media presence.  NASATXRacing.com and TexasMile.com, as well as the photography from NASA Texas shown in the NASA SpeedNews section of Grassroot Motorsports were all a result of Geri’s wizardry.  “NASA Texas is a great group of people.  The race groups are the main focus in that region, with large fields of Spec Miata, American Iron and CMC, whereas NASA Arizona has large HPDE, Performance Touring and Time Trial fields.  Attending both regions really shows the diversity NASA has to offer for a driver/racer” said Geri.

Porsche Turbo at the NASA Texas Mile event

Porsche Turbo at the NASA Texas Mile event

Beyond the world of NASA (I know, hard to believe there is one, right?), Geri is passionate about advancing in the automotive, or hopefully the motorsports community.  Whether that future career involves PR for an automotive firm, interactive content, televsion/radio (ie.  when Tanner Foust gets bored and quits, Geri will be waiting at SPEED’s doorstep!) or perhaps in driving, the sky is the limit at this point.  Luckily for Geri, she has a large group of supporters from NASA Arizona willing to help and keep her on path for future events and perhaps even a future, exciting motorsports related career.  Next time you see Geri at the track, be sure to say hello!

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