Written By Isabella Busalacchi of the San Diego Chapter
Seventeen years ago, at the young age of three, I was introduced to the BMW Car Club of America. My dad had taken up a new hobby autocrossing in his new Z3 at Qualcomm Stadium, and it seemed only fitting that an established interest in Formula One would naturally mean I would enjoy watching the fast cars go by.
Though I did enjoy Daddy and his friends driving in their cars, I was not happy about missing out in all the fun. I would often go home in a fit because I was not allowed to sit in the car and ride along! This problem was thought to have been solved when I got my own toy, a 12-volt battery Jeep toy car for Christmas. Mom and Dad thought wrong.
A newly fueled appetite for racing grew, and I came to the autocrosses having to be distracted by helping out in the trailer or waiving the green flag at the start for the drivers out laps. This entertained me for a while—until that itch and desire came back again to drive with Dad.
That itch created by my Dad, my BMWCCA family, and my dream to be the next Michael Schumacher was finally relieved when I participated in a karting school and soon afterwards started karting competitively. It became a family affair, with my Dad and I racing karts together and my uncle buying a kart as well.
Just four races into my rookie season, I won my first race. And each year since, with coaching from Dad and others, I have continued to dominate. I naturally progressed and moved onto new classes as I got older, competing in national championships along the way.
In 2012 I entered a new series, the Sodi World Series, and was included as a wildcard to represent the United States in Paris, France at the World Finals. Seventy-eight of the best racers from all around the globe competed that weekend. I placed fifteenth overall, was the top American driver, and crowned Female Sprint Cup World Champion!
I went back the following year to compete and placed sixteenth overall, and for the second consecutive year was the top American driver and Female Sprint Cup World Champion. Though I loved racing karts, it was time to transition again to something a little more complex and challenging.
I moved on to my new machine, a 1984 Porsche 944, competing at autocrosses and time-trials with the PCA and POC. After some time in the seat, and with Black Forest getting the car dialed in to my liking, I got my license to race and began competing with PCA Club Racing.
Last year was my rookie season competing in the Spec 944 class, and the outcome was a second-place finish in the West Coast Series and fourth nationally. I also set the track record for Buttonwillow at 2:04.440, was just shy of the track record at Laguna Seca by 0.016 seconds, and was 0.1 off the track record at Willow Springs—all of which were well established records. This season the goal is to finish first in the series!
These accomplishments have created a major opportunity to fulfill a lifetime dream. At this years California Festival of Speed, John Rickard of Black Forest and Scott Kuhne of 4R Motorsports approached me and asked if I’d like to race professionally in a Mini Cooper. So, in October, I will be competing in the Pirelli World Challenge at Laguna Seca.
It seems like things have come full circle from my days of watching the grown-ups at the BMW CCA autocrosses racing their cars, to becoming an autocross instructor with the San Diego chapter, and now racing a Mini Cooper in a professional series. Thank you to Black Forest for supporting me with my club racing endeavors and now giving me the opportunity to take it to the next level, HA Builders Inc for their support, and to my BMW San Diego family thank you for the constant support with my racing career, and molding me into the woman I am today.—Isabella Busalacchi
You can follow Isabella on Facebook at World Class Motorsports.
If you have some interesting content you'd like to submit for consideration, such as a story, pictures, or video, please e-mail Nate Risch, Roundel Weekly editor, at nrisch@bmwcca.org.
