Screen to Speed: Anji Silva-Vadgama

• 00:00 Introduction to Screen to Speed
• 00:49 Meet Anji Silva-Vadgama: Racing Driver and Marathon Walker
• 02:13 Team Brit: The All-Disabled Racing Team
• 03:25 Innovative Racing Controls for Disabled Drivers
• 06:54 Anji’s Racing Journey and Team Brit’s Future
• 21:11 Women in Motorsport: Challenges and Inspirations
• 26:26 Personal Life and Future Plans
• 36:49 Final Thoughts and Farewell
• 38:39 About INIT eSports and Sponsors

Crew Chief Brad: [00:00:00] Welcome to Screen to Speed powered by INIT Esports. In this podcast, we dive into the journeys of remarkable individuals making waves in sim racing and bridging the virtual with the real. From the thrill of digital circuits to the roar of real life racetracks, we explore the passion, Dedication and innovation that drives the world of motorsports.

We’ll hear from athletes, creators, and pioneers sharing their stories, insights, and the powerful ways sim racing is connecting communities and creating pathways into motorsports. So buckle up, Screen to Speed starts now.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Welcome everyone. Hello to another INITalks. Today we got Angie Silva. She is a racing driver for Team Breed, known for breaking barriers, inspiring disabled [00:01:00] individuals in motorsport. And, uh, she’s going to walk the London Marathon next year to raise money for MSUK, so we can start talking about this, uh, So can you tell me more about this marathon?

Yeah, sure thing.

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Uh, so hi everyone. I’m andrea Um, I will be taking part in the london marathon next year on the 27th of april, which is a sunday Um, I have ms. So My body works half the time. It doesn’t the other half. Um, I became paralyzed for about two weeks from the waist down, so I didn’t really have use of my legs.

Um, now I am able to walk. I use a walking stick, so taking on the marathon is a big, it’s a big challenge in itself, but I’m really excited to kind of work with MSUK and actually help them to hopefully get some funding as well. Um, MSUK have been great help with me, um, when I got diagnosed with my MS. So, um, it’s just me kind of saying thank you to them.

And also I think it’s an amazing [00:02:00] thing to actually be able to take part in a marathon and that being the London one.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Great. That’s, uh, that’s awesome that you, um, you know, trying to push your limits and boundaries also, uh, that’s awesome. Uh, I know that you, uh, part of the team breeds, uh, can you tell me more about the team, what are you doing here?

And I know that you’re, uh, racing the same team with your wife.

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Yeah, so, um, I’ve taken a bit of a step back from racing itself, but I’m still part of the team. So I’m a Team Brit ambassador. Um, my wife races for Team Brit, um, at the moment and will be next year as well. Um, I had the, I guess I had the, um, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, C1 Cup, which was amazing, but actually seeing her this year actually kind of go from strength to strength has been amazing.

Um, with Team Brit, I am there for kind of like events. I help out where I can. Um, I’m generally [00:03:00] I guess right hand lady. So if I can help her with anything, I’m more than happy to kind of do that as well. And kind of same with Team Brit as well. So if there’s anything that I’m able to jump in and help them with, more than happy to do that.

Um, I think it’s amazing to be part of the world’s only all disabled driver race car team. So, um, just, yeah, I think it’s a great thing that Team Brit does. And I’m kind of really happy to be part of that, the team.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Awesome. Um, So you get opportunity to race the, the racing car also, and, um, where do you disable and can you tell people more how is it to race with, uh, different controls on the car as we, uh, know that we’re using the pedals and you’re using, um, something special on your wheel?

So tell me more about this.

Anji Silva-Vadgama: So we have drivers who are paralyzed from their kind of waist down, who are missing limbs, who only have use of maybe one leg, one arm, or even like myself, I’ve got a, I’ve got a very weak left leg. So I wasn’t able to kind of use that [00:04:00] for pressure. And so the kind of great thing about Team Brit is we have a hand control that our race engineer designed.

You’re able to I guess you are able to drive the car with acceleration, brake, and change gear all on the steering wheel. So on a normal car where you have shift pedals, that’s where you would have your acceleration and your brake and you’ll have a um, kind of toggle switch for your up and down gear gears as well.

So not only are you able to completely not use your legs at all and use everything with your hands, you can also have the ability to use maybe partly hand control and partly pedals as well, which is amazing.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: That’s awesome. Um, because, you know, a few times in some racing, I tried to use my hands, uh, on the wheel, uh, just for fun that was, uh, in, you know, found it, uh, quite easy after some time to just, uh, get used to things and it’s, uh, like kind of natural to use, uh, the throttle, uh, with your hands.

So yeah, that’s great that you got an [00:05:00] opportunity, yeah, uh, to just jump in the car and doesn’t matter if you’re disabled or not, and to be competitive and it’s really cool.

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Yeah, exactly that. With Team Brit, in order to kind of be part of the team, you do have to have a disability, whether that’s mental or physical.

Um, but they do do kind of academy days where our sponsors are able to kind of come on board. Um, and they will be able to get some of their kind of colleagues or individuals that actually sponsor, actually get them into the car and actually feel how the car does drive. I mean, we always test them out on our sim controls.

So all of our sim. Simulators at Team Brite HQ, they’re all powered by the hand controls, so there is no pedals there, so they get the experience of how our drivers actually drive the race car.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: That’s nice. Awesome. Um, so speaking about the Team Brite, what kind of cars do you have? What kind of championships do you race in, in real life?

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Yep. So they’ve got, [00:06:00] uh, forecasts. So they’ve got two BMWs. They’ve got a BM BMW one series, and they’ve got BMW MT 40 I. And they’ve also got two, uh, McLaren’s five 70 SI believe. Mm-Hmm. five 20 s. But, um, there’s two of them, which is great. Um, so the championships are a part of, um, the McLaren was in the British GT Cup, um, and last, or this year it was in the Brick car Endurance, and both of the BMWs were in the.

Brick Car Trophy. So next year we are looking to enter in the Brick Car Endurance Slash Trophy. I think they’ve kind of bundled it into one, um, championship, which is amazing. Um, and we may even be looking at doing a European series as well, but not too sure on that as of yet.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Mm hmm. Awesome. Um, so yeah, uh, we’ve been speaking about the, the Team Braids and, uh, what you’re doing now for them, yeah?

Um, uh, can you tell me more about your past and how you started in racing, how you get [00:07:00] involved into the sport and, uh, how your passion started?

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Yeah, sure thing. Um, so I’ve always been kind of, Bought up around cars. My dad had his own, um, mechanics garage. So always, always around cars. My grandfather used to be a rally car champion out in Tanzania.

So I kind of like to say racing is in my blood. Uh, racing is obviously a very expensive sport. So never really kind of dabbled into it. Um, and then I got diagnosed with MS and I completely stopped driving. So my road car just didn’t have the confidence to actually drive that. And I was sitting at home with Usher and I saw a documentary on the, uh, one show, which was a TV show, um, on the BBC and, um, I believe I saw Aaron and Bobby there and I thought, hmm, okay, they’re disabled and not only are they driving cars, they’re also driving a race car.

So I got in contact with the team founder and he kind of sent a couple of emails back and forth, had a Couple of phone calls and then he invited me [00:08:00] down to a track day for me to kind of get a feel of what the team is about and he got me on the simulator and I just showed him what I could do and then gave me the experience to actually kind of take the car out for a for a couple of laps, which was amazing and did a little bit more work with them and then they said to me if I’m able to get.

a certain amount of sponsorship, and would I be willing to kind of be part of the team? And I kind of thought, Oh, this is really exciting. I never thought anything like that would happen. And, and, yeah, just joined the team in late 2021, I believe it was and haven’t really looked back. And I’m grateful that I found them because they They allowed me to actually enjoy driving a road car again and not be scared of kind of getting, getting on the road with a disability, which is, which is really good because I’m one of those people where if you’re stranded somewhere, call me, I’ll come get you.

And I kind of lost all of that. And now I’ve kind of [00:09:00] got it back again, which is really nice.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: That’s awesome. Yeah. Then you got opportunities to return back and, um, That’s great. I got this. Um, so outside of the team breeds, are you doing something, uh, like to inspire the disabled people also, uh, like maybe some, you running the social medias and something like this?

Anji Silva-Vadgama: So, um, outside, not really. Um, I just kind of. do my thing I guess on social media. I kind of do, I do anything I guess charity wise or raising awareness is generally always for MSUK and they’ve just been such a great inspiration to me and I’m more than happy to kind of do what I can to kind of help them.

So, um, in October this year in London we’ve got a building known as the Gherkin, um, to climb that. So it was 39 flights of stairs. So I did it last year and I did it again this year for them as well. So I was able to [00:10:00] actually kind of step out of my comfort zone again and climb lots of stairs, which was great fun.

Um, but I’m, I’m a great believer in not letting your disability hold you back. Just because I am disabled doesn’t mean. That I should be I guess tarnished with that word Um, I want to just make sure that if anyone does have a disability or we’re all human at the end of the day So if I can just kind of get at least one person thinking more positively or help them out That i’m i’m happy with that

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: That’s nice that you think in this way, uh, definitely.

Um, so can you tell me about your, uh, your future plans and, uh, plans for your team, what do you want to do in the future?

Anji Silva-Vadgama: So I know with the team and I. But be honored to kind of be part of that as well. They want to go to Le Mans 24, want to be the first [00:11:00] ever kind of all disabled team out there. I think it would be a great, uh, a great achievement to get Team Brett out there.

So, um, that’s what we’re aiming for. Um, I know we need to get a GT3 car first, um, in our, in our books. And then we’re able to kind of Hopefully get invited to Le Mans 24. So, um, yeah, I’m looking forward to that. And we’re always kind of growing, always looking for that kind of sponsorship, whether it’s for a person, individual driver for the team as well.

Um, and we’re always happy to kind of talk with organizations to talk with people as well. We do a lot of work with organizations on disability equality, um, acts as well. So we’ll kind of go into the workplace. We’ll kind of let them know, I guess, what it means to be a disabled person. And ways in which that we could hopefully help them as an organization as well.

So we’re, I guess, we’re there to kind of share things and spread the word.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Mm hmm. That’s a great [00:12:00] goal to take a part in Le Mans 24. That’s one of the biggest events, I think, in real life motorsport. And I’m doing some racing and everybody really likes it. Le Mans in 24 hour race as well. And so everybody like, you know, waiting for this event to happen.

Um, so yeah, that’s a great goal that would that, uh, that your team got. Um, um, so what do you think, when is it going to be possible for you to get into, uh, 24 hour Le Mans and, uh, also, can you tell me, uh, what’s your favorite track? Sure.

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Um, so timelines, we, we don’t have a timeline. I think it’s like those things you can’t really put it on anything.

It just goes down to, I guess, funding the drivers that we have and also the cars that we have as well. Um, in order for us to kind of get on that, we do need to kind of get a GT3 car under our books as well. So, until we have that, we can’t really go into that. [00:13:00] Le Mans 24, and as for my favorite racetrack, everyone generally says it’s very boring, but I really like it.

Like, I really do like Silverstone, but I just think because it’s a very kind of patriotic and historic track. Like, I am happy to say that I may have gone off on a corner, but also Lewis Hamilton has gone off on that corner, so I don’t feel as bad. Um, so, um, yeah, it’s, uh, I just find it a really iconic track, and for me it’s about an hour away from where I live as well, which I love.

Um, but yeah, um, Ooh, I say that, but actually I had the pleasure of going to, uh, Porto Mayo at the beginning of this year for, uh, preseason testing and didn’t get to drive the track, but I got to be a passenger, um, while Asha was driving in the, uh, BMW M240i. And, um, that track was unbelievable. Like I couldn’t see the road at one point.

All I could see was sky. Um, And the ups and downs, [00:14:00] the turns, it was, oh, it was amazing, like, I think that was one of the kind of best experiences I’ve had on track, and I wasn’t even driving the car, which definitely made me feel a little bit green, but it was a great experience, and hopefully we get to do it again next year!

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, first of all, it was an amazing track. I’m also a big fan of the tracks with the uphills and downhills. Even in simracing, it gets you so excited. And in real life, I also drove one of the tracks like this. It was a Kazan Ring. It was awesome with some up downs, really fast track. About Silverstone, yeah, you know, it’s a, uh kind of unique track is not for everyone definitely because some people hate it some people love it and Yeah, it’s it’s really technical in the hard track to drive.

I think that’s why people just Struggle with it a little bit.

Anji Silva-Vadgama: No, I’m with you I I know a lot of people say because it’s very flat you don’t have the kind of gradients in there as well [00:15:00] but I I kind of enjoy it. So yeah, it’s each to their own.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, you mentioned Lewis Hamilton. Uh, what is your favorite F1 driver then?

And let’s, let’s talk about Formula One a little bit. Uh, what’s your favorite team and driver as well?

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Team? I’ve always liked Mercedes and I’ve always liked Lewis Hamilton. Um, but I do also like Lando Norris as well, and McLaren. Um, I think there are some great drivers. I’m really excited to see kind of what next season brings as well.

Lots of change happening. But I mean, Yeah, I think I think there are some fantastic drivers and I’m actually looking forward to watching the Las Vegas race next weekend I got really excited and thought it was this weekend And then I double checked and I was like, nope, I am ahead of myself got another week to wait at least but um, yeah It’s gonna be exciting to see him whether Max is able to get is a fourth champion.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: [00:16:00] Yeah He’s really fast and got Just huge experience in racing and sim racing as well. And, uh, I’m pretty sure he’s definitely deserved this, uh, to win this championship. Uh, speaking about London Norris, I really like him as a person. I think he’s really good and open. Um, So in, uh, alongside with it, uh, awesome driver as well.

Um, so this season, definitely more interesting, uh, didn’t really follow it. Uh, but because my community watching some races, uh, they just share some news with me, uh, all the time. So, yeah, it’s, uh, actually, uh, I’m so happy to see, you know, different people winning races right now in different teams and it’s cool to see.

Because it was a little bit boring when it was all the way Red Bull or the all the way the Mercedes, at least for me.

Anji Silva-Vadgama: No, I’m with you. I agree with you. It got a little bit boring when it was just kind of the same winner and there wasn’t that much Excitement but the last kind of [00:17:00] races, I think probably the last kind of 8 10 races We’ve had has been really exciting because there’s always someone new Um, like last race with, um, Alpine getting kind of two podiums, which was fantastic to see as well.

So yeah, it’s, it’s nice to see the change up, which is always good. So definitely excited to see what next year is going to hold.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, exactly. Um, you mentioned that you’re living, uh, really close to Silverstone. Did you visit any in real life? Uh, racing events here, maybe Formula 1, maybe GT3’s Global Challenge, something like this.

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Yep, so I did the F1, didn’t do it this year, but did it last year, so yeah, great event to kind of go to. Um, yeah, I kind of love the atmosphere, kind of meet loads of different people as well, so yeah. Generally, if there is an event, kind of, car related and we’re able to go to, I’m always happy to kind of go there.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: What will be your, um, your series to go with, uh, do you prefer formulas over GT [00:18:00] cars or do you like GT cars as well?

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Um, don’t mind GT cars at all. Um, I think it for me, the cars are nice, but I think also it goes down to the driver. So, um, I was lucky enough to be coached by a lady called a Gabby or quick Gabby.

And this weekend she is racing in the Indian premier leagues. It’s the last round of the racing there. So, um, she’s been doing really, really well out there. So, um, it’s nice to kind of see. Those different cars, but also for me, it’s about kind of the driver and what they bring to it as well So yeah, I know I know some people will say no It’s all about the cars and all of that But I think it’s also the person who drives the car in the way in which they drive it

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Exactly.

I absolutely agree with you uh, that’s about the driver not about the car because I’m a big fan of valentino rossi and he was driving in the moto gp. Now. He jumped into g3s driving You know Quite fast here as well. And it’s always [00:19:00] a really cool thing when you see, uh, you know, drivers switching from different categories and they still got great pace.

Uh, they fast and, uh, that, that really show the real skills of them. And it’s, uh, it’s amazing.

Anji Silva-Vadgama: No, I’m with you. We were, we were lucky enough to, um, the racing down at Brands hatch, um, Rossi was there racing, um, with the kind of GT three cars. So we were able to kind of. Be there. That was the kind of headline racing and the brick car endurance brick car and championship was able to actually race out there as well, which was pretty cool.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah. And, uh, quick Gabby, I know her from, uh, Twitch streams. Uh, so we met each other in the racing, uh, from time to time. I’m so happy to see that, uh, she returned back to in real life racing because she really wanted to do this. And that’s awesome. When you, um, you know, highlight somewhere and you got opportunity to jump back back into real.

Live racing, uh, because it’s crazy [00:20:00] expensive. Definitely. Uh, I did it in the past and, uh, I was driving the open wheelers and fortunately lost the financial, um, part. Uh, so my team just completely shut down the program here in Kazakhstan. Um, But, you know, like, uh, I really like that I switched to simracing and now I’m in it and got great community and everybody supporting me and, uh, that’s awesome that you, you know, can kind of, uh, stop something, then start it again somewhere in the future.

And here’s always, uh, opportunities and, uh, different possibilities as well.

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Yeah, exactly that. Like, just because something stops somewhere doesn’t mean that’s the end of the road. I mean, you know. Quick Gabby, she’s doing fantastic. Like she’s one of the drivers for the Jaguar E Type as well, I believe. So it’s amazing to kind of see that.

So she’s kind of going on the lines of like Abbey Pulling as well. Um, Abbey Powell as well. Um, I believe. [00:21:00] There’s a few others as well actually. So I think you’ve got, you’ve got some of the, the drivers at the moment who are racing under McLaren as well.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: So

Anji Silva-Vadgama: it’s, it’s nice to see. Yeah.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Um, how do you feel about, uh, female and, uh, male dominated sports?

Uh, do you feel that, uh, we already a part of this world or we, uh, have to inspire more, uh, girls to get into the racing and sim racing as well? Yeah.

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Always inspire more. I mean, the championship that Asha was in this year, I believe she was the only girl in the championship. So it’s still kind of showing you that there isn’t enough female.

Yes, we’ve got kind of female like championships happening, happening like F1 Academy as well. Um, but it still needs more, still, still need more, more in there. So everything at the moment is still very male dominated. When you go to, I guess, race days, race events, you will generally see probably 80 to 90 percent males and then a few more [00:22:00] females.

So even with our team, it’s me and Oshara who are the only females at the moment. Yes, I’ve taken a step back. I’m not racing. So she’s the only female driver that we have for Team Brat at the moment. So it goes to show out of, I think there’s eight, eight drivers, well, eight, nine drivers. Only one of them is female.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, I think that’s, uh, we really need to You know, with, uh, our examples, we can show, uh, other girls that, like, they can go to racing, they can go to simracing, and, uh, Uh, just, uh, you know, feel welcome here, and, uh, this is what Ineed Esports doing also, and, um, That’s great, so actually I can see that we got more girls right now in simracing, and in racing also, and, uh, Girls also work in motorsports industry, which is, uh, which is great.

So I can, I can tell that, uh, you know, five, six years ago, uh, we didn’t have a lot of, uh, girls in industry right now. Um, so we, we getting, [00:23:00] uh, gaining a little bit more girls and that’s, uh, good to see. Yeah,

Anji Silva-Vadgama: definitely. I mean, we’re getting there. Slowly but surely, we’re getting there.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah. How do you feel, uh, to be a girl in, in this, in this racing, in this sport?

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Um, that doesn’t really bother me, actually, in all honesty. I mean, I probably dress as a, as a bloke most of the time anyway, so it’s alright. Um, I mean, I kind of see it as my, kind of, I guess, my, my power being the, kind of, one of the few only females out there as well. Um, but I kind of see it as an honour as well.

Because there’s a reason why I’m doing it and hopefully by more individuals seeing that there are girls in this field It’s gonna open that door for other other girls to actually jump on board as well So yeah, don’t be shy just kind of jump in jump in headfirst as they say

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: That’s true [00:24:00] As you in the team with your wife, uh, can you tell me more?

Uh, Where did you meet each other? And how was it and how was it to be? Uh with the two drivers in one, uh family

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Sure. Uh, so I I met her, um through one of our have been Her friend was actually looking for her, um, so we kind of met, um, online and then we started chatting, um, and then we both just kind of clicked and been together for about nine years now and married six.

So, um, yeah, we’ve been together a long time. Um, as for having two drivers, she’s definitely more competitive than me, but she is, I will say it, hands down, she is the BART far better driver. And she knows that to be fair. Um, she’s got um, ADHD and she’s autistic as well. So that is kind of her superpower. So she’s able to kind of calculate things much more in advance, whereas I’m still working on the first corner and she’s already on the fifth or sixth in her head.

So, um, [00:25:00] yeah, but, um, it’s, it’s great fun. And we kind of bounce off each other. And I know when she just started, uh, actually driving the race car, it was really nice for me to give her pointers on kind of some of some of the track and say, Oh, yeah, okay, this is what I’ve learned. This is what you’ve got to do here.

We’ve got to do this on that. It was really nice to actually pass that information on to her. And now she’s like, Yep, I know what I’m doing. You don’t need to tell me. I was like, Okay, that’s cool. You enjoy. So yeah, I mean, still a little bit of competitiveness, but I’m just really proud of her and everything that she’s done.

And I’m excited to see what 2025 holds for her.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, that’s great. Um, you know, I got a husband and he’s also, uh, into sim racing and we usually also share our experience with each other and trying to work on labs together. And it’s really cool to have a partner next to you who can help you anytime. And, uh, just, uh, you kind of can see the corners in different way.

[00:26:00] And it’s, it’s really cool opportunity.

Anji Silva-Vadgama: No, I’m with you. Kind of work with each other and learn from each other as well. That’s that’s one of the things that the drivers do as well. So like with each car, each driver has a driver pairing and normally you’ll find is that where one driver is struggling, the other driver can kind of conquer that bit.

So they kind of work with each other and it’s really nice to see. So yeah.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, outside of the racing, uh, What do you like to do? Like on your weekends, uh, with your wife, maybe you would, uh, you like to go somewhere or something?

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Um, we normally generally just chill. We’ve got two dogs, so, um, we normally just kind of chill with them or kind of chill with family as well.

Uh, brother in law just had a little girl, so, um, it’s nice to actually spend time with the family and watch her grow as well. Um, which is always nice. Um, but we’re normally just very chilled. We’re busy working Monday to Friday. So sometimes on the weekends, you just want to just relax. Um, if there are some fun kind of [00:27:00] events happening, so maybe we’ll go to like a car show.

Um, the weather’s nice. It’s always fun to go to a car show when you’ve got good weather. Um, yeah, we’ll maybe do something like that.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: What kind of dogs do you have?

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Um, so we’ve got two, we’ve got two Chow Chow crosses. So one is three quarters Chow Chow and the other is half Chow Chow. So I’ve got Nala, who is going to be four in two weeks time.

And we’ve got Cody, who is two and a half years old. So they are auntie and nephew, but brother and sister.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: That’s awesome. I got also dog, uh, that’s a Sheltie, Shetland sheepdog. She’s really cute. She’s super active, uh, we’re doing some agility with her, uh, so running together and, uh, also doing some nose work, uh, where she’s finding, uh, smells and everything.

It’s really fun, that’s my first dog and, uh, she definitely, you know, teach me a lot of things and open, uh, like, my mind to a lot of things in this world. It’s, it’s really, really [00:28:00] cool and she’s so cute.

Anji Silva-Vadgama: No, I’m with you. It makes it so much more, I guess, rewarding when you can kind of see them enjoying the time that you kind of spend with them as well.

Like, I love it. Like, literally, probably about an hour ago, just trying to go upstairs, trying to get stuff ready. And they were like, no, where are you going? And I’m like, like talking back and I’m like, guys, come on now. I was like, you need to just chill for a little bit. My plan was to bring them up, but yeah, they both like to jump in front of the, front of the screen.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: That’s awesome. Yeah, they, uh, you know, dogs really enjoy this life and, uh, they super positive about all things. Oh, you with me, we’re going for a walk. That’s great. Yeah, it’s like, oh,

Anji Silva-Vadgama: what am I getting? You’ve got a treat. Oh, you’re cutting vegetables. Let me have some. Yeah, always there.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: That’s awesome. Um, What can you suggest to people who, um, want to get into racing?

What will be your advice for them? [00:29:00] Um, so

Anji Silva-Vadgama: don’t hold back, um, always ask questions, always kind of meet people, um, I know like in the UK, I believe it’s probably around this time, or maybe even next week, so around kind of the mid to late November time, um, I believe I think Silverstone holds it, where there’s different championships, different cars, and you’re able to actually, you know, Go and see them, get a feel for it, meet other team members, see other cars and people, and just kind of see what’s out there as well.

Always, I guess, connect with people, and I know I can say this for Team Brick, we’re very open, we’re very friendly. If anyone wants to have a chat with us, or they see us at a kind of race event, like, we’re always welcome. So, we’re a big family. So, um, yeah, just don’t be shy, reach out.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, that’s, uh, great advice.

Uh, we, we’ve been talking about, uh, this, uh, on other in the talks, uh, that sim racing community and Twitch community are really, uh, open and welcoming all the time [00:30:00] to newcomers. So people like trying to help you, trying to guide you, uh, for your journey into sim racing. And, um, so do you see that the same thing happening in real life racing?

Because unfortunately, when I race in, uh, open wheelers, I think it’s a bit different from GT cars. So, uh, I didn’t get a lot of, um, you know, welcoming people around me. They, uh, they all been, uh, really like competitive to focus on their self. Yeah. Really close. Yeah. Uh, do you see this also, uh, in GT community or not?

So.

Anji Silva-Vadgama: I wasn’t part of the, so I only went to a GT race, I believe, like one or two races. So it wasn’t really there for in the paddock and stuff, but, um, I haven’t seen any, anything negative kind of within that. Um, I know in like the smaller championships, everyone is always very welcoming as well. So I know, I think, I think it was, uh, I think in the garage next door to us, [00:31:00] one of their tools broke and they asked if they could borrow one of ours and our mechanics were like, yep, go for it.

So everyone was very friendly, very open and stuff as well. So I think it also goes down to which championships you go to as well. Um, certain ones are probably more not as open. Um, so you’re not able to kind of get into the pits and stuff. Uh, but I would always say, always try and all you can do is ask.

And if someone says no, there’s always next time as well.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, that’s true. Uh, all the time, like you, uh, you get no, uh, here’s opportunities that you’re going to get yes from someone else, uh, because, you know, actually, uh, most of the people, they’re really open, they’re really kind, and they’re happy to help you, uh, especially if you got, if they got a really big experience in racing, uh, or in some racing as well, um, yeah, they’re trying to help you if you’re new here.

No, I’m with you. Yeah, um, so [00:32:00] Can you tell me, uh, what do you enjoy the most about racing and, uh, do you like endurances or sprint races more?

Anji Silva-Vadgama: So for me, one of the things I kind of enjoy about racing, I think it goes down to, I guess, the team that you’re part of as well. Um, I said earlier, Team Brett is a big family, so it’s always a kind of enjoyable event.

Um, all the drivers kind of get on with each other, all the management as well. So it’s nice to kind of just, you see everyone. Um, when it comes to racing, I think it goes down to, I guess, which car you’re driving. Um, I enjoy actually watching both racing, to be fair, because in a sprint race, normally, you can kind of tell who’s going to win earlier on in the race.

Um, unless there’s a, there’s a blowout or a puncture and then it kind of delays it. Whereas in endurance, you just don’t know because the car has to run for such a longer time. You just don’t know that car’s going to make it or what’s going to happen in the meantime as well. So I think they’re [00:33:00] both different within themselves.

So I’m, I’m lucky enough to be able to kind of witness both, um, on a race weekend, which is always fun.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: I think endurance racing is, uh, really special. So that like whole team working on the strategies and how to, uh, count the fuel, count the steams for the drivers. And, uh, yeah, also, uh, make some repairs, uh, faster.

Uh, so from my side, I think that endurance races, they a bit more fun for me. So I really like to do them in sim racing also, uh, but spring races, uh, just, uh, give you kind of different mindset. Uh, so you, you have to start, you have to really push, push the car out of the limits and, um, um, just go as fast as you can.

Endurance, you have to think how to save the car. For other drivers to not get into the troubles and uh, it’s awesome that we got different Type of racing and uh, yeah people [00:34:00] can choose the best for them.

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Yeah. No exactly that I know with the kind of sprint races we had this year Um, sadly the the car in the first couple of races was suffering with a boost leak So, um, it was always a very quick kind of repair when it was, uh, driven driver change and the mechanics did great to kind of get that issue fixed and for us to actually finish the race and also get podiums as well, which is always good to see.

Um, and like you said, it’s, it’s not just about the drivers. It’s also about the mechanics and all the team as well. The whole team is involved on there. So you’ve got to make sure that if you’re only going out with a full tank, you’ve got to make sure that, that there is enough fuel in there for you to kind of cross the finish line as well.

Um, so yeah, it’s always a good thing. Always a nice environment to kind of see the way in which those individuals kind of work together.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, that’s, that’s absolutely true. I agree with you. Um, can you tell me what’s your, uh, what’s your plans for the future in racing? Uh, would you like to jump into a car again?

And what series it will be, [00:35:00] uh, for you?

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Um, so I think if I do jump back in the car, I’ll definitely be with kind of team Brit. Um, future wise, I’m not sure if I see that happening, um, in the next kind of few years. And we’re, we’re kind of going through kind of fertility planning and adoption at the moment as well.

So for me, my focus is to kind of start a family as well. Um, I’m kind of happy to kind of be on the sidelines and kind of watch Asha kind of do what she does. Like I said, she is the far better driver. So if If it had to be between one of us, I’m, I’m just glad that it’s her doing it and she’s also able to kind of live her dream because it’s something that she, I know she always said to me that when she was younger, she said she either wants to be a race car driver or a pilot and she’s, she’s not a pilot.

So, um, she’s able to kind of be a race car driver, which is very cool.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: All right. Uh, so can you tell me 2025? For upcoming years, yeah,

Anji Silva-Vadgama: so, um still be with team brit So I [00:36:00] believe she is going to be um staying in the bmw m240i Um, not sure not entirely sure who she will be driving with I think there’s going to be announcement for that At the end of the year beginning of next year uh, but excited to kind of see what that driver pairing will be like as well and hopefully, um Get some more, um, first class podiums.

Um, no pressure Osha, but you know, we would like some more silverware. I know the team would like some more silverware. So, um, yeah. Um, if it’s going to, it’s going to be an exciting year, 2025, definitely.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, it should be great season. I hope you, uh, will get some podiums, uh, with the team breeds and, uh, As soon as possible, you’ll get to Le Mans 24, we’re going to cheer for you, uh, because that’s personally one of my favorite events, uh, so as I said before, uh, it’s awesome.

Um, so before we wrap up, uh, can you tell me what’s your motto of the life, like, uh, uh, So what do you think about that? Um,

Anji Silva-Vadgama: [00:37:00] for me, I’m generally a very kind of positive person, so I don’t let that negativity kind of hold you back. I think what I would say to people is, if there is something that is kind of digging at you, don’t let it kind of, you know, drag you into a dark hole, try and see the positive outlook on things.

Um, and we’re all here to kind of talk to as well. So if anyone ever wants to chit chat, I’m only a message away. So, um, yeah, always happy to kind of be a, be a shoulder or ear to kind of listen into. And, but yeah, just try and stay as positive as you can.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: That’s true, you know, I got kind of the same, um, thoughts in my head, so I’m trying to stay positive and, uh, try to look at things, like, in a positive way, even if something happens, uh, something bad happens, I always, uh, get, like, next opportunity, uh, next day to shine bright.

Exactly that. It’s

Anji Silva-Vadgama: [00:38:00] not the end of the world, there’s always another day.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah, so thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for this talk. I really enjoy that and wish you good luck for your future for the team breed and also Hopefully your marathon will go great and you’re going to enjoy it

Anji Silva-Vadgama: Thank you so much.

I will keep you guys updated and it’s lovely meeting you and thank you so much for having me.

Lyubov Ozeretskovskaya: Yeah. Bye bye guys. See you. Thank you so much for watching. See you later. Bye.

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