Amber Anderson is a Lawyer and of the few female racing car drivers in Australia…

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Racing in a Man’s World (PDF) - Virgin Blue Magazine

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Amber’s Carrera Cup Plans Gets Sponsorship Green Light (PDF) - Auto Action, 15 May 2008

The remaining 2008 944 Challenge Racing Calendar is as follows:

21-22 June - Round 4 Calder - Melbourne, Australia
26-27 July - Round 5 Sandown - Melbourne, Australia
29-31 August - Round 6 Oran Park - Sydney, Australia
18-19 October - Round 7 Phillip Island - Melbourne, Australia
15-16 November - Round 8 Winton - Melbourne, Australia

In the meantime, if you happen to come across any problems, or site bugs, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Anderson spent 2007 completing the Victorian Motor Racing Clubrun Porshe 944 Challenge, where she finished 10th in the points. She also completed in various rounds of the Australian Production Car Championship and contested this years Bathurst 12 Hour.

Anderson, a Lawyer in her mid-20s, said she was excited about 2008.
“To run in the top 10 will be good”, said Anderson. “We’re not sure at this stage whether we’ll be running a Holden or a Ford but probably a Holden. I’ve had a lot of support from Kim Jane and we’re just trying to sort out a Melbourne-based crew to help us out for the season.”

V8 Utes supremo Craig Denyer is also a supporter of Anderson’s.
“One of the reasons we’re keen to have her in there is that it does give V8 Utes an opportunity to market the series differently.” he said.

Anderson is also entered in next year’s Bathurst 12 Hour and is in the first stages of securing a car.
DC

Amber’s Green Light (PDF) - DC, Auto Action, 12 December 2007

“Absolutely! And I’ve got a whole bunch of new sponsors” was Daniellle Argiro enthusiastic answer.

That was all it took to set the wheels in motion and for Steve Biffra to once again provide the female lineup with his spare and highly effective Holden Vectra.

Danielle Argiro and Amber Anderson proved to be an unexpected force in the Thrifty Rental Cars Celica during the reborn Bathurst 12-Hour earlier this year.

Both girls took the honour of being the first and only female team / individual females to finish the gruelling event suffering 2 punctures, electrical and VTEC problems along the way.

Now they want to repeat and improve on their gutsy success again in the competitive, multiple class-winning Vectra.

Amber drove the Vectra for the first time at the Phillip Island round of the CAMS Nationals in August with fantastic results. On the greasy, wet track, with Amber behind the wheel for the first time, the car was virtually unbeatable leaving many of the quicker class A and B cars in its wake.

“It was a much better car than I had expected it to be in the wet conditions,” said Anderson.

“Clearly Steve Briffa and his team spared no expense building the car. It was a really rewarding drive expecially when you are playing a a David and Goliath type of game. The weather is a good equaliser and its just as likely to be variable when we go over to Mallala, mid October.”

Danielle and Amber both enjoy driving together – they share a similar style of driving and are roughly the same height making driver changes and car setup much easier.

“It great to find someone who you can trust to drive the car fast and bring it home in one piece. We a also get along really well and that type relationship always works well for enduro events”.

The experienced all-female enduro team will next compete in the upcoming 2×125km race at Mallala circuit from October 13-14 with thanks to new sponsors:

The Brock Shop
Commercial Capital
Speed Humps Australia
Dunnotar
Nelson Irrigation
Wi-Man
ROARZ

The duo will also be competing at the Sandown 1 Hour Production Car Enduro in December.

When Amber Anderson received a phone call from Bathurst team mate Steve Briffa’s to drive his newly purchased Holden Vectra, Amber couldn’t say no! (Sponsored by Veganpet and Briffa Smash Repairs).

Competing in the Australian Production Car Championships (Class C and Trophy Class), the new Vectra was painted in exactly the same silver/blue livery as Steve Briffa’s winning SS Commodore.

Despite appalling wet and wild conditions at Phillip Island, the practice sessions on the Friday ensured that Amber put the car in form for the worsening conditions over the weekend.

It also gave Amber a chance to re-familiarise herself with a front wheel drive- her last front wheel drive experience being in the Toyota Celica at Bathurst in April.

A wet qualifying session saw Amber blitz the opposition- qualifying the front wheel drive 2 litre Holden Vectra in first place in Class C and also ahead of the majority of the field- the only cars in front of the Vectra were Gary Holt and Barry Morcom’s BMW 335T’s, two A Class Commodores and Keene’s powerful B Class Mini Cooper S.

In deteriorating conditions, Race 1 was held early, much to the competitor’s surprise after the Formula 3 races were forced to be cancelled due to the weather. The 8 lap race was held in the pouring rain and howling wind. An inevitable off at the apex of turn 12 was the result of hitting a track run off point which was gushing with water – luckily Amber managed to get the car out of the thick mud and grass and back onto the track eventually- finishing the race in a disappointing position 11.

A decision was made by officials on Saturday night to add 35kg to the Holden Vectra’s overall weight which hindered Amber’s pace in the dry on Sunday morning’s 10 lap race. The car bogged down in corners with the additional weight, but despite the added hindrance, Amber managed to keep up the momentum around the flowing circuit and finished a credible 8th in an incident packed race which had 3 cars DNF.

Race 3 saw yet more dark clouds roll in across the circuit but Amber was very confident in the wet and had shown great pace in car the earlier wet sessions.

“Thank god it rained” said a delighted Anderson.

Starting with the Class C cars at the start of the pack, Amber romped away right on the bumper of David Mertens in the Proton Satria.

“I sat right on Dave Mertens bumper, just waiting for an opportunity to pounce”

She didn’t have to wait long as Dave Mertens locked up a brake at Honda and it sent the Proton off into the run off area and Amber took the race lead.

The track was very greasy and despite the treacherous conditions Amber pulled away from the pack and continued to lead outright. As the track dried out, after 8 laps leading the race Amber moved slightly from the wet line around Lukey Heights- the move proved too ambitious and the Vectra hit a patch of water which sent it momentarily off the circuit.

In the boggy conditions, it was enough for Dave Mertens & Barry Morcom to pass and while Amber rejoined the circuit, she was relegated to 3rd place on the last lap. Crossing the start finish line, team mate and owner, Steve Briffa launched a past the matching Vectra and took 3rd position.

In hindsight, Anderson decided that it was good karma not to beat the boss on a debut! Amber was delighted to take a class 1st place in the Production Cars Trophy Class and second overall in Class C. Team boss Steve Briffa was rapt with gritty Amber’s debut win in the car and is pumped for her to drive the car again.

Explore Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit with Google Earth

Amber is hoping to compete again in Victor the Vectra at the upcoming Mallala 1 Hour Production Car Endurance Race if she can raise sufficient funding in time.

Amber’s next race is at Phillip Island in the Porsche 944 Challenge on 1st and 2nd September where she is hoping to improve yet again on her recent impressive performances.

If her performance, with a seriously under powed engine, is anything to go by, the male-dominated category had best get their act together before the next event.

Anderson put 17 other competitors behind her to finish 11th in the Sunday feature race.

As expected, her two on-board mascots – animated alien characters Petey and Jadyee – did just the trick and forced other drivers into mistakes that ultimately benefited the talented Melbourne lawyer.

The weekend got under way for Anderson earlier than usual with a track side glamour photo shoot, courtesy of Momentum Animation Studio’s Rachael and Dylan Perry – with superb styling by Leah Gallin from Illustrious Lingerie.

Since its last outing, the race car had received some fresh suspension and steering components so Anderson used the Friday practice sessions to adapt to the increased mid-corner speed and exit balance.

Qualifying was at Saturday 12:07pm – Amber headed the alien #99 racer onto track, setting 19th fastest time with a 1:32.0076 on very old rubber.

However, track density was high and she was caught behind slower cars.

A red flag situation forced her to pit, only to once again become stuck behind slower cars – consequently the time did not reflect her true performance.

Race 1 – 6 laps – Amber got the jump on two cars before turn 1 only to get hemmed in by several slower cars. Sandown is definitely a power circuit and it was clear that car 99’s engine was going soft - a fresh one would be needed for the next event. Now where would you get the best parts?

Whilst the new suspension package gave the car a much better cornering package, most other cars could pull several car lengths on the two long straights. Result: 17th.

Race 2 (8 laps) was considered a non-championship event and in all reality probably shouldn’t have even got a start considering it was pitch dark!

However, the recent Bathurst 12-Hour started in the dark so Amber definitely had one up on the boys - once again.

AA made a great start but found the shift light so bright she was forced into short shifting to avoid being blinded. Pressing on she made up two places to bag 15th.

“I didn’t expect that at all, said wide-eyed Amber.

“The strangest things happen in racing and I reckon that’s why I love it so much. You’ve always got to be on your toes for the unexpected. Which reminds me of Bathurst and how many odd things happen. No wonder the Supercar 1000 is such an entertaining piece of TV each year.”

Race 3 – 8 laps – Another strong start and Anderson moved into 12th by the first corner and into 11th by turn 2.

The Sandown kerbs can help in some places and in others become a hindrance – touching one of the higher kerbs changed the front end balance somewhat but seemed to come right again whilst under a safety car period – several cars had expired around the track and officials deemed they should be removed before racing could recommence.

It ended up being a two lap sprint to the end and Amber held her position, finishing 11th, with the majority of the field behind.

The final race of the day didn’t start in the dark, for a change!

Starting off 11th, Amber once again got a great run into turn 1, moving to 9th. It was hard and fast at the front going three wide into the kink at the end of the back straight – with Amber in the middle.

“I knew I was down on power but could hussle the corners better and I wasn’t going to get out of it so we all went into Jetstar at the pretty much the same pace. Cullinan’s car was loose and I could see he was going to get caught up in himself which is what he did next corner so I stuck right on his tail after that. But can you believe it – I was about to pull 4th and he just rotated leaving me nowhere to hide. Philipson, Comand and Lewis-Williams slid either side and somehow I managed to not fully t-bone him.

In the fracas, the already sad engine was going further south - further than even Tony Bullimore usually goes on his upside-down Whitbread Classics – and once again Cullinan got the jump at Jetstar. Coming on the final turn Cullinan (alias Bill Murray) was obviously busy watching Groundhog Day on his in-car DVD and managed to repeat the exact same spin in front of Amber again.

“Can you believe that he did that twice! I almost t-boned him again!”

Anderson got going again to cross the line in 12th, with an engine that performed more like a diesel econovan – definitely a fresh one for Phillip Island on June 9-10.

All things considered it was a fairly positive weekend – Amber was faster than most of the boys and once again they all learnt that she’s not there to make up the numbers.

Special thanks to Momentum Animation Studios, Affordable Airbrushing, Veganpet, Steve Tupek, Mike Abay and the team at Consolidated Chemical Company Racing for their support. And as always Mum and Dad too!

Suddenly there was a phone call – it was Allan Simonsen and he was in Shanghai to shakedown some Ferraris for the upcoming Asia GT Championship whilst on his way back from his superb 2nd place at the Valencia Le Mans Series race, in Spain.

“Hey Amber hear you got bad engine, said Allan in his usual Danish direct style.

“Don’t worry we get the fast China bits – Phil Hughes just arrived so we get real weapon together for PI…

The support behind the scenes team members is vitally important to motor sport.

Anderson, 27, is well aware of this fact and decided to take the help a step further by employing the services of a pair of aliens - Petey and Jaydee…

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Amber’s Driving a Work of Art (PDF) - Marc McGowan, Pakenham-Berwick Gazette, p75, 16 May 2007

Nar Nar Goon’s Amber Anderson will once again climb aboard her regular Porsche 944 racer but this time she won’t be alone.

Anderson will front Sandown with additional support from two of her commercial partners and a blessing from a pair of Aliens – Petey and Jaydee.

Melbourne’s Affordable Airbrushing was asked by Momentum Animation Studios to create a design for Amber’s Porsche 944 Challenge car that would promote their 3D characters Petey and Jaydee. The result is both stunning and intimidating.

“Wow the car looks great!” said Amber.

“The crowds will really love it and yes I do have a bit of a different race strategy this weekend as a result of having my two friends on board. We know we don’t have the fastest car on the grid but its all about finishing the race and moving forward. So I figure if some of the other drivers look in their mirrors and see a couple of aliens crawling all over their backside they might just make that mistake. And that’s when I’ll make my move.”

In the six weeks since the opening round at Winton, Anderson has had more track time that any other driver on the grid and plans to utilse her new skills.

During the Easter holidays, Amber joined up with two other female racers for a shot at the revitalised Bathurst 12 Hour Production Car enduro in the Thrifty Celica. She brought the car home 21st outright and set the fastest lap time after starting the race at 5am in complete darkness.

“It was my first chance to drive around Mount Panorama and the whole experience was awesome. Having so much time in the car was really good to learn about dealing with traffic and how you adjust your driving to the pace you feel comfortable with. I think a lot of drivers can get sucked into situations and overdrive which gets them into trouble. Without a doubt my driving has improved and I’ll be looking to applying some of my new skills this weekend at Sandown.

Amber’s two alien friends, Petey and Jaydee, are enjoyed by people around the world thanks to the efforts Momentum Animation Studios, who have distribution in 23 countries.

“I’m also very pleased that I can help Momentum and Affordable Airbrushing promote their work through my race program. Giving value to our partners is vital to success in this sport. There are two things that just about every race car driver does most of the time – not win races and not drive a race car! That leaves a lot of time to spend on finding new ways to work with partners and help drive their business forward. It really is a major focus for me.”

Round 2 of the aPorschaPart 944 Challenge blasts off tomorrow at Sandown from 10am.

You can follow Amber’s progress through the online timing system at NATSOFT.

Explore Sandown International Raceway with Google Earth