One of the things that’s always cool to watch at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the American presence. Here’s a quick primer on the 18 American drivers (4 LMP2, 2 GTE-Pro, 12 GTE-Am) in this year’s race:
David Cheng, Chinese-born but sharing U.S. and Hong Kong residence, makes his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut in the No. 33 OAK Racing Team Asia Ligier JS P2 HPD in LMP2. Cheng is the 2013 Asian Le Mans Series champion and also has a PC class win at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on his resume.
Matt McMurry and Chris Dyson share the seat of the No. 42 Caterham Racing Zytek Z11SN Nissan (LMP2). McMurry, 16, will set a record as the youngest driver ever to compete at Le Mans and is Dyson Racing’s first Junior Development Driver. Mentor and teammate Dyson returns to Le Mans as a driver for the first time since 2009.
The brothers Ricky and Jordan Taylor, who drive for Wayne Taylor Racing in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, are split at Le Mans. Ricky will co-drive the No. 50 Larbre Competition Morgan Judd in LMP2; Jordan is one of two Americans in Corvette Racing’s six-driver lineup, sharing the No. 73 Corvette C7.R.
Former Le Mans class winner Tommy Milner shares the No. 74 Corvette C7.R. He and Jordan Taylor are the only two Americans in the GTE-Pro class.
South African born Mark Patterson races under U.S. nationality and shares the No. 53 Ram Racing Ferrari F458 Italia in GTE-Am.
One of only four U.S.-entered teams, Krohn Racing was a late GTE-Am entrant due to Strakka Racing’s withdrawal and team principal Tracy Krohn is again back in the No. 57 Ferrari F458 Italia.
Bronze-rated gentlemen drivers Peter Ashley Mann (No. 60) and Howard Blank (No. 62) are in two of AF Corse’s four GTE-Am entered Ferrari F458 Italias.
Flying Lizard Motorsports TUDOR United SportsCar Championship drivers Seth Neiman and Spencer Pumpelly are two of the three drivers in the GTE-Am No. 66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari F458 Italia.
Dempsey Racing’s GTE-Am entry with Proton Competition (No. 77) features the only all-American driver lineup: Patrick Dempsey, Joe Foster and Patrick Long.
A pair of Americans, Cooper MacNeil and Bret Curtis (No. 79) will be in the WeatherTech-backed Proton Competition Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, a 2012-spec car in GTE-Am.
Frankie Montecalvo (No. 90) replaces Enzo Potolicchio in the 8Star Motorsports’ Ferrari F458 Italia.
Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.
At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.
Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.
Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.
“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”
805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”
Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.
The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.
“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”
Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer
While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.
“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”
Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.
Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.
Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer
“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.
“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”
The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.
“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.
“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”
