In the March 26, 2025, episode of “The Girls Who Eat, Breathe and Dream Motorsport“, host Jamie chats with Jessica Brito about a down-to-earth and inspirational conversation on what it means to be a young woman of color, engineer-in-the-making, and advocate for representation in the motorsport world.
Jessica Brito is currently doing her placement year in the United States as an IMSA engineering intern at Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti, Indianapolis. Coming from Chicago, she had previously studied Motorsport Engineering at Oxford and is now experiencing the fast world of American endurance racing.
At the track, Jessica is kept occupied on race weekends: she is responsible for recording the data which comes off the car, and is part of the deadman fueling crew, a physical pit lane job requiring technical precision and safety awareness. She also quips about doing “a little bit of everything“—everything from comunicating data to other team personnel or giving their drivers rice washing tips in the team kitchen.
At the start of the episode, she talks about what it is like working with professional drivers and engineers, and how, despite having that status, paddock life that she finds herself in is extremely teamwork-oriented.
“Everyone’s approachable,“ she states, “and it makes it easy to learn quickly.“
Jessica also talks about her Ecuadorian roots and the reality that there are not many from her background in motorsport. Rather than providing a traditional idol, she flips the question:
“Shout-out to the girls before me and the ones after me—those are my idols.”
Later she talks about the importance of creating space for underrepresented voices, something she and Jamie are both passionate about—Jamie herself being half Indonesian and half Dutch.
The conversation takes a practical turn when Jamie invites Jessica to share her long-term goals in motorsport. Jessica describes her desire to stay in engineering, learning more about all the diffrent positions and find the right fit for herself in the future. She’s still mapping out her path but is committed to working for teams in technical capacities. Her favorite racing series, she discusses, are those in which engineering plays a huge role in dynamic racing environments—fitting for one who works in IMSA.
One of the most endearing moments of the episode is Jessica’s tip for people attempting to get into motorsport:
“Don’t give up finding roles and other stuff.”
She tells the story of how she scheduled emails and follow-ups in order to get her internship, showing that even in the most competitive environments, persistence can pay off. Jamie reinforces the idea:
“Do follow-ups—it’s so important.”
When the tables are turned and Jamie asks Jessica to ask her own question, Jessica asks about Jamie’s new creative ventures. Jamie reveals that there are plans to launch merchandise and expand coverage to include MotoGP after already having such a wide remit in single-seaters and endurance racing.
The episode ends with Jessica sharing one dream she’s still chasing: attending or working at Le Mans. Her team will be there, but she won’t be going as an intern—but that’s surely only a matter of time.
For people who dream of motorsport careers, Jessica’s story offers something rare: a blueprint that is both realistic and hopeful. Her journey involves technical ability, identity, and persistence—and her voice in the paddock is for sure a step in the right direction for the future of motorsport.
🎧 Listen to “Intern-ing in Motorsport ft. Jessica Brito” now on Spotify or YouTube.