The Girl who Liked Cars
Unlike most young girls, Geri has always had an interest in things that traveled “fast.” While other little girls she knew played with dolls and easy-bake ovens, Geri took an interest in anything with wheels. From a very early age Geri built her own “down-hill buggies” using anything she could borrow from her mom and dad, cruised on skateboards and bicycles, also enjoyed quads and karts. Having natural creative ability in the arts, her family encouraged that aspect of her development, which ultimately became the primary focus of her career.

Geri spent many years in Northern California developing her talents as a designer, but always kept a close eye on anything automotive. Professional creative opportunities opened for her abroad, leading her to move to the United Kingdom. Geri worked in London while completing her Masters Degree in the South East of England, traveling across the whole of Europe whenever she could. Eventually she returned the United States (with a very thick accent), establishing herself in Phoenix, Arizona.

Was that a … Paseo?
Geri's move to Arizona was also the time when her participation in motorsports began. Starting with SCCA Autocross events, she eventually found herself lapping on road courses. Geri began with a very humbling track car – a Toyota Paseo – and drove it religiously at Phoenix International Raceway. It was at this track where she became hooked and loved every moment driving around a track infamous for it's NASCAR races, and a “roval” track configuration.

Geri became widely associated with this unusual track car, but it didn’t take long for her to outgrow the Paseo. Given that the car was 100% stock (even used all-weather tires), it was inevitable. Yet, as iconic or humorous as it was to the local racing community – it was time to say goodbye to her beloved Toyota.

No doubt that was a difficult move, but no less a necessary one.

Career Connections
Given Geri’s experience in the design and marketing industry, she found that her involvement on track brought her a new league of clientele – drivers, automotive organizations, and performance tuners. It did not take long for Geri to integrate into both business and participatory aspects of motorsports. She eventually founded Redlign AutoSports: a creative organization dedicated to automotive and motorsports promotion. Out of her growing customer base, her network also extended into the National Auto Sport Association (i.e, NASA), where she worked as a Creative Director and track photographer for the Texas Region. While working for NASA Texas, she was fortunate to find herself on all the regional tracks, ultimately getting her feet wet in a proper race car… a Spec Miata.

Back home in Arizona, Geri purchased a 1991 Mazda Miata of her own as a donor car, building it to Spec in her Garage. After the many challenges (blood, sweat and tears) one encounters with their first race car build, this little red car took to the track across the Arizona region, eventually becoming known as “Clifford” … conspicuously nicknamed after the famous “big red dog” character in children’s books. This iconic name has since then remained a part of the car’s identity, and is humorously addressed to having a close connection with its owner.

Car #34
The car number has a bit of personal history, and is closely linked to Geri’s family. Her late uncle named Ron, who lived and raced in the Midwest during the 1970’s, was notorious for his “racing style”. It has been said he would do things that most drivers would not do. This was inherent in his personality, and was a trait that ultimately made #34 a regional legend at the time. From dirt tracks, karts, and boats, Ron built and raced them all. In this case, it becomes evident that the need for speed can be and is, genetic.

Geri never met Ron, and is only familiar with his legacy through family photographs and few family stories. After his death in a tragic airplane crash in the 80’s, much of his racing had been unknown to Geri until she reached her 20s. In Ron’s honor, Geri gave Clifford the race car number #34, ensuring that his memory will live on.

Professional Work in MotorSports
Motorsports has brought Geri many great opportunities and business partnerships along the way – she worked closely with European car performance tuner Evolution MotorSports, Gumpert Racing (US distributor of exotic car maker, Gumpert), Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, National Auto Sport Association (Northern California Region), Inde Motorsports Ranch, Grand American Racing and ALMS drivers and teams such as Bimmerworld, Doran Racing, Darren Law (Action Express), Fall-Line Motorsports, i-Moto Racing, Bj Zacharias, and Ken Dobson, just to name a few.

Alongside Geri’s print, branding, and web design work, her interest in photography has proven to become rather fruitful. Her work has been showcased in well-known publications including Excellence Magazine, BMW Magazine, European Car, Luxury Car, Grassroots Motorsports, Vintage Car, and front-cover / multi-page spread of the Gumpert Apollo in Latin luxury car publication, Automundo.

In her design efforts, Geri has photographed many live events in Arizona and Texas, covering regional races and the infamous land-speed record course known as the Texas Mile. Geri also teamed up with Evolution MotorSports as their assigned photographer during several Speed TV shoots of SuperCars Exposed / Battle of the Supercars with the drift / racer Tanner Foust, and the official US launch of the Gumpert Apollo--with the founder, visionary and Audi Performance legend, Roland Gumpert. Each of these efforts has set Geri's career in motion and consequently supported her participation in racing to a greater extent. Because of her extensive connections in Grand-AM racing, Geri has been working as an official photographer for a number of professional racing teams in the Continetnal Tire and Rolex series, as well as drivers in the ALMS series.

Last but certainly least, Geri has begun to get her feet wet in the profession of driver coaching, and currently works as a part-time instructor at the Audi Sportscar Experience / Jim Russell School (now Simraceway Performance Center) in Sonoma, supports teen driving clinics in Northern California, and is a active driver coach for the arrive and drive organization Hooked On Driving.

Partnerships and Marketing Support
Because of Geri’s hard work and dedication to the motorsport industry, she established quality professional partnerships and sponsorships that continue to assist her in her driver development. Superior Racing Development and Team SRD was instrumental in keeping the car (and driver) to par in her early days of racing. After relocating to Northern California (her original stomping grounds), she has gained the support from various racing experts and has continued to develop a new car under the expertise of Dobson Motorsports and the incredible mechanically-inclined talent of Greg Garneau.

Geri’s ability to do business in this industry has naturally attracted name brands in the sport, such as
Safe Racer, who has helped keep her safe on track, and Precision Chassis Works, one of Arizona's finest fabricators. She has dedicated much of her time off-track promoting and representing the brands that have made an investment in her, through multichannel marketing, online creative design and social media. Being both a business person and driver, Geri understands that brands can gain a significant return on investment if they are used to deliver carefully thought-out commercial objectives. She fosters a positive, energetic feminine presence in this sport, and is committed to adding value to her professional partnerships; ensuring that the return on investment is a win.

On-Track towards the Future
Geri continues to make aggressive efforts in driver development; utilizing quality coaching and valuable seat time in various vehicles. Her goals include racing in the Grand-AM Continental Tire Series, all while furthering her business in the motorsports industry.

For more information about Geri’s professional background visit the design section of www.GeriAmani.com, or check out www.RedlignAutoSports.com. For partner or sponsorship opportunities, please provide specifics in your message when using the contact form.