Mother’s Day is today as people across the globe celebrate the special mother figures in their lives. Our very own, Dylan Spaulding, was on the scene this weekend at Sebring International Raceway, asking drivers competing during the GT World Challenge America weekend what their moms have meant to them. Here’s what some of them had to say:

Colin Braun, KellyMoss, No. 017 Porsche 911 GT3-R (992) EVO

“Yeah, my mom’s been super important. She was there. When we were racing go-karts and cars, as I was growing up, she was always there. We didn’t have the ability to pay to go to a team and drive. Our team was our family. It was me and my dad and my brother and my mom. We all had jobs and roles. We did our thing at the racetrack all the way from karting until really when I turned pro when I was 16. She was there every step of the way, helping, doing all the things she could do, from fixing cars, cleaning things, doing whatever. She was all in. That kind of support is pretty special and pretty cool. For the longest time, she came to pretty much every one of my pro races and has been just a big part of my success in molding me into who I am today, for sure.”

Hampus Ericsson, Random Vandals Racing, No. 99 BMW M4 GT3 EVO

“Honestly, my mom and my whole family have been super supportive throughout my entire career. When I grew up, Marcus was already racing in Formula 2 on the big stage, and it wasn’t guaranteed that I’d race too. I got the chance to try karting when I was eight years old, and I loved it. At the end of the day, we do this because it’s fun and we love the adrenaline. My family has always been super supportive, and with Mother’s Day coming up, special thanks to my mom. She’s always been there stressing, but also being loving and supportive throughout my whole career. I’m super blessed to have a great family.”

Robby Foley, Turner Motorsport, No. 29 BMW M4 GT3 EVO

“She’s been so supportive. I mean, my parents in general. I didn’t have a big racing background. My dad was involved in SCCA auto crossing, and later, I started kind of racing. He did some club racing and stuff. So, I was always interested in motorsport. I got the bug through them. She definitely was nervous about it at first. I remember my first time in a car or the first time she saw me drive a car, she was a little freaked out. But she’s definitely calmed down. But, she’s great. She’s like the perfect racetrack mom. She’s just super supportive. Unfortunately, she won’t be here this weekend, but they live near Atlanta, so hopefully they’ll be at Road Atlanta. They try to come to as many IMSA races as possible. So yeah, I’ve got a good mom, that’s for sure.”

Stuart McAleer, Auto Technic Racing, No. 19 BMW M4 GT4 (G82) EVO

“Yeah, so I mean, like, unfortunately, my mom lives in Scotland, so I’ve not seen her for Mother’s Day for the last almost 10 years. She’s been instrumental in the fact that when we did racing as young kids, she kind of gave us the freedom that it was. There’s a lot of parents now get scared of it. My dad is so gung-ho on it, he wants to go. If I could… give him the keys to the car and let him go drive, he would drive. My mum might end up sitting in the trailer with her hands over her ears. She’s not a huge fan of it, but she’s always let us go and do it. And I mean, she messages me every single weekend, how’s the racing going? When are you racing? She watches all the MX5 stuff, she watches all the GT4 stuff. So, it’ll be nice to have them trackside and actually have them watch out front. We’re going to go to Universal Studios for a day. Go hang out there, we’ll see her to some nice dinner, maybe get a gift as well and yeah enjoy the Mother’s Day that we get because we haven’t seen her for such a long time.”

Loek Hartog, KellyMoss, No. 88 Porsche 911 GT3-R (992) EVO

“Yeah, first of all, she put me on this earth, so thank you, Mom. But, I mean, for me, it’s a bit of a difficult one because I grew up in two families. In essence, there was also a long period in my life where I didn’t have racing, but I always had the wish and the desire. If there was one thing my mom always inspired me to do, it was to chase my dreams despite all the people telling me otherwise. She didn’t just tell me that — she was also a testament to it herself. And I think that’s what’s really been life-changing for me. My mom has taught me a lot of things — how to respect people and how to treat others. But, in a sense, I also learned from her how not to do certain things. She’ll take that well, but I do some things differently because she also had a tough life in some ways. Because she went through all those things, I didn’t have to. I think that’s the biggest thank you I can give her because she always worked hard. If there’s one thing I learned from her, it’s that if you work hard, you can achieve your dreams and your goals, especially if you visualize those dreams and goals. That’s something she’s done her whole life, and it’s something I also try to embrace.”

Frankie Muniz, TechSport Racing, No. 30 Ford Mustang GT4

“My mom doesn’t want me racing,” Muniz jokingly stated. “That’s the truth. She goes, I don’t know why you’re doing that. You don’t have to. But no, she supports me 100%. She’s come to a bunch of the NASCAR races this last year. And I know she enjoys it when she’s there.”

 

Image Courtesy to GT World Challenge America/SRO