Racing Club International had started their Diamond Drive Cup championship once again last Wednesday at Snetterton, with Aenore Rose taking once again all possible 39 points for that week. Coming into Laguna Seca for the second round, Ruby Acosta would join her for a return, hoping to continue her great form exhibited in the previous season. The weather was warm but the sun was just barely rising, making for very interesting conditions for the pair of drivers to traverse.
Aenore took pole position in qualifying with a 1:21.972, making it her eighth in a row and continuing to stamp her name into the RCI record books. Ruby took third at the very last moment of the session, registering a lap time of 1:23.122 sneaking her way past Sara Dove on the starting grid.
With the 60 minute race underway, Aenore took charge of the field and cleanly went through the Andretti Hairpin with no challenge, enabling her to drive away from the pack and on route for an eighth win in a row. Ruby however would be locked in a midpack battle, finding herself passed by Sara and having to trail her for the opening stages of the race. She’d make a few mistakes, hitting a couple of sausage kerbs and losing further time. The bad luck continued for Ruby as she lapped through traffic, with Charlotte Robertson losing control of her Lexus in Rainey Curve and sliding into her path while attempting to leave her room to pass by. Fortunately however both drivers were able to continue, with Ruby suffering only minor front end damage.
Ruby would be given another chance at the podium however, with Nicole Fox being hit with a 15 second penalty. Although she had not taken her pit stop optimally, the American was able to manage the gap and keep her last few laps relatively clean, staying within range and nabbing yet another podium right at the very end.
Aenore crossed the line in first, unchallenged for the race win and keeping the perfect streak alive with a pole position and a fastest lap to go along with it. With a gap of about 54 seconds, her fantastic driving ability was on display for all to see.
However, the race win was not her most important contribution this round. Aenore would speak on the behalf of all transgender individuals in the post race interviews on the morrow of #TransDayofVisibility, urging for allies, loved ones and anyone capable of empathy to take action to protect a group that has been under increased scrutiny in the public eye.
With every driver on this team being transgender, the passing of anti LGBTQ+ legistlation would completely eliminate the outfit. Many other people in the sim racing community would be gone as well, with their contributions all but vanished. What many people do not know is that transgender people are more common than often thought and can easily exist within one’s family, friend group, work place or even sim racing league. Quite a few are even forced into protecting their true identity, never coming out for fear of being ostracized or potentially suffering even worse undeserved consequences.
We wish for our supporters, other drivers, the sim racing community, allies, family members and pretty much anyone to help fight for our cause. Call your local representatives, join protests and rallies, donate to any association related to helping us live in peace. In some cases, lives depend on it.
(text by Ruby Acosta, pictures by Aenore Rose)
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