Emma Raducanu as a guest at the Porsche Carrera Cup
A week before the start of the French Open in Paris, tennis star and motorsport fan Emma Raducanu visited a race of the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain at Brands Hatch.
by p.m
last edit: May 18, 2022, 12:51 pm
The rainy day at the traditional British racetrack brought back childhood memories for the Porsche brand ambassador. "I like the rain, and actually it always rained when I came here when I was six, seven or eight years old," she said. "When I think back to that time, I remember rainy mornings and getting up early. That's nostalgia for me."
The winner of the US Open 2021, who also started at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart for the first time this year, experienced an eventful day of racing with many interesting impressions. "Growing up so close by, I've obviously been to Brands Hatch before," she said. “But back then I was always sitting in the stands. Today I was able to look behind the scenes and see how the teams work and how a championship like this works. Motorsport is very complex, with many technical subtleties and details. Seeing all of this up close was a really cool experience.”
Raducanu from the versatility of the Porsche 911
In the paddock, the 19-year-old Brit met Adam Smalley. The Porsche Carrera Cup junior in Great Britain explained his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup to her, with which he won the first race of the season at Donington. She was also allowed to get behind the wheel herself. When it came to the track, however, she was only a passenger: Harry King, the 2020 British Carrera Cup champion, did a fast lap with her on the demanding track in a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS. "It was great fun," she said. “Unfortunately, the lap was far too short. But it made me hungry to take a car like this one day and try it myself.”
What impressed Emma Raducanu most during her visit to Brands Hatch, however, was the versatility of the Porsche 911 – luxuriously equipped for the road and pared down to the bare essentials for the racetrack. "Porsche is a great brand," she said after being on the podium at the awards ceremony. “Working with Porsche and having experiences like this is just great. I can learn so much from it.”