Become a racecar driver with the Porsche Track Experience

How to become a racecar driver through the Porsche Track Experience

The dad and daughter racers bonding over their 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport

31 May 2022

A man and a woman lean against a Porsche racing car

The Porsche Track Experience has brought one father and daughter closer – leading them to their own Porsche customer racing encounters. Find out how Sydney and Bruce win and lose together, despite living over 3,000km apart

There are lots of things that you inherit from your parents. For Bruce and Sydney, it’s a love of speed and the thrill of the racetrack. We’re at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida, one of the most famous circuits in the world. This is where this father and daughter competed in their first race together and it’s where they meet again today. A family reunion at the racetrack – the two live over 3,000km apart. “Without racing, we wouldn’t be so connected today,” says Bruce of his daughter. “When I see Sydney driving, I feel proud.”

Grandstand at Daytona International Speedway at sunset — Daytona International Speedway is a legend – to Bruce, racing there feels like the “Super Bowl” of motorsport

Real estate developer Bruce and his investment banker daughter share a 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. Bruce got the motorsport bug himself only about ten years ago. But it began to take over, and Porsche was central to it. “My Porsche Track Experience was so impressive that I quickly came back,” Bruce says of his early encounter behind the wheel of a racecar. His daughter, who was 14 at the time, was there too. Although she couldn’t yet drive herself, Sydney was able to do a few laps in the passenger seat with Le Mans winner Hurley Haywood. It would prove to be a pivotal moment for her.

A woman puts on a racing helmet — Sydney father get the motorsport bug at the age of 14 – today she races with him

Motorsport: a science on four wheels

“I remember a downhill bend that made me think of centrifugal and frictional forces from my physics classes. I was finally able to put what I had learned into practice,” she says.

At the end of the two-day event, Sydney had been totally sold. “I knew that’s exactly what I want to do later,” she adds of a Porsche moment that would change her life.

Man leans against Porsche racing car at Daytona International Speedway — Bruce and his daughter live a long way apart from each other these days. But they bond in the cockpit of their Cayman GT4 Clubsport

At first, Bruce says, he was merely happy to see how excited Sydney was about motorsport. “Then I was proud to see her race and see how she beats men on the track,” he says. “During college, many of my classmates shook their heads when they saw I had a [driving] simulator in my room,” Sydney tells us. Yes, her level of dedication was that intense.

Man and woman walk away from Porsche racecar on track — This father and daughter complement each other as a team – even though their driving styles are completely different

The two may share their customer racing experience, but when it comes to driving styles, they could not be more different, they admit. “I’m far too impatient to enter a corner slowly and exit it quickly. Sydney drives much more calmly and carefully,” her father explains. However, the lap times of the two are exactly the same. But thanks to data analysis, they know that the path to these times is completely different.

Camo-painted Porsche racing car on the racetrack — Bruce and Sydney dream of participating in the 24 Hours of Daytona together one day

Connecting through Porsche motorsport

Today, we are less than 60 minutes away from a 14-hour race at Daytona International Speedway in which Sydney and Bruce will compete in together, along with two good friends. “Our first race together here was incredible,” says Bruce. “I called my wife and said: ‘This feels like the Super Bowl – the Super Bowl of racing. The energy was unique. I was so proud that we got to drive.”

There is no comparable feeling to driving a Porsche. You are more connected to the vehicle and the road than with any other car
Sydney | Participant in the Porsche Track Experience

It was their first race together in the IMSA series. Today, Bruce and Sydney dream of one day being able to participate in the renowned 24-hour race at Daytona. “That would be the icing on the cake for me, because the atmosphere at this event is incredible,” Sydney gushes, who credits their 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport as a huge influence on their motorsport love affair. “There is no comparable feeling to driving a Porsche. You are more connected to the vehicle and the road than with any other car.”

Woman racecar driver, wearing sunglasses, puts headphones on at racetrack — Before each race, Sydney goes through the same routine of listening to a certain playlist to help her focus

Sydney, wearing blue-lensed orange sunglasses, puts her noise-cancelling headphones on. She always listens to the same playlist before the start of every race to calm any nerves and allow her to focus. “Racing separates you from everything else in your life,” says Sydney. “When you buckle up and hit the track, nothing else matters. It’s like a moment of chaos mixed with a moment of pause.” It’s also the moment when a very close father-daughter relationship comes alive – one that began with the Porsche Track Experience.

Get to know Sydney and Bruce in the video and see how the Porsche Track Experience brought this father and daughter even closer together.

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