Legacy takes a lap: inspiring the next generation of women racers

Building the future by showing what’s possible

April 3, 2024

Every racer has their origin story.

For Margie Smith-Haas, it started with a couple of races 60 miles from her childhood home. For Sabré Cook, it started as an eight-year-old karting prodigy. For both, it was the start of a boundary-breaking run. Porsche brought them together for a conversation about what it means to inspire the next generation of women racers.

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Margie’s remarkable journey would make her a pathfinder, but it was rooted in a simple need for speed. Drawn to the excitement of motorsports, she “borrowed” the family car to enter her first race, disconnecting the odometer to cover her tracks. She would go on to become the first woman to win a North American professional road racing championship in 1994 and—at the wheel of a 930 Turbo in 1984—the first American woman to compete at Le Mans. Determined to race, Margie further opened the door for other women to follow her lead.

One of them, Sabré Cook, has led a no-less remarkable career since. What began in karts has developed into a string of first-woman accomplishments and victories, including becoming the first woman to race in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America.

Given their shared history, it was only appropriate these two women discuss their racing lives while lapping a racetrack, side-by-side in a 911 GTS. As Margie says, persistence is vital to proving that women can compete in a field traditionally dominated by men. “You’re in it like anyone else—you want to go and win a championship.” Or as summed by Sabré, “Women like racing, too!”

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