Emma Raducanu visiting Porsche Motorsport
The heart of Porsche Motorsport beats in Weissach. A visit to the Porsche Development Center has long been on the wish list of tennis star and racing fan Emma Raducanu. The opportunity arose on the sidelines of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix – and the Porsche brand ambassador gladly accepted the invitation.
by p.m
last edit:
Apr 22, 2023, 06:58 pm
“It was a great day with Porsche. The tour of the development center was super interesting and a lot of fun.” Emma Raducanu, a big automobile and motorsport fan, was visibly enthusiastic about the tour of the Porsche Motorsport headquarters. The 20-year-old Briton was able to gain racetrack experience with a Porsche at Silverstone alongside former long-distance world champion Mark Webber and at Brands Hatch with Porsche Carrera Cup driver Adam Smalley. Emma Raducanu, who competed in kart races as a child, now visited the motorsport workshop and the development area for GT road vehicles, among other things. The winner of the US Open 2021 was particularly impressed by a short detour to the test track, where rollouts with the Porsche GT3 R took place.
In the run-up to the Berlin E-Prix, the weekend's guest appearance of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in the German capital, Porsche works driver Pascal Wehrlein completed a test in the racing simulator in Weissach. For Emma Raducanu, this was a good opportunity to get a first-hand insight into the work of the world championship-leading TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team. After Pascal Wehrlein, who has already won two races this season, she was allowed into the simulator herself - and received tips and instructions over the radio from the current leader in the Formula E driver standings.
“The impressions in the simulator were unique. I never imagined how big a difference it would be compared to real driving on the track,” she said. “I have a lot of respect for the drivers who get into the simulator and take everything naturally and lightly. Pascal gave me a great insight into Formula E. As a racing driver, he travels about as much as we tennis pros. Aside from motorsport, it was nice to exchange ideas with someone who is kind of in the same situation as me.”
For Pascal Wehrlein it was “cool to meet Emma and show her the simulator and our motorsport workshop. She's a big motorsport fan and was very interested in everything we do here.” From Emma Raducanu's point of view, motorsport and tennis definitely have something in common: “You have the competition, the adrenaline and the pressure. And you have to make decisions that can make the difference between victory and defeat in an extremely short time.”