Porsche #Girlpower at Buttonwillow
Published on Sat, Mar 16, 2019
By: Glenn Oyoung
PCA Hosts First Women’s Track Day at Buttonwillow Raceway
If you own a Porsche, you know Porsche Club of America aka PCA. Formed in 1955 and split into 14 regions, PCA puts on a wide range of events ranging from competitive events to track days to social meets for its whopping 130,000+ members. With that as a backdrop its truly impressive that PCA Los Angeles region (PCA-LA) put on the Club’s first women’s track day ever last week – fittingly, the day before International Women’s Day.
As a father of two girls that I successfully have introduced the love of cars to, I now see milestones like this in a totally different light. On the one hand – how awesome is that! The first women’s only track day. On the other hand, why did it take so long? The answer – you always need the right team. Enter PCA-LA, along with Porsche Fresno and Accelerating Change.
Three-time professional racing champion Christina Nielsen and PCA Chief Driving Instructor and National Trainer Scott Mann were joined by other instructors and volunteers from across the PCA regions to conduct the track day and help over 40 women get some high-performance seat time at Buttonwillow Raceway. “Oftentimes High-Performance Driver Education programs are predominantly attended by men and our goal is to encourage women to feel comfortable in participating and to do it more often,” said Mann.
Michelin was on board to provide education on tire behavior, particularly concepts related to racing and high-performance driving. “Having a two-time IMSA class champion spearhead an all-women track day to make performance driving approachable and relatable, especially leading into International Women’s Day, is both empowering and inspirational,” said Sarah Robinson, motorsports marketing manager, Michelin North America.
Following the full day of instruction and track time, participants ended the afternoon with a social for a timely Friday launch in honor of National Women’s Day.
