Page 28 - EA Safari Classic Rally 2019

First woman in history to take a class

win in La Carrera Panamericana on Renée Brinkerhoff

her debut!

American born mother, teacher and now, adventure
rally driver Renée Brinkerhoff and her silver Porsche
356 might be new to Kenya and the Classic Safari Rally
but the pair are no strangers to extreme motorsport
and danger.
After home schooling her four children, Renee
wanted to find an extreme adventure to “keep her
young” and decided to tackle the La Carrera
Panamericana, a Mexican road race at the wheel of
her 356. Despite witnessing a number of tragedies
(one road accident on the event claimed three lives)
Renee finished the 2013 rally first in class and became
the first woman in history to take a class win in La
Carrera Panamericana on her debut!
Renee has now turned this spirit of adventure into
a global campaign, using the car and her thrill of
adventure, to raising money and awareness for global
child trafficking through her charity, Valkyrie Racing .
Renees ambitious project sees her take on a
daunting challenge of contesting 6 races on 7
continents. The challenge began in 2017 with a return
to La Carrera Panamericana, winning her class for a
second time!
Next off it was Targa Tasmania in Australia. Another
challenge and yet another finish, claiming the Targa
Shield on her event debut!
Later the same year, after some modifications by
Tuthill Porsche, the team made its' gravel debut on
the daunting Caminos Del Inca in Peru, South
America. This is the oldest unchanged rally in the
world! Amazingly, after 9 days at extreme altitude
they finished… the only classic car to complete this
arduous event!
From South America the team traveled to Asia for
the Peking to Paris race. 36 days of racing across Asia
and Europe. The event was made even more
challenging by the fact no outside support is allowed,
meaning the driver and co-driver would have to do all
repairs themselves! Renee, co-driven by former Safari
Rally co-driver Calvin Cooledge, was the second lady
driver home in an event where only 72 out of the
original 120 crews crossed the finish line!
After the Peking to Paris the car has had a quick
turn around at the Tuthilll factory and is now headed
for Kenya, Africa to tackle the toughest rally of them
all – the East African Classic Safari Rally. Renee will be
joined by her daughter Juliette for this mighty African
adventure. We wish them the best of luck!
(Oh… and after the challenge of Africa, Renee and
her silver 356 are off to Antartica!) Renée Brinkerhoff and her daughter Juliette

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