1956 356A Conquers 7 Continents for a Good Cause

An Inspiring Porsche Car Story

The story behind Renee Brinkerhoff’s world rally tour is one of the most inspiring Porsche car stories you’ll ever hear. At 57, when most people her age are preparing to settle down into retirement, she went after an ambition that she had held on to for over 30 years–to be a racecar driver. As fate would have it, the Porsche 356 became her racecar of choice. What’s even more inspiring is that instead of choosing the safer and more controlled local racing competitions in the USA, she chose rally racing, probably because of its dangerous and unpredictable nature. That was back in 2012. It started out as a desire to race just to check off a box on her list of ambitions, but it took on a life of its own and grew to something that was way bigger than her! 

Now, at 65, Renee is on the verge of completing her quest to race her Porsche 356 across 20,000 miles, 18 countries, and seven continents, all for the purpose of raising funds to combat child exploitation and trafficking. Her goal is to raise a million dollars for this noble cause. After racing in North America, South America, Australia, Asia, Europe, and Africa, she expects to take on her last challenge in Antarctica in the winter of 2020. She’ll race just 356 miles in the snow down south in honor of her trusty Porsche 356.     

Photo courtesy of Hagerty.com

From Housewife to Rally Racing Icon

Renee did not have any racing experience or any background in cars prior to throwing herself into motor sports, nor did anyone in her family; she had just admired racecar drivers from afar.

“I realized that for my self-respect, I had to do that one thing.” 

Her husband runs La Loma, a popular Mexican restaurant in Denver, Colorado. She had spent the last two decades home-schooling her four children, so the entire racing experience was new to her.

Photo Courtesy of journal.classiccars.com

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Where to Start

Renee’s husband had a cousin who had some experience in classic car racing. He helped Renee to explore the different forms of racing competitions that she could enter. Renee was drawn to the raw, ‘no holds barred’, and unpredictable nature of rally racing. She liked the fact that she would never get to see the same turn twice and that she would get the chance to push her race car to its limits on roads of varying conditions. She settled on the La Carrera Panamericana of Mexico. This 7-day and the nearly 2,000-mile race is considered one of the most dangerous and most grueling rally competitions in the world.      

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Now, I Need a Race Car

It so happened that the same cousin had recently purchased a Porsche 356 that needed to be restored, so he called Renee over to come and see it. She fell in love with it the moment she saw it. She had never seen a Porsche 356 before, but she just loved its shape and design, its simple, tech-devoid nature, and its engine sounds. This car wasn’t for sale, so Renee enlisted the help of Porsche specialist Jim Ansite to get her own race car. Before long, they were able to get a 1956 356A coupe in great condition. And get this: the 356A was produced the same year that Renee was born.

Photo Courtesy of journal.classiccars.com

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Converting the 356A into a Race Car

Renee didn’t go wrong in choosing the Porsche 356. Going by the 356’s impressive showings in many 1950s racing events, it was apparent that this car had serious race car potential. However, it still had to be modified for rally driving, and Renee chose Greg Johnson of Eurosport Limited in Englewood, CO to help with that.

Her 356A had a stock naturally aspirated 1.6 L 4-cylinder boxer air-cooled engine with dual downdraft Zenith carburetors. It cranked out 59 hp and 81 lb.-ft. of torque. The guys at Eurosport switched that engine with a race-spec, 152-hp 2.0 L 4- boxer cylinder engine with dual Weber carburetors. The stock 4-speed manual was also swapped with a more robust 5-speed manual, and a limited-slip differential was also installed. In addition, the car was also taken apart for structural reinforcement, and the cabin also got a fire-suppression system, a roll cage, and sport seats with racing-spec harness seatbelts. They also installed rally-spec disc brakes at all four wheels, and the 911’s articulated rear suspension system for better handling. The car also got an 80-liter fuel cell.  

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Valkyrie Racing

To take part in rally competitions, Renee needed a racing team, complete with a navigator, media/operations specialist(s), and engineers/technicians. She managed to assemble an excellent team, some of whom had already served in other racing teams. They chose ‘Valkyrie Racing’ as their team name. It was inspired by the Valkyries in Norse mythology. The logo depicts a winged Valkyrie, brandishing a spear and riding a galloping horse.

Photo Courtesy of Valkyrie Racing 

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“I Was Just Going To Do It One Time”

Renee never intended to go past the first race. She just wanted to complete one challenging rally race and then hang up her rallying boots. After a short performance driving course at the Porsche Sport Driving School, Renee (with her racing team) took part in the 7-day, 2,000-mile La Carrera Panamericana in October 2013. As luck would have it, she finished first in her class in the initial stage of the race. She maintained that lead through the next 6 days of racing, becoming one of the few lady racecar drivers to achieve a class victory at the La Carrera Panamericana. What’s even more amazing is the fact that she won it the first time around.

Well, Renee came back to La Carrera Panamericana the next year and finished in second place in her class. Valkyrie Racing came back yet again in 2015, and even after hitting a railing and flipping the car on one of the race sections, they again achieved a second-place finish in their class.

Photo Courtesy of Valkyrie Racing 

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A Desire to Give Back

The Valkyrie Racing team got to interact a lot with the Mexican locals while participating in the La Carrera Panamericana. The locals had always been friendly and supportive. With time, Renee and her team started thinking about ways in which they could give back to the local community in Mexico because they saw the challenges that the locals faced, one of which was (and still is) child exploitation and trafficking. After the 2015 La Carrera Panamericana, Renee and her team came up with the plan to set up a world rally tour that would span six racing events across seven continents, its aim is to raise funds to combat child exploitation and child trafficking. They called it the “Porsche 356 World Rally Tour”.  

Photo Courtesy of Valkyrie Racing 

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First Event: North America - The La Carrera Panamericana, October 2017

Renee and her team wanted to start with an event in North America. Given their positive turnouts in Mexico, they unanimously chose the 2017 La Carrera Panamericana as their first world tour event. This time around, things went according to plan; there weren’t any close calls. Renee achieved another class victory.

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Second Event: Australia – The Targa Tasmania, April 2018

The next event on the Porsche 356 World Rally Tour took Valkyrie Racing all the way to Australia. The 6-day, 1,200-mile, all-tarmac Targa Tasmania racing competition is regarded as “the largest, fastest tarmac race in the world.” When Renee and her team were competing in 2018, it had drawn over 300 classic and modern race cars, many of which were supercars. However, she still snagged a Targa Plate award. She was the only female racer in the entire competition.

Photo Courtesy of Tuthill Porsche

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Third Event: South America – The Caminos del Inca, October 2018

Later the same year, Valkyrie Racing went to Peru for the Caminos del Inca–the biggest racing competition of the year in Peru. One of the oldest rallies in the world, the Caminos del Inca is a 9-day racing event on high-elevation gravel roads that weave through the Andes mountains. This race, according to Renee, was a whole different ballgame because she was matched up against seasoned rally drivers with modern, purpose-built rally cars. Her car was the only classic car in the event; it was also the first Porsche 356 ever to be featured in the event. Renee completed the race in a respectable time, but her competition outpaced her by far.

Photo Courtesy of Valkyrie Racing 

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Fourth Event: Asia and Europe–the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, June-July 2019

The next event was Renee’s longest race yet. The Peking to Paris Motor Challenge is a grueling 36-day, 9,300-mile that severely tests the strength of both the driver and the race car. It cuts across rough terrain and many river crossings in China, Mongolia, Russia, and Mongolia as it stretches to the heart of Europe. Unfortunately, the engine of Renee’s 356A succumbed to the intensity of the race when she was near St. Petersburg. Luckily for Valkyrie Racing, they had established a close working relationship with Tuthill Porsche in Oxfordshire, England. Francis Tuthill of Tuthill Porsche made the trip from England to Russia to bring Renee an engine replacement. It was a brand new 356 engine. Because of airline weight restrictions, the engine had to be disassembled and shipped in several pieces. It was reassembled for Renee’s car at a Porsche dealer in Novosibirsk, Russia. After that, Renee was able to continue with the race right to the finish in Paris.

Photo Courtesy of Valkyrie Racing 

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Fifth Event: Africa–the East African Safari Classic Rally, November-December 2019

According to Renee, the East African Safari Classic Rally was her toughest race yet. This 9-day, 3,000-mile, all-off-road race cuts across Kenya’s and Tanzania’s wild and rugged countrysides, with weather-beaten, uneven gravel roads that give race cars quite a beating. Also, Renee and her team took part in the rally during the rainiest season Kenya had experienced in 40 years. Like the way it was in the Targa Tasmania of Australia, Renee was the only woman driver in the race.  

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Final Event: Antarctica, winter 2020

Valkyrie Racing is now intensely preparing for the last leg of their world tour in Antarctica, which expected to take place in late 2020. Renee has enlisted the services of Jason De Carteret, a British adventurer who holds a world record in polar exploration. The plan is to do a 356-mile-long trek in the dense snow and then attempt to set a land speed record on an ice landing strip. Completing the 356-mile trek will bring Renee’s total mileage in all the events of the world rally tour to nearly 20,000 miles.

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Funds Raised

Throughout the world rally tour, Valkyrie Racing went about creating awareness about child exploitation and trafficking when they got the chance, and they also gave donations to many orphanages and child welfare organizations in the different countries they went to. To date, Valkyrie Racing has raised nearly $200,000; their aim is to hit $1 million. All this money will go to grassroots child welfare organizations that focus on preventing and rescuing children from exploitation and trafficking.

Photo Courtesy of Valkyrie Racing  

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