There's a New Porsche Racer on the Rise
With five years on the scene under her belt and a thirst for speed, race car driver Aurora Straus is making fans into believers.
Who is she?
Meet Aurora Straus, second-tier Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge racer and recently accepted into Harvard University as a double major mechanical engineering and English lit student. Five years ago at the age of 13 Aurora enrolled into racing school and was told by an instructor that the reason she wasn't progressing as fast as other students was "because she was a girl" and could never be as aggressive as she needed to be. In the years to come, she worked tirelessly to defy the statement made that day.
>>Join the conversation about This New Porsche Racer on the Rise right here in the Rennlist Forum!
It all started so innocently
When Aurora's father initially signed her up for racing school he never intended for his daughter to become a racer. It all started so innocently as a way to instill car control and basic defensive driving skills at an early age. “We live 45 minutes north of the city, and the weather is pretty often icy and slushy,” Aurora remarked. “I wanted to be able to drive my siblings in the rain and feel comfortable if the car slid.”
>>Join the conversation about This New Porsche Racer on the Rise right here in the Rennlist Forum!
The need for speed
Aurora wasn't initially into the idea of racing but that all changed once she got on the road and went over 100 mph. In her own words, she became obsessed with the feeling of control and the sound of the car accelerating on the track. By the age of 15, she was already racing Mazda MX-5s and Caymans in and outside of the United States. Two years after that, she made her debut as the youngest Continental TireSportscar Challange driver and ran the full 2016 Global MX-5 Cup season. Currently, she, along with her co-driver Connor Bloum, are ranked 7th out of 39 in the Continental Tire ST standings.
>>Join the conversation about This New Porsche Racer on the Rise right here in the Rennlist Forum!
Where to turn?
In that first year on the track, Aurora had faced so many obstacles including almost being forced off the track by competitors who didn't want to be passed by a girl. She almost quit the sport entirely. “I think that it was a combination of the fact that I hadn’t realized the learning curve would be so high, and, also, that female racers are few and far between,” Aurora said. “I hadn’t really networked yet at that point, and I hadn’t found other people who really understood.”
>>Join the conversation about This New Porsche Racer on the Rise right here in the Rennlist Forum!
The old folks call it gumption
Finding other women racers and networking with them is just what Aurora needed to get past that early comment about her perceived lack of aggressiveness. By watching and learning from these women she picked up on how to market herself, deal with speed and reminded her that gender biased views were completely wrong. "No one can make me feel inferior without my consent in the matter."
>>Join the conversation about This New Porsche Racer on the Rise right here in the Rennlist Forum!
Best of luck to Aurora
On what she plans to do after college, Aurora says she's interested in engineering or car design as she's enjoyed how much math and engineering courses have helped her to get better. "You can calculate the theoretical fastest lap for your race car, and that analysis allowed me to overlay data from my practice laps to see where I could gain one tenth or two-tenths of a second in any given turn.”
>>Join the conversation about This New Porsche Racer on the Rise right here in the Rennlist Forum!
For help with service of your car, check out the how to section of RennList.com