Tennis star Emma Raducanu visits Porsche Motorsport

“Today the experience at Porsche was pretty fun. Getting a tour around the Development Centre has been really interesting.” Emma Raducanu, a big car and motorsports fan, was visibly thrilled by the guided tour around the headquarters of Porsche motorsports.

The 20-year-old Briton has already gained her first race circuit experiences at Silverstone alongside the former Endurance World Champion Mark Webber and at Brands Hatch together with the Porsche Carrera Cup driver Adam Smalley. Now it was time for Emma Raducanu, who competed in kart races as a child, to visit amongst other things, the motorsports workshop and the development department for GT road vehicles. The winner of the 2021 US Open was particularly taken by the short trip over the test track where rollouts with the Porsche GT3 R were taking place.

Ahead of the Berlin E-Prix, the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship’s guest appearance in the German capital, the Porsche works driver Pascal Wehrlein underwent a practice session in the race simulator in Weissach. For Emma Raducanu, it was a good chance to get a first-hand insight into the work of the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team, the  World Championship leaders. After the winner of two races this year had finished, she herself was given the chance to take up a seat in the simulator – and was radioed tips and instructions by the current leader in the Formula E drivers’ standings.

“For me to get in the simulator was such an experience. I honestly couldn’t believe how different it was to being in a regular car on the track,” she said. “I do have a lot of respect of drivers to get in the simulator and take it naturally and easy. Pascal gave me a great inside on what it’s like being in Formula E. As a race driver, he probably travels the same as we tennis players do. It was just nice speaking to someone who kind of relates to a similar situation as me.”

For Pascal Wehrlein, it was “cool meeting Emma and showing her the simulator and our motorsports workshop. “She is a big motorsports fan and was very interested in everything we do here.”

In Emma Raducanu’s mind, motorsport and tennis have similarities: “You have the competition, the adrenaline, and the pressure moments. And you have to make a decision that could be make or break in an extremely short time.”