Shift by Porsche – Ladies Day 2024
Women on Track – On March 8, International Women’s Day, Porsche Centar Sarajevo invited successful women to the race track in Grobnik, Croatia. True to the motto ‘Shift by Porsche’, they were able to get behind the wheel of various Porsche models and try out their skills on the race track and off-road.
March 8 is taken very seriously in Bosnia-Herzegovina compared to Germany. Here the women are celebrated and given rich gifts by their husbands, brothers, fathers and sons. That’s why 15 of the country’s most successful women took to the race track in Grobnik near the beautiful town of Opatija on the Adriatic coast. Porsche Centar Sarajevo invited guests to this year’s Ladies Day. The gift: leave the stress of everyday life behind and indulge in the power of the world’s most successful sports brand. Shift by Porsche was the motto. The driving program invited to the special event “Women on Track” on this day, which is dedicated to women worldwide. And yes, the ladies got behind the wheel of the powerful bodies themselves to indulge in the adrenaline rush!
It was the first time that I had ridden to such a driving event with an all-female group. Actually, it’s always the other way around. I was always (almost) alone among men. I felt a little queasy. But that quickly subsided. Even the drive there was fun and entertaining! The group, although made up of such different characters, harmonized perfectly! Everyone was looking forward to the event and was curious. Even if some have been driving a Porsche model for a long time – none of them have been on the racetrack.
The Porsche models were neatly lined up waiting for us. The most powerful among them were certainly the 718 Cayman GT4 RS and the 911 GT3 RS, followed by the no less powerful 911 Carrera GTS Coupe, the 911 Targa 4 and the unbeatable e-models Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo Gran Tourismo. These were joined by the Porsche Macan GTS and Cayenne e-Hybrid SUV models.
From a sporty combustion engine to a hybrid and an e-variant. We had the opportunity to try out all kinds of sporty mobility on the racetrack.
There was also a small challenge for the participants. They were able to demonstrate their courage and competitive spirit in the slalom. Yes, they stepped on the gas, sometimes very carefully and cautiously, but with our great international instructors at their side, everyone’s blocks quickly fell away. Different generations and characters came together here. Together, hand in hand, they proved that as women they can do anything if they only want to! Yes, we were competing against each other, but there was no sign of competition! Women are more critical and cautious in what they do. No male macho posturing like I’m used to at some other events.
Further exercises such as lounge control and accelerating on the racetrack removed all blockages. In addition to all the powerful two-seaters, there were also SUVs on the race track, with which the participants could also explore off-road terrain. In addition to dexterity, courage and stamina were also required in some places. All characteristics that women already master perfectly in everyday life!
The exciting and horsepower-packed day ended with a so-called cab ride with instructors, all of whom were men, by the way. But the best came at the end. Nensi Tercic joined the men as a “cab driver”. The attractive blonde is the record holder on the Grobnik race track in the women’s class for road vehicles. I was allowed to ride with her. As I have often been a co-driver for racing and rally drivers, I had a good comparison. My conclusion: The ride with Nensi made my adrenaline level rise with fear and excitement just like the male racers in previous years!
In the evening we were all exhausted but satisfied! If in the morning you were still worried about how your hair would look after the helmet, in the evening it didn’t matter. I only saw happy faces around me! Incidentally, the hairstyles were just as good as in the morning. On the way back to the hotel, Maria, model, businesswoman and mother of four, tells me how her German husband took her to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart to propose to her: “I wasn’t that interested in cars back then. Today I understand the hype and the enthusiasm for this brand! I’ve caught the fever and I can well imagine driving one myself one day when the children are grown up and I can do without the station wagon!”
Lejla, director of a television station, has been driving the Porsche Macan since the first generation: “I love it and it’s like my partner. But as a child I always wanted to drive a Targa. And today I could. A dream has come true!”
Amela, a doctor, tells me the day before the event that she has been driving a Cayenne for years, currently a Macan GTS. She would also be interested in the Taycan. But she is advised against it. I tell her about my experiences and why this particular model is my absolute favorite. In the evening, she comes up to me beaming with joy: “You were right. The Taycan is amazing! It has won me over! No other car has given me the same feeling when accelerating!”
And me? Well, I’ve had the pleasure of testing several Porsche models in recent years. But this event was also something very special for me. I remember how I loved the lights on the cars as a child. Especially the round ones from Porsche. My father always said: “When you grow up, you’ll drive a Porsche”, and he always smiled when he said that. Now that I’ve grown up, I can drive various Porsche models. And my father is there every time, even though he left Mother Earth seven years ago.
I don’t have my own Porsche. But what is not yet can still be! The important thing is to follow your vision. Ferry Porsche had a vision and he realized it for himself and the world when nobody believed in him. “In the beginning, I looked around but couldn’t find the car I was dreaming of. So I decided to build it myself,” he says, describing his decision. Thanks to him, we can drive cars like this. No other brand embodies as much passion and love as a Porsche!
What is the best way to describe this Porsche event, which brings together exceptional women every year on this day who have the strength, courage and will to make the world a better place? Zvezdana, a well-known TV presenter, put it in a nutshell, or rather her husband did: “What times have dawned! You go from 0 to 100 in 2.6 seconds and I take care of the kids!”
