Rendering: Valkyrie Racing
After several years and six continents of motor sport rallying, Valkyrie Racing is finally nearing the end of its program by tackling the seventh continent, Antarctica. This 356 and its driver, Renee Brinkerhoff, have been through a whole lot together, running everything from the Carrera Panamerica to the East Africa Safari Rally and Targa Tasmania. North America, South America, Australia, Africa, Europe, Asia; those are the easy ones. Obviously Antarctica is going to take a completely different set of skills.
This bottom-of-the-globe challenge was supposed to go down in 2020, but for obvious reasons it was pushed back a bit. Saving the most epic trek for last, Brinkerhoff and team have outfitted the old Porsche chassis with tracks and skis to navigate the freezing cold environment of the world’s southernmost climate. “Our challenge will be to make a 60-year-old car into a state of the art, technologically advanced racing machine capable of racing in the most severe weather conditions for a machine of any kind.” Yeah, it’s for sure a challenge, and one I’m super interested in following along with.
Her final frontier will be this winter in Antarctica, where Renee takes on a final 356 miles of her journey on ice and attempts a land-speed record on the blue ice at Union Glacier.
The Feat: 6 Races / 7 Continents
- LA CARRERA PANAMERICANA: Oct. 13 — 19, 2017
- TARGA TASMANIA: April 16 — 21, 2018
- GRAND PRIX SOUTH AMERICA: Oct. 18 — Nov. 17, 2018
- PEKING TO PARIS: June 2 — July 7, 2019
- EAST AFRICAN SAFARI CLASSIC: Nov. 27 — Dec. 6, 2019
- ANTARCTICA ICE 356: THIS YEAR!
Aside from a deep seated interest in pushing herself to the limit and going the extra mile in the interest of speed and a love of her 356, Brinkerhoff has also been traversing the globe in support of a worthy cause. Valkyrie Racing’s nonprofit charity arm, Valkyrie Gives, was formed to aid women and children at risk around the world, with a focus on ending child trafficking. The effort has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for programs all over the world in high-risk areas. Valkyrie Gives assures every donor that the full amount of their gift is going directly to proven projects that positively impact the lives of women and children at risk of trafficking. Go check it out for yourself.