Female Driver Program Boosts Porsche Single-Makes in U.S.

As Porsche Carrera Cup North America enters its new season, one of its most successful programs in Porsche one-make competition remains the Mobil 1 Female Driver Program North America.

Since its inception in 2023, female drivers have regularly found a home in this championship and Porsche Sprint Challenge North America and enjoyed the financial and racing support provided from Porsche Motorsport North America and its partners.

The Carrera Cup entry list features a trio of female drivers, two returning veterans in Sabre Cook and Madeline Stewart and a series rookie in Ashley Freiberg when the championship opens with a doubleheader at Sebring International Raceway.

The Porsche Sprint Challenge season opened at the same Sebring track on the first weekend in March, with Therese Lahlouh, Loni Unser, Erika Hoffmann and Anna Cecchi participating. Unser and Cecchi both stood on the podium in each Cayman Pro-Am class races.

“Porsche Motorsport North America is happy to support the Mobil 1 Female Driver program again in 2025,” Porsche Motorsport North America President and CEO Volker Holzmeyer said.

“The success of the program has been proven by the return of Sabré and Madeline, as well as Ashley’s rise through the single-make pyramid and the numerous other female drivers competing in Porsche Sprint Challenge this season.

“We wish all seven of our participating female drivers the best of luck this season and hope to see them all on the podium this year.”

The Porsche Mobil 1 Female Driver program, which has been in existence since 2023 across both Carrera Cup and Sprint Challenge, aims to create a supportive environment that showcases and nurtures female talent by equipping them with the necessary resources to excel in motorsports.

It covers 50 percent of all entry fees throughout the season, and the top-finishing female driver at each round will receive a complementary set of Yokohama tires for the following event to help ease the financial burden and encourage a high level of performance.

“I was very fortunate to work with Porsche Motorsport North America the very first season I entered into Carrera Cup, becoming the first member of the Female Driver program,” Cook said.

“It’s incredible that they have expanded that support every year to help more and more female drivers, and it’s great to see how many women are now in Porsche single-make championships here in North America.”

Additionally, the Porsche Mobil 1 Female Driver initiative provides access to specialized workshops for female drivers across the PMNA single-make program, offering valuable training, education and networking opportunities to advance their careers.

“The Porsche Mobil 1 Female Driver program is extremely helpful,” Freiberg said.

“Any amount of support, once you start adding it up, is very helpful. But to have big brands like Mobil 1 and Porsche and Yokohama come together to support female drivers is amazing on a lot of levels because I’m so passionate about also having more females in the series.”

All three drivers participated in the series-wide pre-season test at Sebring in early March before turning around for the official start of the season as part of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship paddock.

“Porsche is a world-renowned brand, so being a part of any program they have is really important,” Stewart said. “I feel very lucky to be a part of it and think it gets stronger every year and continues to develop. The support they give is a big contribution to what gets me on the grid, so I’m very grateful.”

Cook and Stewart each scored multiple top-ten finishes a season ago and arrive with increased expectations for themselves this year; an important step to the program.