Vollgas, Geschwindigkeit, PS: Claire Schönborn auf dem Weg in den Profisport | SWR Sport

Claire is currently taking off. The 25-year-old from Hunsrück is currently the talk of the rally world, and for good reason. She made her rally debut in August 2024. Just six months later, she and her co-driver Jara Hain won the development program for young female drivers, securing a spot in the Junior World Championship. In her daily life, Claire works as a systems engineer for an automotive supplier. Her entire world revolves around cars and motorsport. One of her greatest successes to date: the overall victory in the 2024 KW Hill Climb Cup, which she won as the youngest participant ever. This exceptional talent was practically born into a car. Her entire family is motorsports-mad; her father, Rainer, and mother, Andrea, both competed in hill climbs for many years. A passion that was passed on to Claire and her little sister at an early age. At 15, she drove in her first of many races. Claire explains: "My sister and I grew up on hill climbs." As a result, they were "infected with motorsport from the very beginning." Naturally, the racing parents are brimming with pride. "We knew from the beginning that she was always fast, even in karts," says her mother, Andrea Schönborn. "But to actually make it this far – she's done amazingly." Without ever having driven a rally, she applied for the World Rally Championship's Young Driver's Development Program for Women in 2024. Surprisingly, she landed among the top 15 candidates and was invited to the trials in Poland. Claire didn't expect to be successful there and, given the tough competition, planned to spend three pleasant days in Poland. At the end of the trials, she was ranked among the top three. Then everything happened very quickly. She continued to assert herself in her third rally in Central Europe, followed by the race in Sweden. This was the first stage of the Junior World Championship and also the finale of the women's development program. There, Claire and Jara finished seventh, winning the Young Driver's Program. This despite it being their first time driving on snow. Every day after work, Claire now trains on the simulator or in the in-house gym, as the Portugal Rally of the Junior World Championship takes place on May 15th. +++Up Close+++ Emotions, backgrounds, portraits – we bring you up close to athletes from the southwest. What concerns the athletes? What does their everyday life look like? We tell very personal stories about extraordinary people. And we're "Up Close" for you. More from SWR Sport can be found here: SWR Sport online: https://www.swr.de/sport SWR Sport on Facebook: /swrsport SWR Sport on Instagram: /swrsport SWR Sport on Twitter: /swrsport Imprint: https://www.swr.de/impressum/ Comments are welcome - but please observe our netiquette: https://www.swr.de/netiquette Data protection: https://www.swr.de/datenschutz