Renee Brinkerhoff has been a member of Hualalai for 3 years, is married to William Brinkerhoff, and has raised four children. She majored in premed at college, but instead of becoming a physician she dedicated her life to home schooling her children and taking care of her family. She was a true Soccer Mom. But she always had a secret desire. It was always imbedded inside her, even as a child. It was speed and not the meth kind.
Renee always wanted to go fast…the faster the better. Looking back on her life she always had the desire to go fast. She dreamt of becoming a jet pilot. She even considered joining the air force so she could become a fighter pilot. This secret desire was always in the recesses of her mind. That is until 2010.
This is when Renee decided that it was her turn. With the support of her husband, William, and her kids, she decided to enter the racing world. The first thing she did was buy a 1956 Porsche 356. She already had a 2007 Carrera S that she enjoyed driving, but she wanted the challenge an older car could give her. She wanted to feel the energy from the back of the car accelerating her ever forward. And she wanted to be connected to the road, really driving the car.
She wanted to race, but where? How? She knew so little. Luckily William’s cousin was into car racing and she asked him a million questions and began her research. Renee finally settled on her first race, a grueling 7 day rally called “La Carrera Panamericana”; a race that began in 1950 celebrating the completion of the Pan American Highway in Mexico. (The race was shut down in 1954 but was resurrected in the mid 80s.)
Renee researched and reached out to previous drivers of this race. She knew she wanted to be the driver but she needed to practice the race first. She found an experienced La Carrera Panamericana driver who was willing to co-drive with her in 2012. Off she went and learned what the perils were of driving this treacherous race (two people died that year). She and Paul switched between navigator and driver. When she finished she knew she was ready to roll the following year.
Renee was prepared to be the racer, but she needed a good partner—a navigator. She wanted someone young, handsome, and into racing who could speak Spanish and had knowledge of Mexico. Roberto Mendoza from Mexico City joined her team. He filled the bill…he was experienced and he didn’t want to be paid. He wanted to be on even footing with Renee. He didn’t want to be an employee. She had to respect him and he had to respect her. She then had to get a mechanic and trailer team to get her car down to the starting point of the race, not an easy task because you have to go as a Coyote Convoy because of the various drug cartel wars etc.
The last week of October is when the race was held. She and Roberto would start driving at about seven in the morning. Her pit crew would have her car ready and then they would move ahead for refueling and working on her car throughout the day. They traveled through small villages over mountain terrain. When they stopped for the night they gathered with the other racers for their evening meeting, which often ended around 11 PM. Not much sleep and then off again. She never knew whether there might be a crash ahead, or cattle in the road, or a rockslide. Driving her Porsche, Renee would travel about 90 mph on the trafficked roads, but when she hit the speed section of the highway (where they closed the road except for the racers), she pushed her sports car to its limit: 130 mph. If she went any faster the car would become airborne.
Twice Renee spun around 180 degrees on wet roads in the mountains, but she just kept her focus. On the sixth day of the race one of the cars in front of her lost a lot of oil and four cars, including Renee’s slid off the highway into a large field. One overturned and was totaled, a beautiful Alfa Romeo. Renee’s car had mild damage, so it didn’t take long for them to get the car back on the road and plow to the finish line.
Out of 80 entrees, 60 finished. Renee finished at 34th place. Every day she won the race in her class except for the day of the wreck and the last day when they nursed the car to the finish line. At the end of the race she was applauded as the first female to win as a driver and her car won best in show.
Renee told me she loved the experience. At every village or town they passed through, thousands came out to see the cars racing by. Whenever they stopped they were treated like Rock Stars; everyone wanted their autographs and, being a woman Renee was one of the major attractions. She is still exhilarated by the experience and is already working on the race for 2014, which she will again do with Roberto teaming with her.
Where does all this lead? Renee wants to continue driving in rally races. She wants to try racing in other countries and is definitely living her dream. She is also on the look out for a sponsor. She would like to combine racing with raising money for the small, impoverished towns she raced through.
Renee is on fire. Her message? Never give up on your dream. Go for it!
Click here to see a news item about Renee and the race.
Click here to read another article about Renee and her Race
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