Sarah Ganser

Sarah: The interest in cars and motorised vehicles in general has always been there, but at first I was not really taken seriously by my parents and continued to get Barbies and dolls. At the age of nine I went to an indoor karting track for the first time, where the track owner saw that I might have talent. After talking to my parents, he then registered me for the upcoming race, where I was able to prove myself against an experienced competitor with a surprising third place.

So I drove in the indoor karting championship with the support of my parents, who until then had nothing to do with motorsport. Racing kart teams that trained indoors during the winter season encouraged my father to buy me my own kart and enter the sport. However, our possibilities for this were very limited, so I was only able to finish the indoor karting championship with a good third place in the overall championship. After that, I had to take a six-month break from motorsport for budget reasons.

Throughout this time, I kept asking my parents if they could buy me a kart so that I could continue driving. After a long period of scepticism, they did buy me one, which was absolutely not competitive. Nevertheless, I was able to hold my ground through some training. The results got better and better and because of that, little by little, smaller sponsors joined the team. 

WHEEL SISTERS: Have you experienced any sexism when racing, if so, how do you deal with it?

Sarah: I’ve experienced this several times. However, I would like to describe only two very formative moments…In my karting season I have often been able to take first place. In one race, which was really difficult, I was able to assert myself and finally won. At the award ceremony I stood next to my best friend, who came second, and waited for my class to be honoured. When the class was called, 5th and 6th place didn’t come forward, which surprised me a bit. When places 4 and 3 didn’t show up either, I got a little sad. But then came the most shocking thing: when my best friend wanted to get ready and go to the front, his father pulled him back at the last moment, with the words: “You will not stand under a girl! And so, in the end, I finally stood completely alone on the podium…

The second situation, which is the most current and also returns again and again, is that private messages keep coming in, with requests for more pictures in a racing suit, but in an erotic style.

WHEEL SISTERS: What about nowadays? Do you think attitudes to women in motorsport are changing?

Sarah: I think the opinion about women in motorsport in general has changed, but there are always negative comments. Besides, I don’t think it’s quite fair to say that women in motorsport have it easier. After all, we have to prove ourselves again and again, and show that we can’t be put in a pigeonhole so easily.

WHEEL SISTERS: You are the owner and boss of your own racing team. Who are the people around you? Who supports you? How do you manage your different tasks and responsibilities?

Sarah: Ganser Motorsport mainly consists of me, my mum and my dad. Since I still drive actively myself, the tasks are distributed.

I personally take care of the drivers, marketing and social media, driver coaching and the paperwork before the races. My mum does the bookkeeping and my dad is responsible for the entire organisation and everything to do with the cars. Then I have a few boys and girls who take care of the pit stops, the radio, etc. at the track.