A Centurion woman is breaking barriers in the male-dominated world of motorsport, turning a childhood fascination with racing into a career journey.

At 39, Fabienne Lanz has spent most of her life around racing. Her journey began long before she climbed behind the wheel, growing up with a father who was himself a racer.

“I grew up around that environment and became exposed to it from a very early age,” Lanz said.

Although she initially did ballet, racing soon became her passion. At eight, she drove a kart for the first time at an indoor racing track.

“I drove slowly. I told my dad I loved it and wanted to do it more,” she said.

After school, Lanz completed her homework at her father’s workshop before driving. Six months later, he bought her her first kart.

Her fascination with motorsport extended beyond simply driving. As a child, she spent time exploring her father’s workshop, playing with tools and building makeshift engines from nuts and bolts. As she grew older, she became increasingly interested in understanding what made a race car perform.

She told Rekord that curiosity drives her interest in racing. Learning about elements such as tyre pressures and tyre wear became part of her approach to racing.

For Lanz, racing is about consistency, not just one fast lap. “It’s not just about one fast lap. You need to maintain speed over the race,” she said.

Her journey brought challenges. She experienced bullying because she was a woman in a male-dominated sport, but her father taught her to focus on her ability rather than her gender.

“My dad taught me to concentrate on being a driver, not on gender,” she said.

After many attempts, in 2020, she finally won and was crowned the KZ2 champion at the ROK Cup South Africa National Championships in 2020, despite suffering an accident during the opening heat and later discovering she had broken a rib.

“It was a test of mental strength,” she said.

Years later, Lanz built her own racing team and became a coach, helping more than 80 children become licensed racers. In 2022, three students competed with her at one of her races in Spain.

“I was so proud after three years of hard work,” she said.

Now, Lanz has her sights set on the Nürburgring 24 Hours in Germany while promoting opportunities for women in motorsport.

Her advice to aspiring racers is simple: “Take that first step and be curious.”

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