Sabre Cook tells Motorsport Week about her journey from karting to racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America.
Cook is a professional racing driver and mechanical engineer currently racing for MDK Motorsports in the Porsche Carrera Cup.
In 2023, she became the first female driver to compete in the North America series, representing Era Motorsport.
Cook told Motorsport Week: “I have so many different things I’m passionate about, and I’ve always tried my best to chase my dreams and goals.
“It all lined up quite nicely, and I was really fortunate to have that support from a range of places.”
The American racing driver has been racing since she was eight years old, working her way up to Formula 4 and W Series before competing in the Carrera Cup.
Cook shared: “My dad used to race motocross Supercross professionally and my mom didn’t want me racing motorcycles so I started karting just before I was eight years old.
“I eventually progressed in the karting scene and won three World Championships, three national championships, and quite a few regional championships as well.
“Car racing is obviously expensive so I didn’t really get a chance to show my talent until I got a sponsorship in 2017.”
She doesn’t just race, though, Cook worked as a Suspension Composite Design Engineer for the Renault Formula 1 team after completing an engineering degree.
“I always loved school,” she explained. “I was into maths and science so it made sense for me to go to school for engineering.
“It’s something I’m really passionate about and it reflects in my racing.
“Being a driver is definitely my main passion and focus, but I always tend to look at things from a more technical and analytical perspective.”
The 30-year-old driver holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, balancing her racing career with her education.
While competing in karting races across the country, she managed to win the Infiniti Engineering Academy programme.
“When I was going to school and driving at the same time it was really, really tough. I got better at managing my time and I got better at balancing things,” Cook shared.
“I was lucky that the university I went to ended up treating me like a varsity athlete, so they gave me the same number of excused absences as they would any of the other athletes at school.
“I have so many different things I’m passionate about, and I’ve always tried my best to chase my dreams and goals.
“It all lined up quite nicely, and I was really fortunate to have that support from a range of places.”
Now, Cook races the #37 Porsche Carrera 911 GT3 car sponsored by PenFed Credit Union who supports her on and off track.
Off track, Cook supports several female drivers as a mentor in addition to creating content and speaking at panels for women in motorsport.
“From a young age I remember people were pretty positive and encouraging, I was really lucky to have a lot of positive support from the get-go,” she explained.
“I was super lucky that my parents never said, ‘Oh, well your girl you can’t do this’. I had a dad who treated me the same no matter what.
“He was like ‘Well if you really want to do it, then we’ll go for it, I’m gonna push you just as hard as I would a boy or a son and this is how you win.’
“My dad really instilled in me from a young age how to work hard and what it takes to be successful and having someone like that is really valuable.”
Cook has stated that she aims to teach more young women about motorsport, hoping to inspire as many young girls as she can.
The only female driver in the Carrera Cup coaches and aids young drivers to find their path in motorsport.
She said: “I see a young girl that I feel has a lot of potential, I’ll reach out and just see if she is interested in anything.
“Also I’ve worked for a few different schools and so they’ll reach out to me to coach for race weekends or for school events.
“I have a couple of young girls right now that I do a lot of coaching with virtually, so that’s pretty neat because you can connect to anywhere in the world at any time.”
With a full season ahead of her, Cook is working towards scoring points in her Porsche and honing her skills as a driver.
She hopes to continue racing at the highest level of motorsport, willing to compete in different forms of motorsport.
