Profile: Lauren Cornes

Sprints, Hill Climbs, Tarmac Rally and Rally Sprints | Competitor, Organiser, Official, Media Manager

Back when Lauren was only 12 and her mum joined a car club, Lauren couldn’t understand not wanting to be hands-on involved in all the activities, which is probably one of the reasons she has such a long list motorsports hats to wear.

“I took my mum’s lead in joining a car club and after a couple of cruises, where I may have shown that I was somewhat spirited behind the wheel, I was taken under the wing of an experienced motorsport competitor. He asked me and another club member if we’d like to come along and crew for him on events, so we did. Not only did I get a taste for motorsport events, I’ve been married to the other tag along for 10 years this year.”

In some capacity, Lauren can be found participating in motorsport once every fortnight, if you don’t include that she actually has a day job working for CAMS which allows her to travel in the role of Event Manager for the CAMS Club Challenge. Unfortunately, she can’t work and compete at the same time, so there are occasions when the Nissan 350z Track model has to be left at home.

It is a bit of a princess – looks the business but lacks grunt.

Having worked in Motorsport PR, Lauren has had the difficult role of being the main point of communication regarding some critical incidences that have happened in the sport. “They stay with you, and are always in the back of my mind each time I put the helmet on,” she says, confirming that she tries not to test the limits of her or her car’s ability.

When her hubby isn’t minding their 3 young, energetic boys so that she can “go play cars”, he is co-driving in events just like the recent Bunbury GT Sprint Tarmac Rally.

“I was so nervous that I was wondering how quickly I could get the helmet off and out of the car should those nerves overcome me,” Lauren shared, worried about being so inexperienced on such a complex course. But as all competitors know, the butterflies disappeared after the first run.

While Lauren immerses herself fully in both sides of the motorsport fence, they both give her a definite sense of achievement that comes from overcoming all the little challenges that can crop up with her personality of overthinking everything.

Motorsport is almost meditative. When you are a competitor, your focus has to be completely in the present – there’s no room for any worries or running through todo lists.

Lauren has some great advice for anyone currently sitting on the fence about joining in the action. Like the NIKE advert says, Just do it. Get involved with your car club and support grassroots events. Even Lauren has aspirations to play with an awesome purpose build race car, but to be involved you don’t need to spend a fortune to play. Join in on track days and don’t worry about being slow or unfamiliar with the track. Everyone was a beginner at some stage and I find the vast majority of competitors are very welcoming and supportive of newcomers.

If you would like to support and sponsor Lauren in her endeavors, just drop us a line and we’ll pass your details on to her.