“The program mission is to win races and championships. Le Mans is the biggest prize we are pursuing.”
How did your passion for motorsports begin? What aspects of motorsports attract you so much? (Laura Wontrop Klauser, GM Sports Car Racing Program Manager overseeing Cadillac Racing and Corvette Racing) I was always interested in cars and working for the automotive industry. That’s why I decided to pursue a mechanical engineering degree. At college, I joined the Formula SAE team and really enjoyed the competitive nature of motorsports. I liked being a part of the team and seeing how hard I could push myself. It was exciting to get back into the competitive environment with professional motorsports after some years at GM in production. Everyone in motorsports is giving over 100% all the time. I like the high stress high paced environment with immediate feedback on your work.
Please share your experience with Formula SAE program. What were you most excited about? (LWK) I participated in Formula SAE as a Mechanical Engineering Student at RPI. It was the highlight of my college experience. I loved practical application of the engineering lessons I was learning and I’m still in touch with my teammates from that to this day. FSAE was the best way to learn teamwork and project management. I even learned fundraising. It made me better prepared for my career. It also gave me the connection to GM and allowed me the opportunity to coop with GM, which led to a full time job offer. Since graduation, I’ve volunteers at the FSAE Michigan May competition. For the past 10 years, I and a few others have managed the dynamic events at the competition. I love being able to give back and contribute to the experiences of the next generation of engineers.
“GM’s role in Sports Car Racing is to make sure the race car design and performance is winning capable, the teams are campaigning the car successfully, and our interests and competitiveness are protected with the sanctioning bodies.”
What are your day-to-day responsibilities as a racing manager at GM? (LWK) GM’s role in Sports Car Racing is to make sure the race car design and performance is winning capable, the teams are campaigning the car successfully, and our interests and competitiveness are protected with the sanctioning bodies. I oversee the group at GM that accomplishes these goals for Cadillac Racing and Corvette Racing.
“With factory racing, we are integrated with the team and the main focus is winning races and championships. With customer racing, we are responsible for providing teams with a competitive car and some guidance on how to get the most out of the car but it’s up to each team to execute and win.”
And how do they differ from one to another between Corvette Racing and Cadillac Racing?
(LWK) Biggest difference between the two programs is that Cadillac is factory racing and Corvette is customer racing. With factory racing we are integrated with the team and the main focus is winning races and championships. With customer racing, we are responsible for providing teams with a competitive car and some guidance on how to get the most out of the car but it’s up to each team to execute and win.
Cadillac Racing has been competing in the World Endurance Championship. What difference have you noticed when racing in different countries, if any? (LWK) Race fans conduct themselves a little differently in each country, which I think is due to the different cultures, but they all have the same passion and love of the sport. Racing in Le Mans and the WEC feels like we’re in the Olympics with each manufacturer representing their country. We each have a home race on the calendar. I’m very much looking forward to the COTA race, which is our home race.
How important are people management and teamwork in racing? (LWK) The most important. A race team has a diverse group of people that need to function together seamlessly to get the best results. The driver is the traditional athlete but there are also mechanics who are skilled workers and athletes in their own way with pit stop performance, engineers, team managers, PR, hospitality, etc. Everyone has their role to play on the team but are working to the same mission of winning. Those teams that operate as one typically executes the best.
What are the some of the lessons you learned to manage teams to perform their best? (LWK)It’s important for everyone to understand and buy into the big mission of what you are trying to accomplish. Empowering each person to own their contributions allows them to be personally invested in the mission. Treat everyone with kindness and respect. Everyone’s contributions are important to achieving success.
The popularity of racing in the US has grown tremendously in recent years. What are the some of changes you have noticed? (LWK) It’s exciting to see the race attendance up at the IMSA events. Getting around through the paddock area is much more difficult with it packed, and that’s a great thing for our sport. I’ve also noticed that people recognise our racing brands more in public than I experienced in the past.
What are the goals for the Cadillac Racing teams, and for GM in general in the coming years? (LWK) The program mission is to win races and championships. Le Mans is the biggest prize we are pursuing. We are working to improve our execution to accomplish these goals.
