Most will know this young Austrian for her long-standing affiliation with KTM, with whom this ‘Racer at Heart’ is already a class winner in the 24H SERIES powered by Hankook alongside Ferdinand and Johannes – son-of-Le-Mans-winner-Hans – Stuck. That’s not all though. Alongside several seasons in the one-make ‘KTM X-BOW’ Battle series, Laura Kraihamer has also taken multiple podium finishes in the GT4 European Series, the GT4 Central European Cup and the VLN, became a race winner last year in ADAC GT4 Germany, and already has some solid finishes at the Nürburgring 24 Hours to her name.

Turns out Laura’s also very polite to engineers that accidentally use her radio frequency too…

“Laura Kraihamer.”

“Right now, 28. But I’ll be 29 in one week.” – Happy Birthday Laura – “They say you’re only as old as you feel though, so I am probably, like, 15 most of the time!”

“I drove my first laps in a proper race car in the KTM X-BOW Battle in 2012, and it was a KTM X-BOW RR. I actually started karting when I was 12 years old but had to stop not long after that. As we all know, racing is a financially very intense sport, so it was only much later – I think I was 22 – that I could take up the sport once again.”

“There are a few which I will never forget: finishing my first-ever 24-hour race, the Nürburgring 24 Hours; winning my first ADAC GT4 Germany race at the Oschersleben [in 2019]; winning the [Hankook] 24H BARCELONA last year with the KTM X-BOW GTX Prototype. Racing offers so many unforgettable moments, it’s hard to pick one as the ‘best’.”

“I really like Monza. The location of the track is unique, in the middle of the park, the old oval around. The track tells a story which makes the whole experience really special. Besides this .it is a pure high-speed track that I really enjoy.”

“I once spent quite a while talking to a different team on the radio by mistake! Their team was using the wrong frequency, and the other engineer and I were both were quite confused at first: I didn’t understand his instructions and he didn’t understand why I wasn’t following them. Once we’d cleared up the misunderstanding, we politely said goodbye after wished each other a good race!”

“My helmet design is about to change as I have never defined one by myself. But the new design will be very different from the one I have now. It will feature KTM, the factory I am thankful and proud to be racing for, my most important personal sponsor, some signs which have special meaning for me, and my slogan, RacerAtHeart.”

“My ambition and enthusiasm for things. If I want and love something, like racing, I put all of my strength and energy, all my time and concentration into it.”

“Probably Cameron Diaz. She’s a fun, bad ass woman who knows exactly what she wants. At least that’s the impression I have.”

“I’m really thankful to be allowed to experience this at all, but of course, there are some things on the bucket list. To drive the 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of them, but for now the next step is to achieve some great results with the new KTM X-BOW GTX, which will be revealed this autumn.”

“I love all kinds of leisure parks. I love roller coasters and all waterslides. I just turn into a little kid at them!”

“I think endurance racing is something incredibly special. The atmosphere is unique, the tension is maintained for so many hours, and the memories last a lifetime. The 24H SERIES in particular is a very well organized, professional racing series. I always feel welcome and the competition is always incredibly high. I would really like to take part in more races in this series in the near future.”