Swedish schoolgirl Alexia Danielsson has won the season opener of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Scandinavia – at the age of just 16.

Countless thoughts go through the minds of students shortly before a geography exam. However, very few are thinking about an imminent debut in the Porsche Sprint Challenge. It is even less likely that the nervousness before a math exam will later be mixed with the joy of winning the first race. But that's exactly what 16-year-old Swedish racing driver Alexia Danielsson experienced.

Youngest rider in the field

After winning her place in the Scandinavian Sprint Challenge through the 2025 Race Apprentice programme, Danielsson was the youngest rider in the field at the season opener in Anderstorp. She went into the race with a single goal: not to finish last.

Her age was by no means a disadvantage, as the young rider felt little pressure to compete against the much more experienced competition. However, that changed when she completed free practice and realized how fast she was. For others, however, their potential was obvious from the start.

Always dreamed of Porsche

Danielsson grew up with motorsport. She watched her father race at a young age, and at the age of seven she finally started karting herself. At 13, she moved up to the formula car classes after winning several junior classes. Last year, she competed in the Danish Formula 4 and applied for the Race Apprentice program, an initiative of Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky and Porsche Sweden. Danielsson immediately showed her potential and was given the chance to drive a GT car for the first time after completing the programme.

She describes the day she was selected to compete in the first race of the Scandinavian Sprint Challenge as surreal. "I've always dreamed of driving a Porsche," she explains. But the 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport presented a special challenge compared to their formula car. "It was difficult to get used to it," she explains. "Especially the heat in the closed driver's cab."

Despite this – and although she is still too young to have a licence for public roads – Danielsson impressed behind the wheel against a field that included last year's runner-up and other successful GT drivers.

Participating in the Race Apprentice program has undoubtedly helped her with this: the program, which runs over the Swedish winter, holistically prepares riders for a racing career by providing not only on the track, but also in the areas of media, partnerships and fitness training. This is complemented by the Porsche Ice Experience in Lapland, which familiarises participants with a surface that may be unfamiliar to them.

Hard work and dedication

Danielsson is also convinced that her young age has helped her not only with fast reaction times and the ability to adapt, but also in her attitude towards her future career. Their victory at Scandinavian Raceway was undoubtedly the result of hard work and dedication. She sees it as a formative step on the way to her dream of racing internationally as a professional, but stresses that she does not want to commit to a single category: "I don't care what car it is, I just want it to be fast."

The season opener was dominated by women in the field. The 16-year-old winner was joined on the podium by female rider Lærke Rønn Sørensen, who finished second and later won the second race of the weekend. For a while, it even looked as if Emma Wigroth would join them. In the end, however, Rasmus Vendelbo secured third place on the podium.

With little time to celebrate her victory, Danielsson was back home just hours later, diligently preparing for her next school exam. "I don't know if girls look up to me. I still look up to older drivers," she says. Perhaps Danielsson is still too young and currently too focused on school to see himself as a role model for girls who want to enter motorsport. For many, however, it has already achieved this status.