Claire Schönborn grew up in a motorsport-loving family – both parents were successful hillclimb racers. She helped her father as a mechanic at a young age and started karting at the age of five. Due to limited financial resources, however, a professional karting career was not possible, which is why the family remained loyal to hill climb racing. At the age of 15, Claire rediscovered her passion for driving, this time by taking part in karting and car slalom events.

A question of honor: family tradition on the mountain

Shortly after she reached the required age for hillclimb racing, her father had a serious accident and wanted to end his active career and sell the racing car. That was out of the question for Claire – she had put her heart and soul into the vehicle they shared. She persuaded her father to keep the VW Golf and prepare it for racing together. She returned to the race track in 2020 and celebrated her first successes in slalom races. Claire has been actively involved in hill climb racing since 2022. Last season was particularly successful: in 2024, she became the first woman and also the youngest female rider to win the prestigious Berg Cup.