MEET THE NEW BOSS

There are some people who rise through a company so fast that, long before middle age, they end up at a level several times removed from what originally attracted them to the industry. Suddenly they’re merely pen pushers, their enthusiasm dwindles and they end up occupying a job position rather than truly fulfilling a role.

That’s not going to happen to Laura Wontrop Klauser who, at 34, has become General Motors’ sportscar racing programme manager. True, she’s not actually building the 5.5-litre V8s under the engine cover of the Cadillac DPi-V.R prototypes in the IMSA pits at Daytona or Sebring, but she’s making the decisions pertaining to these cars, the Corvette Racing squad’s C8.Rs, and the Chevrolet Camaro GT4.Rs that race in IMSA’s Michelin Pilot Challenge.

Klauser is just fine with that because racing combines two of her greatest passions – mechanical engineering and competition. And she intends to be very cautious about getting too