Renee Brinkerhoff and the Valkyrie Racing Team have confirmed that they will be going to Antarctica this winter to complete their mission of racing on all seven continents before the end of 2021.
There, the team plans to drive Binkerhoff’s 1956 Porsche 356A 356 miles (573 km) over the Antarctic ice, completing the team’s mission. “Project 356 World Rally Tour” has already taken the car and its driver nearly 20,000 miles (32,186 km) around the world and if it finishes its final feat, Brinkerhoff will be the first woman to race on all seven continents and the Porsche will be the first classic car to do it.
In Antarctica, Binkerhoff’s navigator will be Jason de Carteret, a famed adventurer from the U.K. who has been to both the North and South Poles nearly a dozen times. Together, they’ll start their trek at Union Glacier in Antarctica in early December.
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The car, as you might anticipate, is not exactly stock. Modified to be lighter than the original, the Porsche will also feature tracks for its ice challenge.
Brinkerhoff and her car have previously raced in the Peking-to-Paris, the East African Safari Classic, the Targa Tasmania, and the Carrera Panamericana rallies. In the Carrera Panamericana, she became the first woman to win her class.
Those races have already seen Binkerhoff race across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania, leaving just Antarctica for the team to tackle.
“The real goal is to use our racing to amplify our voice for human trafficking and find a means to help as many victims as we can—through rescue efforts and separately, providing support through education and funding to aid global shelters,” said Brinkerhoff.
Indeed, the racer has already raised more than $400,000 through her team’s fundraising arm, Valkyrie Gives, a Colorado-based non-profit. Together with her daughter Christina, who helps run the foundation and is her mother’s racing manager as well, they hope to raise more than $1 million for their cause.
Patrons who donate $356 to Binkerhoff’s Antarctic Ice Challenge will have their name signed on the inside of the Porsche’s hood, with 100% of the proceeds going to organizations that are fighting human trafficking.
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