LAURA HAYES RACING
ABOUT
ABOUT LAURA
There is no question what Laura's passion in life is... racing. Both sides of the family were involved with motorsports in the Northern California area so it was only natural for Laura be behind the wheel. In 1998, her parents brought an 8 year old Laura to the local Quarter Midget track for an opportunity to drive the track's training car, and weeks later, Laura had a car of her own, and the rest is history. Over 20 years later, Laura has found her home in South Carolina working at the BMW Performance Center as a full time driving instructor, continues to race, and has found a new passion, teaching and coaching drivers with her new team, Thunder Bunny Racing.
THUNDER BUNNY RACING
What began as a few friends, a Nissan 350Z, and a flat bed trailer, Thunder Bunny Racing has evolved into a professional team operating out of Greenville, SC. Along with the many talented people who are a part of TBR, Laura's role has transformed from just being one of the drivers, to being a coach working with data and video analysis, to sales, which has been a huge factor in the growth of this team. TBR has a fleet of cars that is ever growing, including a 128i, E92 M3, M2 CSR, and two 350Z's. TBR has the best balance of being competitive, laid back and fun, and a no give up attitude, that continues to bring customers and drivers back for more. For Laura, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing her teammates/students improve and get faster.
PROFESSIONAL DRIVER & INSTRUCTOR
Laura has been an instructor at the BMW Performance Center for the past 9 years, starting her career when she was 23 years old. Over the years, Laura has proved to be a valuable asset to the team as one of the few female instructors on staff who can work with any student, teenager or a veteran driver. Laura also hosts and organizes trips for enthusiasts at the Nurburgring and Sweden for winter training. Laura has been to the Ring 6 times and it's always a highlight of the year. Working at the Performance Center has allowed Laura to maintain and improve her skills not only behind the wheel, as well as becoming a better instructor and coach, and speaking in public.
PRECISION & STUNT DRIVING
Working at the BMW Performance Center has provided Laura the unique opportunity to learn the art of drifting, and perfect her car control skills. Throwing a 600hp, 4000lb car sideways is a normal day for Laura. Over the years, she has been involved with photo and video shoots, such as the M Performance Parts M5 Mom video, and most recently drove a X3M40i up the ski slopes of Steamboat Springs in Colorado.
THE EARLY YEARS
Laura began racing at the age of 8 in Quarter Midgets and quickly found success. In the beginning, the family traveled the west coast almost every weekend with one car in the back of a truck, and the other in the back of the family's minivan. Laura accumulated over a 100 wins, numerous track records, and over 10 championships before moving on to karts.
Laura competed for a several teams throughout her karting career who aided in improving her skills. Team MMI in Stockton, Ca, gave Laura and her dad the necessary tools to move up into shifter karts. Laura turned the head of multi-time national champion, Ron White, and began driving with his team, Mirage Motorsports. Laura finished 2nd in her premier Stars of Karting race, 2nd at the SKUSA Supernats (2nd to Connor DePhilippe), won the first leg of the Red Bull Driver Search (finishing second was none other than Alexander Rossi), and became the first female to win an IKF Shifter Kart National Championship.
