On the occasion of this year’s ADAC 24 Hours of Nürburgring race, IWC Schaffhausen welcomed professional racing driver Laura Kraihamer to the IWC racing family. Kraihamer was behind the wheel during this legendary event at the German circuit, competing for her team Teichmann Racing in a KTM X-Bow GT4.
Born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1991, Kraihamer caught the racing bug at a young age from her older brother Dominik, who used to drive in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Beginning her career in the typical style, Kraihamer spent four years racing karts professionally before moving to the internal KTM series in 2012. Winning the KTM X-BOW Battle Endurance Championship in her first two seasons, she also landed a Rijeka test run. In 2016, she was named vice-champion in her rookie drive in the GT4 European Series in Reiter Young Stars before securing a further two podiums in 2017. A third season of GT4 combined with appearances at several of 2018’s 24-hour events, including those at the Nordschleife and Barcelona’s CREVENTIC series, in which she finished second in her class.
In 2019, Kraihamer switched to ADAC GT4 Germany, claiming a win and two further podiums from 12 races. Last season, she competed in five different international series for KTM, including DTM Trophy races, Nürburgring 24 Hours races and Nürburgring Long Distance Series events, where she secured a podium. Alongside driving in a second DTM Trophy season this year, the 29-year-old is also part of KTM’s car development and engineering team, playing a pivotal role in developing 2021’s new KTM X-BOW GTX.
“I am thrilled to be joining the IWC Racing family. From my first lap in a racing car, I knew it was what I wanted to do professionally, and I’ve worked hard ever since to overcome every challenge to fulfil my dreams. To now be associated with a brand which is as passionate as I am about racing is an absolute honour,” explained Kraihamer.
As a new Friend of the Brand for IWC, Kraihamer joins IWC brand ambassador and Mercedes-AMG factory driver Maro Engel and Mercedes-AMG GT3 driver Maximilian Götz as members of IWC’s family of racers. Like Kraihamer, Engel and Götz are competing at the Nürburgring event for their respective teams this weekend.
“Motorsport is an integral part of IWC’s story, and we are very proud to be adding a new chapter to that story by welcoming Laura into our much-loved racing family. She gives 100 per cent every day, driving with determination and skill to make her dream a reality,” said Christoph Grainger-Herr, CEO of IWC Schaffhausen.
In 1868, the American watchmaker and entrepreneur Florentine Ariosto Jones travelled from Boston to Switzerland and founded the ‘International Watch Company’ in Schaffhausen. His visionary dream was to combine advanced American manufacturing methods with the craftsmanship of Swiss watchmakers to make the best pocket watches of his time. In doing so, he not only laid the foundation for IWC’s unique engineering approach but also established the centralised production of mechanical watches in Switzerland.
Photographs by IWC Schaffhausen.