Race Weekend Essentials: Extreme E star Amanda Sorensen

Extreme E podium finisher and GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing driver Amanda Sorensen is the latest driver to join Podium Life for our Race Weekend Essentials feature.

And when you race from Saudi Arabia to Chile, from Scotland to Italy and back to your native America again, you ought to know how to pack your bags properly!

Sorensen is an all-action star helping to steer Ganassi to fourth-place in the Extreme E standings with the Santiago-based Copper-X Prix still to go.

As well as Extreme E, Sorensen competes in Formula Drift where she is one of the youngest drivers to compete, beginning her Formula Drift career at 16 back in 2019.

Get to know Amanda better and find out what she absolutely has to have in her racing bag with Podium Life’s Race Weekend Essentials, and be sure to follow her social media channels which are a lot of fun and provide a lot of insight into off-road racing.

When you're competing, what's the one thing that you absolutely must have in your bag that you can't leave home without?

When I'm competing, the one thing that I absolutely cannot leave home without is my sunglasses. The sunglasses are a must-have because I literally feel like my sunglasses are part of my personality.

I circle between two styles, one's more, like, classy, going out. And then the other one is more business, more kind of like that athletic vibe. The Perosol Sunglasses. And then the other ones that are more kind of like the going out vibe are my Christian Diors. The sunglasses are my touch, like a must-have.

Are you one of those people like me who loses them constantly, or are you more careful…?

I'm pretty good at keeping track of them, honestly!

Are you superstitious and do you have to carry certain things because of that?

Yeah, so not necessarily a physical thing that is my superstition. But I would have to say, I do have to get the jitters out before I get in the car.

So I have a normal exercise routine that I do. It's very short, very simple, but enough to get my nerves calmed down. I do some toe touches and then I do some knee taps and finish with jumping jacks just to get the nerves out, calm myself down. Just to get ready before I get in the car.

The Extreme E events must be gruelling. Is there anything you use for training like protein powders, hydration tablets etc to make sure you're prepared?

I definitely cannot go to the race track without my protein powders, my greens and my hydration sticks. So my greens, I rely on the 1st Phorm green powder, and then my protein powders are any of the 1st Phorm Brands.

I love their brand just because it's a simple 26 grams of protein right when I wake up in the morning, during the long days I can be a bit distracted and not be on the greatest eating schedule. So to get my protein in the morning is always very important. I can't skip out on that.

And then I really rely on the Laird Hydration Coconut Water. It's a coconut mix that I use throughout the day. Or just some pink Himalayan salt in my water. Because, especially going to places like Saudi and Italy even, it was so hot and humid. I just was literally draining my body of its hydration. So to be hydrated was super important to my performance.

You must travel a lot! What are some of your essentials for making it easier on yourself? Is there any tech that you always carry like headphones, phone, iPad etc?

I was always taking my Mac with me and now I've kind of simplified it down to an iPad Pro.

I can rely on it for work, I can also rely on it when working on projects, as well as my AirPod Pros, I can't go anywhere without them.

Content creation is so important for me and when I am sitting there with some downtime, I love to just put my headphones in and create some content while I can. Obviously, you don't want to be annoying to everyone else with that video playing over and over again!

So the headphones are very important as well as my Nike trail running shoes, I cannot go anywhere without them. I love to run.

Being on the road, it's not so easy to get your exercise in every day, there isn't always a gym. However, there's always places to go explore and go for a run. So I definitely can't go anywhere without my Nike sneakers.

And then I really am a huge fan of the Alo clothing brand. I love their stuff because it is athletic and it's also casual. So I am always reppin' their stuff when it comes from going on the aeroplane to showing up for a race to during my workout.

And then also the L'Oreal Telescopic Waterproof Mascara is always a go to, and I cannot go anywhere without it.

Any other essential travel brands? Bags, that sort of thing?

I'm a firm believer on the Ojio bags. Very good for athletes, there's always a spot for my helmet, once I pack my whole closet, being a girl I always pack for every occasion. And then I also have enough room to fit all of my racing stuff in at the end of it.

You also get to work with GMC, it must be a boost to be backed by a brand of that magnitude?

I am fortunate to rep the GMC brand on a global scale. They have been with us for the whole season. We obviously race the Hummer EV on track, almost makes it feel like home when I'm overseas.

As well as, my daily driver is a Hummer EV, so it's great. From a brand perspective, I get to rep them in the racing community and I also get to rep them on the streets during my normal life while I'm driving.

The post Race Weekend Essentials: Extreme E star Amanda Sorensen appeared first on Podium Life.