Born into a racing family, Siena Kitch finally takes ProFormance’s Race Licensing Course — and loves it.
Motoring enthusiasts from all over the world come to ProFormance Racing School to hone their talents: from Portland to Puerto Rico and from Texas to Taiwan, drivers know that what ProFormance has to offer is worth the trip. Recently, though, one racing student had a very short commute: Siena Kitch, daughter of ProFormance founder Don Kitch Jr. and Chief Administrator Donna Porada-Kitch, showed up for the school’s renowned Two-Day Accredited Competition Race Licensing Course. She found out what many other drivers have before her: that the two days are nothing short of life-changing.
From horses to courses
Siena might be the scion of a notable Northwest motorsport family, but her first love had four legs, not four wheels: from an early age, ponies were Siena’s transport of choice. “Not the horsepower my parents had in mind,” Siena says, “but they supported me nonetheless.”
When university put her equestrian activities on hold, Siena decided to earn her way at ProFormance, learning every aspect of the business from the bottom up. She spent time answering calls, flagging at events, and washing cars. Taking the One-Day High Performance Driving Experience boosted her interest in motorsport. “I enjoyed the sensation of hitting triple digits on the front straight and learning the ins and outs of trail braking.” But while she had been around cars and racing her whole life (and had even competed in France at the special Le Mans kids’ event, Little Big Mans), the fire had yet to be kindled.
Getting serious
After her graduation in 2024, ProFormance became a full-time job, and Siena caught the infamous racing bug. Her obvious move was to complete the third step in the ProFormance journey, the Two-Day Accredited Competition Race Licensing course.
“I’d hyped it up so much in my mind that I never believed I could actually take it – only about 60 of the 5,000-plus annual ProFormance drivers take the course.”
A slot opened up last May, and Siena decided to take the leap.
DAY ONE
Many — probably most — participants are at least slightly nervous at first. “I was surprised to find about half of my classmates were novices, having only done a few track days at most,” Siena says. “I felt slightly better that we would be learning together.”
Basic safety instruction came first. This included learning how to exit the car through the window if necessary. “I highly recommend all racecar drivers practice this in their garages,” she says, “so they are ready if the time comes.”
Race licensing revelations
For the driving portion of the day, Siena was under the tutelage of Ken Hill, one of the earliest ProFormance instructors and a racing veteran both in the Pacific Northwest and nationally. Among the things that Ken taught her:
- Trust the car. While she executed corners along with the best of them, Siena was at first reluctant to commit to full throttle once out of the turn. A difference of just a few miles per hour can hurt your lap times, she found.
- Brake earlier, lighter, and longer.
- Learn what an apex is and isn’t. An apex is not the point of a turn that offers the best track out opportunity (the best point to exit and regain the center of the track), but the point where one can commit to full throttle. Siena calls this a world-shattering moment in her driver education.
Solo flight
After instruction came the opportunity for Siena and the others to drive solo. She had to ply Pacific Raceways at speed without Ken’s encouraging words in her ear. “This is when things got real,” she says.
With some solo driving under their belts, drivers then completed the data acquisition part of the course, where numbers rule. Drivers were timed at every segment of three qualifying laps. Top speed was noted, and total lap times recorded. Their results were posted on what Siena dubbed the “Data Board of Shame.” Instructors explained what they saw during the qualifying laps and gave suggestions on how students could improve their lap times.
Siena’s goal was not to be last, and in fact, she was “healthily in the middle of the pack,” which she considered an excellent result, given her novice status.
Exhausting as Day One was, Siena stayed after to confer with instructors and make a game plan on how to get more comfortable with high speeds.
That night she fell asleep at 8:00 PM.
The Inside Line continues the story of Siena’s race licensing adventure with Part 2.
