Inside a Porsche GT Trackday at Monza

A day in the life of a Porsche GT Trackday

Eva vom Kolke is the calm centre of the Manthey team at a Porsche GT Trackday at Monza

November 4, 2026 | 4 min read

Female Porsche Track experience employee, with walkie-talkie in hand, leans over pit wall at a Porsche GT Trackday at Monza

Up to 40 race cars, 80 road cars and one famous circuit. At a Porsche GT Trackday in Monza, Eva vom Kolke is the calm centre of the Manthey team – and the reason the day runs like clockwork

Fast facts: what happens at a Porsche GT Trackday

A Porsche GT Trackday at Monza combines prepared road and race cars, experienced instructors and Manthey technical specialists, held together by a project team.

Up to 40 race cars and 80 road cars take to the circuit during the day at this event.

The project manager for the Manthey team helps coordinate instructors, mechanics and guests.

Wristbands set the order of the day: black for drivers, red for guests, yellow for those cleared to drive.

A mobile workshop and tyre service get cars back on track quickly after incidents such as a gravel excursion.

Guests often arrive from across Europe to drive at Monza, widely known as the ‘Temple of Speed’.

It’s an early Monza morning. Too early for adrenaline, too early for engine noise. And yet, here at one of the truly great racetracks, a subtle tension hangs in the air – a mix of anticipation, excitement and motivation. A Porsche GT Trackday does this to you.

Slowly, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza – home to the Italian F1 Grand Prix – comes to life. The air is still cool, the asphalt remains a muted grey… for now. But expectation is building for today’s participants. Every GT Trackday, no matter at which circuit around the world it’s held, is more than just about providing driving time. It’s a precisely orchestrated symphony of perfectly prepared cars, experienced instructors and the technical acumen of the experts from Manthey, the operator of the Porsche Track Experience. With three decades of motorsport experience, Manthey are a company with racing in its DNA. They bring this expertise directly to every event with a balance of professionalism and passion that defines the day and everything that follows.

The cool head behind a GT Trackday

Eva vom Kolke stands at the welcome desk, ready to greet each of today’s participants. With a cappuccino in hand, a two-way radio around her neck, she is on full alert. As more people continue to arrive, Eva switches languages on the fly, helping each arrival through the registration process, always ready with an answer for every question asked of her.

She is both project manager and interface. Someone who flows seamlessly between the GT Trackday instructors, mechanics, guests and the entire team behind the scenes. The central hub in a system that only works because there is someone like her with an overview. Eva is everywhere. Always present. Always composed.

Female staff member stands in pit area at Monza on a Porsche GT Trackday — Eva vom Kolke: the cool head who helps make a Porsche GT Trackday run like clockwork Photo: Klaus Schwaiger

Organised amid the chaos of a Porsche GT Trackday at Monza

The paddock begins to fill as guests arrive, carrying their helmet bags, anticipation written across their faces. One has driven 1200 km to get here in his own 911 GT3. Some might consider that madness, but to everyone here it’s dedication, because that’s what the opportunity to drive at a circuit like Monza does to you. There’s a reason why it’s known worldwide by another name – the ‘Temple of Speed’.

The calm of the early morning has long since been shattered. Engines fire up. Tyres are brought up to temperature. The Manthey mechanics make their final adjustments. Up to 40 race cars and 80 road cars will be out on the circuit through the course of the day. Eva and the team flow right through it all. Organising the race suits, coordinating processes, checking wristbands. It’s black for the drivers. Red for their guests. Yellow for those cleared to drive. Everything follows a system – even if, on the surface, it looks like chaos.

Driver sat in car at Monza on Porsche GT Trackday talks to Manthey support team member — Close communication with participants on a GT Trackday begins the moment they arrive and continue throughout the day, both in and out of the car Photo: Klaus Schwaiger

Then, suddenly, a red flag. A participant’s car has plunged into the gravel. Radios crackle. Focus sharpens. And then, seconds later, Eva is heading out to the incident in a Cayenne with the supervisor. Every decision matters. The customer needs support. The team needs clarity as to what needs to happen next.

Shortly after, the all clear is given. No injuries, just some disturbed gravel and a car that will need to return to the pits. Thanks to the Manthey crew, the mobile workshop and tyre service, it’s soon fixed and back on track, ready for its next stint. It’s moments like these that prove what really matters for the team at a GT Trackday: structure, experience and calmness under pressure.

Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car in pits at Monza on Porsche GT Trackday — Precision, calmness and focus define the day on a Porsche GT Trackday – whether it’s the crew in the pit lane or the team members who help every event run smoothly Photo: Klaus Schwaiger

During the day, Eva’s pace has to match that of the drivers on the circuit. Their precision and composure too. When Eva started her role, she admits she wasn’t really a petrolhead but knew how to run complex events. Now she spends 71 travel days a year doing this job, leaving behind her family in Bonn. Similar levels of commitment are shown by the entire Manthey team. When everything accelerates, they stay calm.

Manthey mechanic at Porsche GT Trackday event at Monza works on car that crashed into gravel — A Manthey mechanic at the GT Trackday at Monza works to get a car back on the track after it spun into the gravel Photo: Klaus Schwaiger

Back to the calm: the end of a GT Trackday

As the day moves into the late afternoon, the light begins to soften and the engines fall silent. Guests settle into hospitality, deckchairs fill and conversations start to flow. And Eva? She’s in the pit lane, perhaps speaking with a customer. Wherever she is, she’s always listening. Every query, no matter what, is taken seriously.

It soon becomes clear that these days work because Eva makes them work. Because she and the team don’t just organise, they dictate the rhythm of the day. Not loud, not visible but the calm centre point in a world of adrenaline and high revs.

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