Racing Through The Unknown With Sonya_Slidez

For many, racing is a known challenge. From training to competing, what to expect in their day-to-day life can be predicted and optimised. However, for some, that isn’t the case. Invisible disabilities and chronic illnesses turn everything into an unknown, changing condition. For driver Sonya_Slidez (Sonya Klaus), this is her reality. The professional driver and content creator uses her platform to show that these conditions don’t have to hold you back. With the right management and mindset, you can still do what you love and excel at it. 

Pushing Through To Race

Klaus has always been interested in motorsports and after a few years of being involved, she realised that it was more than a hobby and wanted to fully invest in racing. In 2017, she broke her back whilst working as a nurse in an operating room. This accident was a catalyst, and helpef her to “realise life’s too short to wait.” Consequently, as she was recovering, she was “building the Z and slowly finding my way into motorsports.”

Getting into racing as a female driver, she believes that her path was “not that different” from male drivers. While sharing that it felt as though more eyes were on her than her competitors, she believes that was from male drivers not being “used to seeing a girl in the paddock” rather than from any malicious feelings. Overall, she feels as though everyone experiences similar journeys into motorsports, and that it all comes down to putting in the work to get where you want to go. 

2021 saw another setback for the driver when she was diagnosed with her autoimmune disease. Throughout it all, her first thought was “this cannot take motorsports away from me.” During this time, it was terrifying to be back in a wheelchair, regaining basic functions, and even relearning how to form complete sentences. Calling racing her “anchor”, motorsports gave her something to fight for as she recovered. “It reminded me that if I wanted this life, I had to go all in.”

Growing up in an immigrant family, Klaus was brought up on the belief that survival comes first. Stability was preferred, not following dreams that could be risky. Because of this, her career came down to her. Teaching herself to push and dream, she learnt: “if I wanted something bigger, I had to go after it—even if it scared me.” So here we are now, in 2026. Klaus is still driving, consistently pushing through all the barriers and going after her goals. Determination and focus are key, but it’s not as easy as it looks. 

Behind The Scenes

An autoimmune disease is classed as an invisible disability, a condition that affects someone but is not immediately obvious to others. Because it isn’t visible, Klaus has found the biggest misconception she encounters is the idea that, if she looks okay, she must be okay. However, that isn’t the case. As a condition that she is constantly managing, there is no ‘all better’ for her, and people don’t get to see what happens away from the track and the cameras. From supplements and resting to IV infusions, no one sees what she has to do behind the scenes to “show up and do well.”

To manage her health and stay positive, her days aren’t defined as good or bad. Instead, she thinks in moments rather than days. “I could have a rough morning, but that doesn’t mean the whole day is ruined.” She explained her mentality for dealing with her condition, and this translates to everything she does. If she encounters a bad moment, she’s learnt to reset and start over. 

But it’s not always easy. Whilst she has learnt her triggers and the warning signs, her condition does still flare up. Although she’s learnt to manage it and tries to prepare before even leaving for an event, the flares can be hard to get through. She admitted that in these moments “sometimes I lose hope for a second”. However, when they occur she has found things that anchor her and keep her going. It’s about having goals and focusing on the next steps so that she doesn’t get “overwhelmed by everything at once.”

Mentality Vs Physicality

For Klaus, the mental side of her condition is harder than the physical side; “it’s brutal sometimes”. Every driver will experience physical barriers in their career but for her dealing with the “uncertainty, setbacks, and the fear of things being taken away” is what she has to contend with. To overcome this, instead of focusing on the negatives and feeling defeated, the driver looks for hope in every situation.

Knowing that nothing lasts forever helps her push through the flare-ups and bad moments. And whilst she pushes through, she’s still learning. Being very competitive, there’s times where she doesn’t feel like she’s doing enough. So she is actively learning to take a step back, to snap back to reality and reflect on what she has achieved. 

She explained how the cumulative losses, constant battles and diagnoses over the years feel like hits. Whilst the driver is strong, she’s not infallible. In a moment of honesty, she admitted that she is “scared that one day I won’t be able to do this anymore.” Ultimately though, that is the thought that keeps her going. She knows that everyone has to stop eventually, but the thought that, for her, it could be sooner than she would like means that she doesn’t take it for granted. “I’m trying to live all of it while I can.”

The Wider Impact

Whilst she knows how to manage it, barriers in motorsports still exist. Not many people understand invisible disabilities and the effects they have. Consequently, she shared how that means it can “feel a little lonely”, as people assume that if she is functioning, she is fine. With little understanding, there is still room for the industry to grow and become more accessible. 

Motorsports is becoming more accessible for people with physical disabilities. With governing bodies adapting regulations and more people joining racing, the industry has been adapting in recent years to allow more people to drive. However, Klaus recognises that more can be done for people in her position. Recognising that people can be scared of different or uncertain things, for her “awareness is the biggest thing”. 

She believes there are more drivers out there with invisible disabilities who haven’t spoken up, whether that’s from wanting to stay private or worrying about the potential consequences. She believes that starting the journey towards better inclusion begins with “making it safer to talk about”. This will lead to helping others understand different types of disability and that having a health condition doesn’t “automatically mean you’re incapable”.

Becoming Sonya_Slidez

As well as being a professional driver, Klaus is now a content creator through her social platforms, Sonya_slidez. The driving force behind her doing this was simple: “maybe one person could relate to it or feel less alone.” Through her content, she is hoping to show that there is no one right way into motorsports. She hopes that people can see her and know that “you can do anything”. Sharing that what you do has to be done “your way”, she explained how no one’s path is ever the same. 

There’s a personal reason for her content as well, though. “It’s almost like stepping back into my own memories”. For her, it is also a way to document what she is doing, so that if one day in the future she can’t do it, or can’t remember, she can look back at what she achieved. Her content serves as a reminder of why she loves what she is doing. 

It’s not been a straightforward path for Klaus, but each day she is learning and adapting to continue doing what she loves. She is showing that health doesn’t have to hold you back from your goals.