”Hey dude, where’s the information about Inessa?” That’s what I asked Misha a couple of weeks ago. “Ask it herself” is what he answered, “she’s visiting the Netherlands to drive Time Attack with my car.” And indeed, a couple of days later, Facebook was full of the news that Inessa Tushkanova, a Playboy model and also Playmate of the year, would drive the 700 hp Impreza of Misha on Time Attack on the track of Zandvoort. Is this a good choice? She may look cute but can she really drive? It’s time to meet the Russian girl which got quite famous in a short period of time.
The answer to the question whether this was a good idea was given on Sunday 14 April, when Inessa took the first place in the Super-Pro Street class on the Time Attack event and when she set a time of 1:58:85 on the track of Zandvoort without any knowledge of the car and the track. How can she do this? She won multiple titles, mostly in rally but she also won the Mitjet Cup Russia. She can now ad Time Attack to her list of titles.
Oh, she’s such a girl will a lot of you think. Rich parents who let her race her entire youth. No, this isn’t what happened. Not very long ago she started racing. “One day I was in a hurry while the road was covered in snow, my driving skills were noticed by the friends who drove with me and one thing led to another.” When she entered the world of racing, she immediately got addicted and almost all the money she earns with modeling is invested in racing. Ofcourse, most of you thought that she was sponsored by a rich boyfriend or husband but you are all wrong. She earns it by herself and spends it for herself. Inessa: ”Of course it’s easier for a woman to find some help from others but on the other hand I have to deal with a lot of prejudices because a lot of men think that women can’t drive, until they really see me driving, like for example on Time Attack.”
A beauty and passionate for cars, can it get any better? “Yes! If she wouldn’t earn her money by modeling, she would have to open her own restaurant, every dish she makes tastes great. Next to that, I have to say that she is very special and open-hearted. That last thing is something which can be confirmed by the visitors of Time Attack, she’s just an ordinary girl so when you meet her on an event, don’t hesitate to make a chat!”, according to Misha.
"How did you like the Netherlands?"
"It’s a too wide question to simply answer it. It was a too short visit and my earlier visits were also too short to answer this question. To start off, I was sent to the extra security check when I arrived at the passport control which gave a bad impression. But after that, I stayed awake in the car because of the beautiful view, while I was planning to sleep some because I never sleep long enough. On the track, everyone was very polite and helpful. Especially the team of Jeroentje.nl Tuning who gave me the possibility to drive on this event. I really appreciated it and I already look forward to our next trip. You’ll probably think that this is quite obvious but no, I’m used to something else, often I’m yelled at by people who I pay to work for me and I have to yell back at them to get something done. The fact that even our ‘rivals’ were just as friendly made it an incredible experience for me. A lot of people can learn a lot about this collaboration.”
"What’s your daily drive?"
A white BMW X6M, but in the future I might get something else.
"What do you want to tell the readers?"
Everyone who read this: thank you for your interest! And when you have any questions, please ask them in the reactions!
You can follow Inessa on Facebook & Instagram
DUMPd X Inessa Tushkanova X Time Attack from Mathieu van den Oever on Vimeo.