Stockholm  -  Swedish Prince Carl Philip got off to a poor start in his debut as a racing driver over the weekend in the first event in the Swedish Porsche Carrera Cup.

The 28-year-old prince spun off the race track at Knutstorp, southern Sweden, during practice Saturday and on Sunday finished second-to-last among the drivers who completed the event.

The prince said he needed more experience, and Stockholm daily Svenska Dagbladet Anders Lindblad Monday said it was too early to dub the debut a complete fiasco noting that the prince was "a rookie who entered the event under great pressure."

Like his father, King Carl Gustaf, the prince shares a passion for fast cars.

The king's late uncle, Prince Bertil, who died 1997 at age 84, was known as "the motoring prince" and, during the 1930s and 1940s, raced cars in Europe.

Aware that his father would disapprove, Bertil entered under an alias, Monsieur Adrian.

A Porsche also featured when rumours of a romance between Carl Gustaf and German-born Silvia were confirmed in 1973.

The couple met at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich and the following year were spotted together in the king's Porsche on the eastern island of Oland.

They were married June 19, 1976, in Stockholm Cathedral. Their children are Crown Princess Victoria, Carl Philip and Princess Madeleine. (dpa)