Circuit Racers from Southeast Asia

The countries of Southeast Asia - Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines particularly - have their fair share of female racers on their tracks. Some, such as Keiko Ihara, Tomiko Yoshikawa and Takeda Kanami, have travelled extensively and raced in Europe, making them much more visible, but many more race at home. Leona Chin now has her own post, as do Miki Onaga, Anna Inotsume, Anne Wong, Kumi Sato, Junko Mihara, Siti Shahkirah Shaharul, Kaori Okamoto and Naomi Ran Zhang. Thai saloon racers can be found here and Korean drivers here.

Red Bull's female driver search, based in Malaysia, has added to this tally recently, with its rotating squad of female touring car drivers, some of whom have gone on to further motorsport careers. The 2009 "Red Bull Rookies" are pictured here.

Even more female drivers are active in drifting, which is currently outside the scope of this site.

Single-seater drivers from this region now have their own post.

Below are some short profiles.

Maila Alivia - former off-road competitor who races in the Toyota Vios Cup in the Philippines. 2018 was her debut year on the circuits and she scored several top tens in the Promotional class, although she sacrificed her car to her team-mate in the final round. She has also taken part in endurance races in the Philippines: she and three other Vios Cup drivers won their class in the Petron 8 Hours at Clark International Speedway. They were driving a Cup car. She continued in the Vios in 2019. Although she was one of the fastest Promotional class drivers and set two fastest laps, she was usually just outside the top ten. In 2020, she raced in the Bonifacio Endurance Challenge, driving a Mazda for OTR Racing with Red Diwa. She was a regular podium finisher in the Promotion class in the 2021 Vios Cup and scored at least one third place in the 2022 Cup, racing in the Sporting class. She was second in the Sporting class in 2023.

Julia de los Angeles - Filipino driver who began her senior career in the 2017 Toyota Vios Cup, aged just 16, having had to wait for two years to receive the appropriate license. She raced for the Parts Pro team in the Promotional class in 2017 and 2018. She scored at least one top-ten finish in 2018, despite not being the best at qualifying in the field. She raced in the Promotional class again and led the championship until the final round. She won at least one race at Clark International Speedway. In 2023, she raced in the championship again.

Phoemela Baranda - raced for Team Philippine Arena in the 2018 Toyota Vios Cup. She races in the Sporting class and had at least one fourth-place finish, despite not having raced for a year. She has been involved with the Vios Cup on and off since 2013, having been a karter and then done her first car race in a 2005 celebrity event. She is an actress and model away from the circuits.

Pia Boren - Filipino driver who is most famous for drifting. She has competed in endurance racing in her home country, including a run in a Ford Focus at the 2007 Petron-SVI 4 Hours event, held at Subic. She was seventh overall, sharing the car with two other drivers. She was fourth in the one-make Ford Lynx Cup in 2003 and fourth in Formula Toyota the following year, alongside more Lynx racing. She now works as a sports journalist and previously wrote for Top Gear Magazine’s Philippines edition.

Kanthicha Chimsiri - Thai driver who races in the Asia Pacific Ferrari Challenge, using a Ferrari 488. She has completed two seasons in the championship, in 2017 and 2018. In 2018, she was ninth in the Am class, with a best result of sixth, achieved twice at Albert Park and Hampton Downs. She was twelfth in the 2017 series, in what appears to be her first year of competition. In 2018, she may also have raced a Ferrari in the Thai Super Series. She was definitely back in the Asian Ferrari Challenge in 2019, finishing ninth in the cahmpionship and 21st in the World Finals. Away from the track, she competes in beauty pageants.  

Jacquelin Ch’ng – Malaysian-born driver who raced in the Chinese Clio Cup in 2014. She performed quite well in the B class with some runner-up spots, but she was not able to challenge effectively for overall honours. Before the Clio Cup, her first motorsport experience was a ride in a celebrity race for charity, organised by the One Foundation. She was second in the Ladies’ category. She is better-known as an actress in the Hong Kong film industry.

Cherry Cheung - Hong Kong driver who made her major-race debut in Malaysian TCR in 2019. She drove a Volkswagen Golf and picked up two ninth places. 2019 is only her second year of racing, having began in the Chinese Racing Cup in 2018. She won her class in the 2018 888km of Shanghai, driving a Toyota GT86 as part of a four-driver team. In 2023, she was a leading driver in the Geely Super Cup. Her Teamwork team has some plans to compete in the UK.

Emily Chow - races a Proton Saga in Malaysia. She took part in the 2019 Saga Cup one-make series, driving for the Millennium Motorsports team. She first raced in the Cup in 2018, after more than ten years of driving a Lotus Elise in hillclimbs, track days and autocross. She races in the Casual category of the Saga Cup, although she is not one of the championship’s front-runners.

Evelyn Coseteng - races a Toyota Vios in a one-make series in the Philippines. Her first season of competition was 2016, in the Toyota Vios Cup. She raced in the Promotional class for new drivers and was third and second from her first two starts. In 2017, she contested the Promotional class again. Evelyn did not start racing until she was over 50.

Gabie Desales - races in the Flatout Racing Series in the Philippines. She did her first season of circuit racing in 2018 and came away with a ladies’ title, driving a Honda Civic. In December, she was part of a four-woman team for the Petron 8 Hour race at Clark International Speedway. Her team-mates were Kathy Villar, Dimple Napat and Aira Medrano. This was her second major endurance race after a run in a 12-hour event in the summer. Prior to circuit racing, she won several titles in slaloms and was a seven-time ladies’ champion.

Menchie Francisco – Filipina driver who was part of the first all-female team to compete at Subic Raceway. She and Michelle Pritchard raced a Nissan Sentra in the four-hour race at the 2000 Philippine Motorsports Festival. In 2001, she raced a Honda Civic in the SVI Challenge Cup, and was one of the leading drivers in the Rookie class. She carried on racing for the next ten years or so, finishing fourth in the Philippine Touring Car Championship in 2005, making another appearance in the Subic enduro in 2007, and winning Class C of the Super Saloon championship in 2008. In 2010, she was one of the drivers invited to take part in a one-make race for Chevrolet Cruzes, the final race ever to be held at Subic. Menchie got into motorsport through her husband, Kookie Ramirez, and first competed in club races in 1999.

Alinka Hardianti – Indonesian driver who races a Toyota. She usually competes in slalom and drifting, but has done some circuit racing. In 2013, she took part in the Indonesian Super Touring championship and won two of her three races, finishing second in another. In 2016, she returned to the circuits, in Japan this time, and raced at the Fuji track, in the Gazoo Racing Netz (Yaris) Cup. She was 24^th in her race, from 36^th on the grid. She was the first non-Japanese female driver to race in the series. She is supported by Toyota Team Indonesia. In 2017 and 2018, she entered the event again. She now competes in drifting.

Gretchen Ho - races a Toyota Vios in one-make series in the Philippines. She is better known as a TV presenter and she initially began racing in celebrity events. She is a regular in the Celebrity class of the Vios Cup, having first competed in it in 2017. She was the championship’s best female driver in her first year and by 2019, was posting top-three finishes. She has hinted that 2019 was her last season.

Yuqi Hu - Chinese driver who races GTs. She competed in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia in 2023, driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3, partnering class champion Bian Ye for part of the season. They first raced together at Chang in Thailand. Her best overall results were 16th places, earned at Fuji and Suzuka. She is also mentioned in conjunction with a Sprint Challenge associated with the series, in which she fared better with at least one podium. 2023 appears to have been her first season.

Marie Iwaoka - Japanese driver who races sports and GT cars in Southeast Asia. She got into motorsport through a women’s initiative run by Mazda Japan in 2015. Since then, she has continued to race in Japan’s Super Taikyu series in a Mazda Roadster as part of an all-female “Love Drive” team. In 2018, she joined another all-female team for the Asian Le Mans Series, driving a Ligier LMP3 for R24 Racing. She achieved three seventh places at Shanghai, Buriram and Fuji, with team-mates including Anna Inotsume, Stephane Kox, Sarah Bovy and Sayaka Kato. She also did some rounds of the Super Taikyu championship in a Mazda Roadster. She raced a Toyota GT86 in the BRZ championship in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, she took part in the Kyojo Cup, finishing 17th overall. In 2023, she was seventh.

Azrina Jane (Abdullah) - Malaysian driver who competed in drifting and autocross for several years before switching to circuit racing. She took part in the Advanced class of the Proton Saga Cup in 2019, driving for Millennium Motorsports Asia. This ran as part of the Malaysian Speed Festival, where she was a regular face in the drift and Solo sections. This was at least her second season in the Proton, although results are proving hard to find. Azrina is also the president of the Malaysian women’s car club and gives precision driving instruction to its female members.

Puteri Ayu Jasmin - Malaysian driver with the Red Bull Rookies team. She joined the team in 2007 and raced at the 2008 Merdeka Millennium races and the Sepang 1000km. She was retained as a “senior rookie” in 2009. In 2008, she was sixth in class B at the MME event, with Leona Chin, Norlina Johor and Norbaizura Ruslan. In 2009, she ran in the same events, and was 21st overall, fourteenth in class at the Sepang 1000km. She stayed on as a Senior Rookie in 2010, acting as a driver mentor as well as a team member for the Sepang 1000km. Her car was a Honda Integra DC2. She returned as a senior Rookie in 2011 for the Sepang race.

Claire Jedrek – British-born Singaporean driver. She began racing in the 2014 Malaysian Super Series, and was eighth overall at the end of the season. The same year, she took part in the support race for the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.  Her car was a Honda. She continued to race in the Super Series, now the Championship Series, in 2015, including the Grand Prix support race. This year, she was second, her first podium finish. Away from racing, she works as a live MC and TV presenter for motorsports and fitness in Asia. She sat out 2017 due to pregnancy.

Mika Kagoshima – Japanese driver who has raced on and off since 2008. That year, she took part in Formula Challenge in her home country, and had a best finish of 16^th, achieved at Motegi and Suzuka. In 2013, she partnered Rally Marina Sa for the Sepang rounds of the Lamborghini Trofeo Asia, driving a Gallardo. They were fourteenth and thirteenth. Mika is better known as a media personality in Japan, who has been a model, actress and pop singer.

Sayaka Kato - Japanese driver who competed in a round of the 2019 Asian Le Mans Series as part of Keiko Ihara’s all-female R24 team. She drove a Ligier JS P3 with Sarah Bovy and finished seventh at Fuji. She also races a Mazda Roadster in the Super Taikyu series for Love Drive Racing. She entered two races with the team in 2018, helping them to a class fifth in the championship. In 2019, she raced with them full-time. She was part of another all-female Love Drive team in 2020, driving a Roadster in the Fuji 24 Hours and finishing eighth in class. Her association with Mazda began in 2017 when she took part in a women’s driver training program. She won the “Ladies No 1 Race” from Anna Inotsume, driving a Roadster.

“Kiki” (Nurul Alis Aidil Akhbar) – Malaysian TV personality who has raced in several editions of the Merdeka Millennium Endurance race (now known as the Sepang 12 Hours), often as part of Red Bull-sponsored female teams. She first raced for the Red Bull X-1R team in 2006, replacing Deanna Yusoff, although she had previously done some racing for a Lotus team. She raced a Proton Satria alongside Hiroki Nakamura and Kazumi Mikami. They did not finish. She stayed with the team for 2007, when she was also part of the mentoring team for the “Red Bull Rookies” female driver search. In 2008, she entered the Merdeka Millennium event again, in a Suzuki Swift, with Hiroko Nakamura. In 2009, she raced in the Sepang 1000km for the Televas team, driving a Honda Integra DC2. At other times, she has competed in the Proton 300km Endurance race, a celebrity Grand Prix support race, and grass-track autocross.

Hiroko Komatsu - races in the Super Taikyu series in her native Japan, driving a Mazda Roadster for the all-female Love Drive team. She has been active in Super Taikyu since 2015, when she was selected for a women’s motorsport initiative run by Mazda. She has taken part in several events for them, as well as a run in at least one round of the 2016 Inter Proto one-make championship. She drove a Mazda Roadster for Love Drive Racing in 2019 and 2020, racing in Super Taikyu for them and the Nihon Automotive College team. In 2022, she raced in the Kyojo Cup.

Kiki Kung – races a Caterham in Taiwan, after competing in karts since 2013. She ran well in both the Chinese and Taiwanese championships. In the Asian motorsport world, she is more known as a broadcaster, both in front of and behind the camera. In 2016, she also tested a Formula Renault, as well as racing a Caterham in at least one round of the Taiwan championship. She is from a motorsport family; her father raced, and now runs his own team.

Angeline Lee - crossed over to circuit racing in April 2019 after having made her name as a sim racer. She entered the Malaysia Championship Series after winning a sim-racing shootout at the end of 2018. Her car is a Ford Fiesta, shared with German racer Sophia Menzenbach. The pair was 24th in both of their races at Sepang. Angeline has previously raced karts and also worked as a race organiser in Malaysia.

Joan Lee - Malaysian driver who races a Toyota and a Proton. She took part in the Sepang 1000km race in 2018, sharing a Toyota Vios with Stephen Wan and Goh Eng Peng. They were 18th overall. In 2019, she competed in the MSF Super Turismo series in a Proton Saga, racing the Saga Cup class. She is part of the Seng Motorsports team. Previously, she worked as a promotional model in the motorsport industry.

Adele Lew - Malaysian driver who began racing in 2022, in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Vios one-make series. She was competing against her father, Eddy. Her results were steady rather than spectacular, although she was relatively close to the other rookie drivers. In December, she took part in the Sepang 1000km, sharing another Vios with Leona Chin. They were 44th overall. Adele also competes in esports.

Carmen Lim - Singaporean driver selected for the Red Bull Rookies team in Malaysia, in 2010. She took part in the Sepang 1000km and Merdeka Millennium Endurance race for the team, in a Honda DC2. They were 28th at Sepang. This was her second attempt at the 1000km event; in 2009, she drove a Proton Satria with Akina Teo and Amir. They did not finish. That year, she also competed in a rally at Sepang, in a modified CLK. She was second in the ladies’ class. She also appears to have done some drifting, and possibly rallycross, in 2009, as well as karting. She does not appear to have competed since 2010. 

Aira (Alexandra) Medrano - Filipino driver who races touring cars in Southeast Asia. She was a karter in her childhood, but took a break from motorsport before enrolling in the Toyota Vios Cup in 2016, aged 19. She won the Promotional class at least once in her first season and finished the season in second place. She moved up to the Sporting class in 2017, against more experienced drivers, and was a frequent podium finisher, as well as helping the Toyota Alabang team to win trophies. In 2018, she moved up another class to the Super Sporting category. Switching to sportscars, she competed in the GITI-Formula V1 Series in 2021.

Elysse Menorca - Filipino racer who became the first woman accepted into the Nissan GT Academy in 2016. Like the other Academy finalists, she started as a sim racer but crossed over into real-life motorsport, starting with Time Attack and drift-style events in a Toyota Corolla. In 2018, she took part in the Toyota Vios Cup. She contested the Promotional class and was a regular top-five finisher. She continued to race in the Promotional class in 2019 and was third overall. In 2022, she competed in the Sporting class.

Kazumi Mikami – Japanese driver active around Southeast Asia, often as part of all-female teams, including the early incarnations of the Red Bull Rookies in Malaysia. In 2002, she was racing sportscars in Japan, and entered the Suzuka 1000km in an Oscar SK5.2. She and her team-mates were unclassified. She also travelled to Australia for the Targa Tasmania historic rally, in which she drove a Toyota Sprinter. In 2005, she raced in Formula Toyota in Japan, and joined the Red Bull Rookies for the first time. She drove a Proton Satria in the Merdeka Millennium race at Sepang, with Philippa Yoong and Deanna Yusoff. They were sixth in class B. The three were set to team up again for the Sepang event in 2006, but Philippa Yoong was replaced by Hiroko Nakamura, due to pregnancy.  

Michie Mimoto - Japanese driver who has competed in her homeland and Thailand. She is mainly known for her performances in drifting but has been taking part in circuit racing in Thailand since 2016. Her Thai exploits have mainly been in the Toyota Vios Lady Cup, where she is a racewinner, although she has added Toyota Hilux Pickup racing to her schedule since 2018, which runs on the same bill. She was fourth in one of her first pickup races at the Chiang circuit in 2018, and has scored several top-ten finishes since then, in 2018 and 2019. She also competed in the Lady Cup that ran alongside the Thailand Super Turbo series, winning one race. Her car was her Vios.

Amirah Mokhtar - Singaporean driver who got into motorsport through the Red Bull Rookies talent search. She was one of the 2011 Rookies, alongside Siti Shahkirah. She was part of a team for the Merdeka Millennium endurance race that year and drove for the RB21 team in the 2011 Sepang 1000km. Her team-mates were Siti Shahkirah and Mark Darwin and their car was a Proton Satria. They did not finish the Sepang race. Amirah does not seem to have raced since then.

Hinako Muramatsu - winner of the 2019 Kyojo Cup. She narrowly defeated Miki Onaga, winning the final race of the year. This was her first season in the all-female sportscar championship; previously, she raced single-seaters in the Super FJ series from 2017, racing at Okoyama and Suzuka. Her best result has been third at Okayama in 2019. Before that, she was involved in karting for several years.

Hiroko Nakamura – Japanese driver who raced in the Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race and Sepang 1000km on at least five occasions, initially as part of what would become the Red Bull Rookies team. She and Philippa Yoong raced a Honda X1-R together in 2005 and 2007, then in a Proton Satria sponsored by Alex Yoong, Philippa’s brother, in 2010. In between, she teamed up with “Kiki”, another Red Bull Rookies graduate, in a Suzuki Swift, in 2008. Hiroko raced another Satria in 2011, as part of the Thunder Asia Racing Team, with Melvin Choo and Eric Yeo. Earlier, she raced in the Toyota Vitz championship in Japan, and worked at racetracks as a promotional model.

Dimple Napat - races in the Toyota Vios Trophy in the Philippines. She has been active in the series since 2015, when she entered the Promotional class at the age of 22. By the end of the 2018 Vios season, she was one of its leading drivers, winning twice at Clark International Speedway in the Promotional class. At the end of 2018, she was also part of an all-female team for the 8 Hours of the Philippines race, driving a Honda Civic with Kathy Villar, Gabie Desales and Aira Medrano. They did not finish. In 2019, she competed in Sodi World Series karting.

Nurul Husna Nasharuddin - Malaysian driver who normally races at Sepang, often alongside her father Nasharuddin Aziz. She has been racing since at least 2012, when she began her career in historics, driving a Honda Civic. She remained in the Asia Classic Car Challenge and continued to make guest appearances until recently. In 2019, she raced a Proton Saga in a one-make cup. Throughout her career, she has often raced Proton cars, including another Saga in 2018 which she shared with her father for the MSF Turismo championship. She has competed in the Sepang 1000km several times, and finished ninth in the 2014 edition, sharing a Proton Satria with Foo Yung Cheh and Yee Kok Jun. In 2021, she joined Natasha Seatter in a Honda City, finishing 29th. The two drivers planned to race together in 2022, but this did not come off. She raced with her sister Nurul Aun in the MSF Standard Production championship, finishing 18th in a Toyota Vios. They contested the Vios Sprint Challegne in 2023.

Risa Ogushi - Japanese driver who raced in two rounds of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia in 2023. She drove a Mercedes-AMG GT4 at Okayama and finished sixth and seventh in class, with Kazuki Oki as her team-mate. This appears to have been her first appearance in a major race series. Further information about Risa is proving very hard to find.

Michiko Okuyama - Japanese driver who raced in Japan and Europe, in the 1980s and 1990s. Her earliest big race was the Suzuka 1000km, in 1985, in which she drove a Mazda-engine West 85S. She and her team-mates, Masako Fujikawa and Hideki Ogawa, did not finish. In 1989, she took part in one round of the Japanese touring car championship, at Fuji, and did not finish again, in an Isuzu Gemini. The following year, she did some more rounds of the JTCC, in a Fujitsu-sponsored TOMS Toyota Levin, with different team-mates. They were not often on the pace. Another outing in the Gemini gave another DNF. By 1995, she was racing in Europe, as part of an all-female team, with Kumi Sato and Junko Mihara. They competed in the Spa 24 Hours in 1995, and were 19th overall in a Toyota Corolla. In 1997, she tried GT racing in Japan, the dominant form of Japanese domestic motorsport, but a Renault Spider drive in the Super GT Championship did not materialise.

Michelle Pritchard – British-Filipina racer who competed in the Philippines. Her first race was the four-hour enduro held at the Subic Motorsports Festival in 2000. She shared a Nissan Sentra with Menchie Francisco, and was third. In 2001, she raced in the SVI Challenge Cup, racing against her erstwhile team-mate. She was competitive, and did well in qualifying. Her first motorsport experiences came from dirt track racing, and rallycross. Later, she worked as a motoring journalist in the Philippines. She is probably best known as a violinist with the band Imago.

Sharina Ramlle - races a Proton Saga in her native Malaysia. She competes in the Casual class of the Proton Saga Cup, which is part of the Malaysian Speed Festival bill. As well as this, she sometimes races a Honda Jazz in the Malaysian Super Production championship, alongside her husband. According to Malaysian media, she has been racing since 2011 and is supported by “Pursuit of Dreams”, a driver programme run by MSF and Petronas. Sharina is also one of the members of Malaysia’s first women’s motorsport organisation and has an all-female team to work on her car. Her nickname is “Racing Mama”.  In 2020, she raced in the three-round Malaysian Endurance series, driving a Honda Jazz. She returned to the Jazz in 2022, contesting the MSF Standard Production championship with Aik Sha and finishing fifth overall. In 2023, she raced a Swift in the Malaysian Endurance Series, winning her class at least once.

Geraldine Read – Malaysian driver who races saloons in Southeast Asia. She got her start in motorsport through the Red Bull Rookies driver talent search, in 2014. She was selected for the Red Bull team for that year’s Sepang 1000km, alongside Siti Shahkirah Shaharul and Illy Aquila Fateen Ismail. Their car was a Proton Satria, and they were twelfth overall. Driving for a different team, Geraldine returned to the Sepang 1000km in 2015, in a Suzuki Swift. She did not finish. Since then, her opportunities to race have been limited, due to finances, but she spent the spring of 2016 testing, and competed again later in the year. She raced a Proton for the Dreamchaser team in the Malaysian Championship Series. In 2017, she had a second season in the series. The Dreamchaser squad won the team championship. She did some endurance racing in Malaysia in 2018, but did not compete as often. 2019 was similar, although she did get out in the K Car 24-Hour endurance race at Sepang at the end of the year. 

Maria Fernanda Ribeiro - first female winner of a race on the Macau circuit, in 1956. It was a ladies’ race which she won in a Fiat 1100 from two other women. She had been competing for a couple of years by this time, having finished second in a speed test at the circuit in 1954. Her car was a Vauxhall belonging to her father, and she shared it with her husband. She did another Macau ladies’ race in 1958, finishing second in the Fiat. Her motorsport career ended in 1960 when she moved to Australia.

Rally Marina Sa – Indonesian driver who currently races sports and touring cars. In 2013, she took part in the Sepang rounds of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia, with Mika Kagashima of Japan. They were thirteenth and fourteenth in the two races. In 2014, she raced in the Audi Race Indonesia one-make series, and won at least one race. She was third in the championship. Previously, she competed on and off in single-seaters from the age of fourteen, in 1994, when she won a national championship. In 1996, she won the Asian Formula championship at Gudang Garam. After that, she did quite a lot of drag racing in southeast Asia, as well as working as a TV presenter for MotoGP and NASCAR.

Yumiko Sekizaki - Japanese driver who began racing in 2015 after being selected for a women’s motorsport programme run by Mazda. She was the fastest driver of the final twelve selected. Since then, she has been part of the Love Drive team competing in the Super Taikyu series, driving a Mazda Roadster with other Japanese female racers. She was part of the team for the 2018 Fuji 24 Hours. In 2019, she switched to rallying in a Toyota Vitz and competed in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Rally Challenge. She now runs her own racing team.

Shasha Shafie - Malaysian driver who competes in the Malaysian Championship Series. She normally shares a Suzuki Swift with Shafiq Samsudin. They have been racing together since 2018 and compete in the SP2 class for production cars, where they are midfielders, although they did score some class podiums in 2018. The car was put up for sale after the second round of the 2019 championship due to problems. She raced in the Sporting class of the Toyota Vios Cup in 2022. She raced the Vios again in 2023 and was part of a female team for the Sepang 1000km. As a teenager, Shasha was a karter, but she did not start her senior career until she was in her 30s.

Yuko Suzuki - Japanese driver who competed in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia in 2023, driving a McLaren 720S GT3 and Artura GT4 for CREF Motorsport, partnered by Masataka Inoue. She finished the two rounds at Motegi, finishing 24th and 27th in the 720S. She did better in the Artura, finishing third in class at Okayama. There is some suggestion that she may have raced single-seaters earlier, but this is unconfirmed. She could also have been a pro volleyball player.

Nanami Tsukamoto - Japanese-Brazilian driver famous in her home country for her pink cars and glamorous image. She competes in both racing and rallying, as well as drifting. In 2018, she travelled to Europe to race in the VLN, driving a Toyota GT86 for Ring Racing and earning a second and fifth in class. She had previously raced a GT86 in a one-make series in Japan between 2013 and 2017, alongside electric car racing in the JEVRA EV Trophy and a 2015 season in the Japanese Carrera Cup, where she was eleventh overall. In 2017, she won two rounds of an Audi A1 one-make series and in 2018 she added to her win tally with three victories in the Z Expert Trophy, driving a Nissan Fairlady. In rallies, she has competed in the 2018 and 2019 Toyota Gazoo Challenge in a GT86. She competed again in the Fairlady in 2020 and also won a team championship for electric karts as part of an all-woman squad.

Kathy Villar - won the GT150 championship of the Philippines Grand Touring championship, driving a Honda Civic. She was also Rookie of the Year. Late in 2018, she was part of an all-female team for the 8 Hours of the Philippines race, alongside Dimple Napat, Aira Medrano and Gabie Desales. They ran as high as third in class in their Honda Civic until it caught fire. Kathy previously competed in Time Attack events.

(Boey) Chai Pao Weei - races in the Proton Saga Cup in Malaysia. Her car is a Proton Iswara. She has been racing Protons in single-make championships since at least 2016. She won a Saga Novice Cup race at the 2017 Malaysian Speed Festival, sharing the car with Choo Yoong Chon. At the end of 2018, she raced a Suzuki Swift in the Sepang 1000km alongside Shasha Shafie and Nurul Husna Nasharuddin. In 2019, she competed in the Saga Cup Casual section of the MSF Super Turismo championship, in the Iswara.

Denise Yeung – Hong Kong driver who raced in the Asian Renault Clio Cup in 2016. This was her sixth year of competition. In 2015, she represented Hong Kong in the China Racing Cup, in a standard Senova D70, and took part in the Macau Grand Prix, finishing fifth. Previously, in 2014 and 2015, she raced in the touring car championships of Hong Kong, Korea, Macau and Taiwan, winning ladies’ awards for all of them. She first raced in the HKTCC in 2012. Her 2015 HKTCC season was a particularly good one, with a win, plus a second and a third. In 2012, she took part in one Asian Touring Car Championship race in a Honda Integra. In 2022, she raced in the Kyojo Cup in Japan.

Rose Tan Ying - Chinese racer who mainly drives a Porsche. She began racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup in China in 2004, and competed on and off in it until 2006. In 2011 and 2012, she contested the whole championship, with a best result of 16th, in 2011. In the Porsche, a 997 GT3, she has also appeared in the Asian GT Championship, winning her class on several occasions, and the Macau GT Cup. Away from the Porsche, she has scored race wins in a Lotus Exige, in the Pan Delta Super Racing Festival, and also drove the Exige in the Lotus Cup. In 2009, she also tried touring car racing in a Citroen, in the Chinese championship, driving for the Dong Feng team. 

Joanna Yoong – British-born Malaysian driver. She was active for three seasons in the 1980s, and was the first female driver to win a race in Malaysia. She won the Harvey Yap School of Driving race, supporting the 1984 Selangor Grand Prix, in a JPS-sponsored BMW. In 1987, she also tried her hand at rallying, in a Daihatsu Charmante. She drove in the Rally of Malaysia, but did not finish, due to engine trouble. Her children are Alex Yoong, former Formula One driver, and Philippa Yoong, Red Bull endurance racer. 

Philippa Yoong - Malaysian driver who competes in endurance races in Asia. She drove a Proton saloon for the X1-R Red Bull Racing team. In 2008, she scored second and eighth places at Sepang, assisted by Leona Chin and Puteri Ayu Jasmin. This was the team and Philippa’s best result. She was one of the professional members of the team, which was made up of a rotating squad of female drivers. She first drove for the team in 2003. In addition to endurance events, she has also taken part in some drifting competitions in Southeast Asia, as well as competitive water-skiing. Her brother is ex-Formula One driver, Alex Yoong. She returned to endurance racing in 2010, at Sepang, and was 15th in the 1000km race. She has been active in motorsport since 2003, when she drove a Proton at the Merdeka race, as part of a different all-female team.

Deanna Yusoff – Malaysian-Swiss driver who was one of the earliest members of the Red Bull X-1R racing team, which became the Red Bull Rookies. She entered her first Merdeka Millennium Endurance race in 2004, driving a Proton with Philippa Yoong and Maznah Zolfikli. They were 38^th overall, and the first all-female team to finish the race. Deanna and Philippa raced in the event again in 2005, with Hiroko Nakamura. In 2006, she was set to join the team again, but work commitments forced her to pull out. The same trio from 2005 were reunited in 2007, with their Proton Satria, and were seventh in class.  As well as the twelve-hour Merdeka Millenium race at Sepang, Deanna did some saloon racing, and karting, in Malaysia. She is better known as an actress.

Melly Zhang - made her circuit debut in the UK in 2023. She took part in the second Donington round of the GT Cup, racing a McLaren Artura for Racelab with professional driver Michael O'Brien. Their best finish was twelfth, achieved in the third race, although they did struggle for pace. Very little other information about Melly seems to exist; she is possibly involved in drifting and may be a visual artist away from the track. She has not raced in the UK since 2023.

Kristie Zhu - Chinese driver who has been active since at least 2021. She raced a Mercedes-AMG GT4 in the GT Super Sprint Challenge in China that year, finishing at least a couple of races at Shanghai. In 2023, after apparently not competing for a while, she travelled to Germany for the NLS, racing a BMW 125i run by the Giti Tyre team. She and Anning Sun, another Chinese driver, were eighth in class in Round 3. Kristie has not raced since then. 

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