Natasha wins in 2011
Natasha is a well-travelled
Malaysian driver, active since 2009, with race wins in different series, in
different countries, to her name. She is half-American and was born in
Malaysia.
Following four years of karting, she
began her senior career by winning all four races of the Petronas Formula
Xperience rookie driver competition, in a Formula BMW. This series was one of
the supports for the Merdeka Millennium Endurance race, and therefore a big
stage on which to perform.
This was followed by a year in
Asian Formula BMW in 2010. Now, Natasha was competing against drivers from all
over Asia and beyond, including future Formula One drivers, Daniil Kvyat and
Carlos Sainz Jr, many of which were far more experienced than her. She managed a
best finish of tenth, at Guangdong, and was 20th in the
championship.
In 2011, she continued in Formula
BMW in Asia, now rebranded as the JK Racing Asia Series. She improved her best
finish to fifth, in Singapore, and was a regular fixture in the top ten. Her
final position was tenth.
During the winter season between
2011 and 2012, she travelled to the United Arab Emirates to contest the Formula
Gulf 1000 series, held in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Natasha was on the pace straight
away, and was second in her first race, at Dubai. Later in the season, in
February, she won her first race, again at the Dubai circuit. She also achieved
another second place, and three thirds. Unfortunately, she missed the first two
rounds, and as a result, does not seem to have been classified.
In between, she managed two
rounds of Formula Pilota China, in Mongolia, gaining two third places, plus
another third in a ladies’ VW Polo Cup race in India, and seventh in a mixed VW
Cup race. Back at home, she drove a VW Scirocco in the Merdeka Millennium
endurance race, and was 19th, driving as part of the Scirocco team
with Angus Kirkwood and Noel Edward Becker.
During the 2012-13 winter season,
she competed in fourteen rounds of Formula Gulf, and walked away with seven
wins, plus two second places. She was the runaway winner of the championship.
She drove in two rounds of the
2013 Asian Porsche Carrera Cup, a first for a female driver. These races
yielded a thirteenth and 17th place, at Shanghai.
For most of 2013, she raced in
the Malaysian Super Series, in a Radical SR8. For the endurance part of the
championship, she was joined by her father, Stewart Seatter, who also races in
the Asia Pacific region. They were second in the second round, at Sepang.
Natasha was second in the championship, after a battle with Angus Kirkwood, her
former team-mate. She scored four podium finishes.
Late in the season, she rejoined
Formula Gulf for its two Dubai races, and won both of them.
In 2014, she entered the South Korean
rounds of the GT Asia championship, in an Aston Martin Vantage. She was eighth
and ninth at the Jeollanamdo circuit, driving for the Craft Bamboo team with
Tacksung Kim. Her first race earned her a “Best Performing Driver” award,
for climbing to seventh from eleventh place, then fighting back to eighth,
following a safety car period and a drive-through penalty.
Unfortunately, Natasha did not
race for the rest of the year. Her plans for 2015 were unclear, but she did express an interest in contesting the Australian V8 Supercar series in the
future. Continuing recovery from an injury kept her out of competition in 2015 and she retired for seven years.
She was persuaded back by the BHP Petrol Racing Team, who initially got her to race for them in a six-hour kart enduro. This led to a drive in the first two rounds of the Malaysian Touring Car championship, in which she finished second and third. She also partnered Nurul Husna Nasharuddin and Muizuddin Musyaffa for the Sepang 1000km, driving a Honda City. They were 29th overall.
Natasha and Nurul planned to race together in 2022, although this does not seem to have happened. As of 2025, Natasha manages the Janes Racing Team in Malaysia, and has been urging Malaysia's drivers and engineers to return and support their domestic motorsport scene.
(Image copyright CircuitProDigital)
