Alexandra Asmasoebrata (Allida Alexandra)

Alexandra Asmasoebrata, also known as Allida Alexandra or Andra, is an Indonesian driver who competed up to international Formula Renault level. 

After four or so years of karting, she first stepped up to single-seater racing aged 16, taking part in the 2004 Formula BMW Scholarship shooutout in Spain. She was not among the winners and did not make her competitive debut until the following year. Her first races were in 2005, when she did some rounds of the China Formula Campus series, winning her class.

She first drove in the Asian Formula Renault Challenge in 2006, aged eighteen. She was 24th overall after participating in seven races. The best of these was her last one at Shanghai, where she was ninth overall. The following year, she did six races, starting at Zhuhai, Sepang and Beijing. Her best finish was a fourteenth place at Beijing.

In 2008, she reappeared in AFR. She was twelfth this time, with a best finish of fifth at Zhuhai, in her first race of the season. This was one of four top-ten finishes she had that year, the others being an eighth and two ninths at Shanghai and Sepang.

For most of her career, she combined Formula Renault and karting. The following year, she was third in the 

A shorter season in 2009 meant that eighth was her best finish, also at Zhuhai, a feat she bettered in 2010 with a fourth place at Zhuhai. She was eighth in the championship. By then, the series was being held entirely in China. 

In 2011, she drove in both the Asian Formula Renault Challenge and Formula Pilota in China. It was her best season yet; she was third in Formula Renault with five podium finishes, four thirds and one second, at her favoured Zhuhai. 

Unfortunately, she only entered four races in 2012: three rounds of Asian Formula Renault. Her finishes were two sevenths, and two DNFs. 

She bounced back in 2013, taking part in six Asian Formula Renault races and earning two thirds and four fourths. She was fourth overall. 

In 2014, she was set to race in Asia Formula Renault again, but does not appear to have competed. A long lay-off followed, where she had three children among other things. She returned to the tracks in 2026, racing in the Mandalika Kartini race, a women's championship held at the Mandalika circuit in Indonesia. There were seven other entrants in Krida Agyas. Alexandra was third.

Alexandra is the daughter of former Indonesian racing driver and politician, Alex Asmasoebrata. It was him who first took her karting and she is open about how this helped her during her own career.

(Image copyright Alexandra Asmasoebrata)

Vivian Siu

Vivian Siu (Siu Wing Man) is a Hong Kong driver who races single-seaters. 

As a teenager, she became interested in motorsport after becoming "addicted" to arcade racing games, something she did while she was mourning the sudden death of her mother when she was 16. She didn't get to race for real until she was in her 20s, after she had finished her studies at Columbia University and started working in the financial industry.

She competed in Formula 4 in 2023, beginning with the first two meetings of the Chinese championship. This was a first for a female driver to begin with, but she also managed to score points at Ningbo, finishing tenth.

During the winter season, she entered the first round of the Southeast Asia (SEA) F4 series at Zhuzhou Circuit in China, finishing sixth twice and tenth once for the BlackArts team. She switched to Champ Motorsport for the non-championship Macau support race, finishing 17th and 14th. This was a first for a female driver as well, although others had finished the Macau Grand Prix itself.

Trying something different, she entered the 2023 Asian Motorsport Championships, a tournament-based event similar to the FIA Motorsport Games. She and Li Ho Sing won the mixed pairs gold medal in Auto Gymkhana.

Since 2023, she has not raced much, although she has been the subject of a a film, "Zero to Macao".

Away from motorsport, she works in financial services in New York. Although born in Hong Kong, she spent most of her childhood in the States, returning to her home country after the early death of her mother and returning as a student.

(Image from Macao News)

Betty Chen

 

Betty Chen (Chen Yinyu) is a Taiwanese driver who races GT cars in Asia and Europe.

In 2019, she competed in the China GT Championship. She drove a BMW M6 in the GT3 class and earned a best finish of fourth at Qingdao, V1 International Circuit and Sepang. Her final championship position was ninth. The V1 track was probably her best circuit; she was fifth in her second race there. Her team-mate for most of the season was Jody Fannin, who acted as her driver coach. She was only 18 years old at the start of the season. 

2019 was only her first year of competition and her first time in a GT3 car. She had only taken part in two previous races before China GT with Fist-Team AAI, driving a GT4-spec car. 

The global coronavirus crisis meant that most motor racing in Asia was suspended in 2020 and part of 2021, so Betty was unable to take up a drive she had planned in the Japanese Super Taikyu championship.

She raced in the 2022 Dubai 24 Hours, driving a Lamborghini Huracan for Leipert Motorsport, finishing 16th. The team was a five-driver multinational effort led by Joel Eriksson of Sweden, who had previously raced with her at AAI. 

At about the same time, she was announced as a driver for Century Motorsport in the British GT championship. The car, shared with Angus Fender, was a BMW M4 GT3. The pair finished thirteenth in the second race of the season at Oulton Park after missing the first. The team did not complete the season due to the departure of one of its other drivers and Betty only did five of the nine rounds.

After a break, she reappeared in Japan, racing a Toyota GR Supra in the Japan Cup series. She raced in the GT4 Am category at Sugo and Fuji, winning her class three times. Her co-driver was Yoshichika Nagai.

She is the first Taiwanese driver to race in British GTs. Her father Jun San Chen has also raced in Asia for many years. Betty’s adventures in motorsport started young; she first tested a Formula Master single-seater in 2016, when she was 15.

Image copyright Paul Foster)

The Women's Rally in Ena

 

The Women’s Rally in Ena is a women-only stage rally that takes place every year in and around the city of Ena, Japan. It began in 2018 at the Women in Motorsport L1 Rally and assumed its current name in 2020. It takes place towards the end of the year and is a standalone event, rather than a round of a championship.

It runs over a single day and has a compact, although multi-stage format. 

Drivers must be female, although men are allowed to take part as co-drivers. Entry requirements for drivers are fairly basic and correspond to those of Japan’s Monte Carlo Auto Sport Club, the organiser of Japanese championship rallies.

The majority of drivers at Ena are Japanese, although occasional crews from China and Taiwan have taken part, most notably Mingwei Hung of Taiwan who competes regularly in Japan. She was third in the 2019 event.

Drivers have a variety of experience levels, from first-timers to regulars in the Japanese championship. Cars are similarly varied and included Toyota GT86s, Mitsubishi Lancers and small cars such as the Toyota Vitz.

The rally seems to have begun as part of a series of preparations for Rally Japan being held in and around Ena in 2018.

In 2021 it was combined with the MASC Rally, an open event, but it went back to a standalone rally in 2022. In 2025, it appears to have run as a mixed event.

Winners

2018 ?

2019 Hiroko Menjo/Yuta Nakamura (Toyota Vitz)

2020 Saori Ishikawa/Suguru Kawana (Toyota GT86)

2021 Saori Ishikawa/Suguru Kawana (Toyota GT86)

2022 Saori Ishikawa/Suguru Kawana (Toyota GT86)

2023 Saori Ishikawa/Takahiro Yasui (Toyota GT86)

2024 Yuna Kanematsu/Shu Yamashita (Suzuki Swift Sport)

2025 Aimi Sato/Yuta Fujimoto (Toyota Yaris IV) - 7th overall, first female crew.

Sabrina Shaw

Sabrina Shaw found fame as the youngest-ever competitor on the RAC Rally, aged seventeen years and two months, in 1998. 

She was briefly British rallying’s “next big thing”, following on from Janie Eaton and Francine Bogg who had been the youngest women drivers before her earlier in the decade.

Her 1998 RAC Rally car was a SEAT Ibiza and she was 79th. This was not her first rally car; she had used a Daihatsu Charade to do her first events in order to get the appropriate signatures on her license. Her first rally came just four days after gaining her driving license and she ended up rolling the Daihatsu down a cliff after a suspension component failed. She was not seriously hurt, although the car was a write-off. It had been borrowed and incredibly, she was loaned another car for the five more rallies she needed to complete to get her international license. 

Her father Lindsay was a rally driver himself and acted as Sabrina’s co-driver for her early events. Experienced navigator Mike Panes sat with her for the RAC Rally.

The SEAT drive was a one-off and Sabrina’s car for her next outing was a Ford Ka. She drove it in the 1999 Vauxhall Astra Stages Rally. She and Julia Rabbett were 54th overall and second in class. This was replaced by a Peugeot 106 which she used for the rest of the year. Most of this was spent in the UK, with outings in the British Rally Championship and the National Rally Championship. She entered the Ulster Rally but did not finish, and was 59th overall on the Bulldog Rally.

She also drove a Peugeot 106 Rallye in the China Rally in 1999, finishing in 25th place, alongside Chinese navigator Shouli Xu. The drive came about through the Chinese magazine Champion Racers, for which Shouli Xu was the editor, and Sabrina’s manager Andy Moss, who was instrumental in bringing rallying to China. Sabrina’s second World Championship rally ended in a 25th place. She had taken part in one of the earliest rallies in mainland China open to international drivers, as part of a female crew.

Later, she acquired an Impreza for the 2000 RAC Rally, but failed to finish, going out on the fourth stage with a mechanical problem. 

She continued to drive the 106 in 2000, in rallies including the BTRDA North Humberside Forest Rally. 

Early on, Sabrina expressed a wish to become a professional driver and she took time out from catering college in 1998 to commit herself. She was instructed and mentored by Gwyndaf Evans and SEAT UK provided her with her car for the 1998 RAC Rally but her family was still having to find large sums of money for each event. The 2000 RAC was her last international rally.

(Image copyright Getty Images)

Naomi Ran Zhang

Naomi Ran Zhang is a Chinese driver who has been active since at least 2009 and is currently racing GTs in Asia.

Her Chinese name is Ran Zhang, but she uses the Western name Naomi.

She has been showing her versatility since her first year, when she raced in the Clio Cup and Asian GT Masters. Driving a Ferrari 360 Modena in the GT Masters, she won Class B, with one victory.

The following year, she tried single-seaters, in the form of Asian Formula Renault, but was not as fast, and only finished 17th at the end of the season. Her best finishes were two eighth places, at Zhuhai.

In 2011, she kept her options open, with guest appearances in the China GT Challenge, in the Ferrari, and the Volkswagen Scirocco-R Cup. However, her main focus was Formula Pilota in China. She was 24th overall after a part-season, one of four women who entered that year.

From 2012, she concentrated on the Audi R8 LMS Cup in China. In 2013, she got into the top ten once - a ninth place at Ordos. She was 20th overall, after finishing 25th in 2012.

A break from motorsport followed.

More recently, she has been active in the Blancpain Endurance Series. Her first race in the Blancpain championship was in a Mercedes AMG GT4 run by Craft-Bamboo Racing, shared with Diana Rosario. They were fourth and sixth at Ningbo in 2018.

She raced in Europe for the first time that year, taking the wheel of a familiar Audi R8 LMS Cup car at the Nurburgring. A large number of Asian LMS Cup drivers came over for the two races, in which Naomi was twelfth and thirteenth.

In 2019, she joined up with the iRace team, sharing a similar Mercedes with Alan Yeo at Sepang and finishing fifth in the GT4 class twice.

At the age of 35, she also returned to single-seater racing in 2019, driving for KRC in the Asian Formula Renault series. She was tenth and ninth in the Pro class in her two races at Zhuhai in March.

(Image from www.gt-world-challenge-asia.com)

Female Drivers at the Macau Grand Prix

Tatiana Calderon in 2014

The Macau Grand Prix is the longest-standing motorsport event in Asia. It started life as a motorised treasure hunt, then became a sportscar race, before evolving into a single-seater event. It ran under Formula Libre rules from 1961 to 1973, then becoming part of the Formula Pacific championship in 1974. Since 1983, it has been a Formula 3 race, and has been contested by Formula One hopefuls from around the world, including Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher.

The race is held on the Guia street circuit in Macau, a Chinese special territory. Speeds reached at Macau are can be extremely high due to the circuit’s long straights. As well as the single-seater race, the event hosts a major touring car race (previously the finale of the WTCC), a motorcycle Grand Prix and a number of support races for saloons, sportscars and local single-seater formulae.

Women drivers have been a distinct rarity throughout the history of the Grand Prix. More have contested the Guia touring car race, or the other support races, and there have even been pro-am women’s races on the bill in the past. Anne Wong won the touring car race in 1970, in a Mini. However, only a handful of female drivers have contested the blue-riband Grand Prix. 

Below is a list. It may be added to in future, as the results for the earlier runnings of the race are not easy to find.

1976

Diana Poon  (Brabham BT40) DNF?

1980

Desiré Wilson (Ralt RT1) – 6^th

1983

Cathy Muller (Ralt RT3) – 12^th

2014

Tatiana Calderon (Dallara-Mercedes) – 13<sup>th

2018
Sophia Floersch (Dallara-Mercedes) - DNF (accident)

2019
Sophia Floersch (Dallara-Mecachrome) - DNF</sup>

²⁰²³

^{Sophia Floersch (Dallara F3 2019) - 11th}

(Image from www.tatianacalderon.com)

Leona Chin

Leona Chin came to prominence as a member of Malaysia’s Red Bull Rookies all-female driving squad in 2008. She beat many other young Malaysian women to the coveted team spot.

She was sixth in Class B in the Merdeka Millennium Challenge in 2008, driving a Honda DC2 with Puteri Ayu Jasmin, Norlina Johor and Norbaizura Ruslan. They had qualified first in their class.

Prior to her first year as a Rookie, she had not done any circuit racing, but she had done some drifting, which is very popular in Southeast Asia, competing since 2006. She got into drifting and the modified car scene as a teenager. As soon as she was old enough to own a car, she got involved herself.

In 2009, she tackled the Sepang 1000km in a Honda DC2, with Puteri, Diana Chin and Nur Hayati Omar. They were 21st and fourteenth in class. Her calendar also took in rallysprint events in the MAM Championship, winning a Ladies’ and Junior title. Her car was a two-litre Proton Satria.

She raced a Honda in the Ultimate Challenge in 2010. The Challenge is a Honda-sponsored amateur motorsport competition, involving karting and circuit racing.

2011 was mostly spent drifting, although she did take part in the HPC 4-hour endurance race in Malaysia, and was fourth in class, driving a Mazda Miata. She also did some Autocross grass racing. Although she did not do much wheel to wheel racing, her profile remained high, due to promotional work and TV appearances.

In 2012, she continued with drifting, time attack, gymkhana and grass racing, and did some speed events in 2013, using a Radical, among other cars. For the next three seasons, she competed around Southeast Asia, winning several ladies’ prizes and becoming something of a name in the modified car scene.

She returned to the circuits in 2015. This was a new challenge, as she was racing a Caterham, and she had not really driven an open sportscar before. She was competitive from the beginning. In only her second race, at Sepang, she won the Supersport class. Out of the eight races she did, all ended in podium finishes.

At the end of the year, she also drove a Subaru Impreza in the 6-Hour Endurance race at Guangdong Raceway, as part of a four-driver team with Sam Lau, Xi Xu Ping and Sun Qiang. They were fourth in class. Her promotional activities this year were also more circuit-focused, and included autocrossing against Jari-Matti Latvala for the launch of the VW Polo Trophy model in Malaysia.

For 2016, she stuck with one-make series and travelled to China to compete in the Renault Clio Cup. This was a move that paid off; she was immediately on the pace, and on the podium. In her second race, at Zhuhai, she was third, and then scored two seconds in Korea. She was second in the championship, with seven top-three finishes in total. Throughout the season, she was never lower than fifth.

She entered a round of the 2018 Mini Challenge Asia at Zhuhai and finished third overall.

In 2019, she raced in the Malaysian Championship series, driving a Suzuki Swift. She was second in the MTC class for saloon cars, with three wins from nine races plus three further podiums.

Driving for a different team in a different car (a Proton Saga), she entered the Sepang 1000km as part of an all-female team with Faye Kusairi and Nurul Husna Nasaruddin. They were seventh.

2020 wa meant to be spent in the Asian GT World Challenge, driving a Mercedes GT3 for Malaysian Legacy Racing. As motorsport was seriously affected by the worldwide coronavirus crisis, she had to make do with the Esports version.

She raced in the Malaysian Championship Series in 2021, held at Sepang the end of the year. Driving a Suzuki Swift, she won the M-Production class outright, with two race wins. The first was a dominant peformance ending in a lead of over a minute. She had to wait two more races to even finish, but a win in the final round was enough. This was impressive in a different way as she had started at the back. 

A switch of car to a Honda Fit Gk5 was on the cards for 2022, still in the Malaysian Championship series. She initially joined the Bhp Racing team, but the car was not really competitive and she only did the first two rounds. Later in the year, she drove a Toyota Vios in the Sepang 1000km, sharing with Adele Lew. They were 44th overall.

Another run in the Sepang 1000km in 2023, was not a success either. As part of a four-driver team in a Suzuki Swift, she could only manage 58th place. She entered the Macau Guia 70th anniversary race in a Honda, having scrambled to get sponsorship together, but it was not enough and she could not race.

She did finally get to race at Macau in 2024, taking part in the Greater Bay Area GT Cup in a Porsche 718 Cayman. She qualified in 20th and finished 15th. The race itself had more than one safety car period to clear up after crashes and she was the only Cayman finisher. 

Her Malaysian Championship Series in 2024 had ended before it began, when her Suzuki Swift was written off after being hit by another driver during the first round. Later in the year, she geared up for her Macau debut with a run in the Shanghai 8 Hours, driving the Cayman with two team-mates. They were third overall on a wet track.

She returned to the MTCC in 2025. The four-round championship was based at Sepang. Her car was a Suzuki Swift and she became one of the quicker drivers in the TP2 class, despite some early problems which prevented her from chasing outright wins. She also raced in the Lotus Cup China for its Sepang visit, finishing third overall on second-hand tyres. Late in the season, she returned for the Sepang 1000km and was 18th overall with two team-mates.

Leona has many sponsors, for whom she makes appearances in the Asian media. As well as racing herself, she runs her own car accessories firm, Kuraz Motorsports, and works as a stunt driver for TV.

(Image from http://leona.kurazmotorsports.com/)  

Samín Gomez

Samín Gomez is a Venezuelan driver, who until recently raced in GP3.

She was born in 1992, in Maracay. When she was seven, she started karting. After ten years of junior kart competition, she made the switch to cars in 2008, at sixteen. As a junior, she mainly raced in South America, but her first steps in single-seater racing were made in Asia.

She was supported for much of her career by the state-owned oil company of Venezuela, PDVSA, who were investing in motorsport quite heavily, most visibly for Pastor Maldonado.

Her 2008 season started with two guest spots in Formula Renault Asia Challenge, driving for the March3 team at Shanghai. She was twelfth and thirteenth in her two races. After a short gap, she reappeared in the Formula Asia 2.0 series, another Formula Renault championship. March3 entered her into the first five rounds, all held at Sepang. Although she was off the pace set by her team-mate, Felix Rosenqvist, who was the eventual winner, she did manage to get into the top ten twice, in ninth and tenth place. She was thirteenth in the championship.

An expanded season in Asian Formula Reanult followed in 2009, still driving for March3. Samín was in the top ten from the start, with a tenth and eighth place at Shanghai. By the end of the season, she had secured her first top five finish, a fifth at Zhuhai. She was ninth in the championship.

Driving for a different team, she also made a couple of appearances in Ford Formula Campus in China. She was driving for the “Perfect Beauty” team, and managed one third place, and a DNF.

Her third and final season in AFR was a very positive one. She drove for Top Speed Racing, and started off her campaign with a fifth place, at Zhuhai. Towards the end of the season, she had a run of three podium finishes, also at Zhuhai: a second and two thirds. She was third in the championship, her best-ever result.

It was time for a move into the higher-profile world of European racing. 2011 was a transitional year for Samín, who spent time competing in both Asia and Western Europe. On the European front, she signed up with EuroInternational for Formula Abarth, based in Italy. She was registered for both the European and the Italian championships, with her main focus being the European series. This was a rather mixed experience for her, starting with a tenth place at Valencia, with a highlight of one seventh place, at Monza, plus another tenth at the Red Bull Ring. She was 17^th overall. In the Italian series, she was one place better, in sixteenth.

In Asia, she drove for the Jenzer team in Formula Pilota China. This was the beginning of a longer-term partnership between driver and team. Formula Pilota used very similar cars to Formula Abarth. 2011 was the first year it ran. Samín took over from Romanian driver, Robert Visoiu, half-way through the season. Her best finish was third, at Sepang, and she was tenth in the championship.

She continued with Formula Abarth in 2012, moving to the Jenzer team full-time. With a best finish of third, achieved at Imola and Valencia, she was sixth overall, just behind one team-mate, and ahead of another. Her performances were not completely consistent, but she showed improvement, and was normally in the top five.

After a solid, if unspectacular performance in tests at the end of 2012, Jenzer entered her into GP3 for 2013. This was a big step up and somewhat of a baptism of fire, and her best result was thirteenth, at Catalunya. The lowest point was probably her crash with Adderly Fong at Monza, although she was classified as a finisher. Fong ran over her wheel trying to overtake, causing his car to become airborne. Neither driver was hurt. She was unplaced in the championship, having not managed the necessary top-ten finishes.

In 2014, she made two appearances in Auto GP, at Monza. She finished one race in ninth place, driving for the Swiss Zele Racing team. Her second race was ended by a crash, when she was sent into the gravel by another car.

The following year, she had another try at GP3, racing for a part-season with the Campos team as their third driver. Unfortunately, she only managed a 16th place in Austria as her best position. There was additional unwelcome drama at the Red Bull Ring in June; Samín got caught up in a starting grid incident and sprained her wrist. In the second race, she received a penalty for speeding in the pitlane. These goings-on were only two of several incidents that year, which attracted criticism of driver discipline in the series. She was 30th in the championship.

After her 2015 run in GP3, she has not raced competitively. The sponsorship from state-owned Venezuelan oil company that she relied upon dried up, due to the worldwide economic downturn.

She attempted to return to single-seater racing via the all-female W Series in 2019, but did not get past the first round of selections.

(Image from http://hoyvenezuela.info/)

Naomi Schiff

Naomi with the KTM X-Bow in 2015

Naomi Schiff is a Belgium-based South African driver. She is one of the most cosmopolitan speedqueens on this site, with a Belgian father and a Rwandan mother. She spent much of her childhood in South Africa, where she began racing. Currently, she competes under the South African flag, although she has previously raced on a Belgian license.

Naomi’s father raced himself when he was younger, but he did not push her into motorsport. She caught the racing bug at a karting birthday party held by a friend. By the age of twelve, she was racing her own kart.

Following a successful kart career in South Africa, she moved up to Formula Volkswagen in 2010, still only aged 16. She did six races, with a best finish of sixth, and was 17th overall.

Her Formula Volkswagen season was accompanied by some more karting, and she continued to race karts, with some success, in 2011. At this time, she was studying for exams, and also modelling, in addition to her racing activities.

After that, she moved to Belgium, and raced a Norma M20 in four rounds of the Belgian Special Open Trophy, managing a second in her first race, with no testing beforehand. She was also fifth and sixth at Spa. Unfortunately, the owner of the team for which she was driving vanished, and took all of her sponsor money with him. This was the end of her season.

A period on the sidelines followed, and she used this as an opportunity to finish her education. She decided afterwards to decamp from South Africa to Belgium full-time, and to pursue motor racing as a career. This was the end of her modelling days, and she was now on the lookout for sponsorship and racing opportunities.

She reappeared in 2013, racing in different machinery in different parts of the world. She was back in a Radical for two rounds of the Dutch Supercar Challenge, giving her another two sixth places, after making a guest appearance at the Motorland meeting of the Formula Renault Eurocup. She was less successful there, with one 34th place. A chance meeting then led to a new career direction; she was due to test a Lamborghini Gallardo for the Reiter Engineering team, but when she arrived, a customer had already claimed the car. Later that day, she met the driver, a Chinese racer and team owner. When Naomi explained that the drive she was testing for had been taken, the team owner offered her his own race seat, in the Clio Cup in China. So it was off to Southeast Asia, which was a good move. She won her second Chinese Clio Cup race, after coming second in her first, against experienced local drivers, at Chengdu. At Guangdong, she picked up another win, but did not finish her other race. In between, she did two Asian Formula Renault races, and was sixth and seventh at Zhuhai. Whilst in China, she guested in some rounds of the Scirocco-R Cup there, with at least one second place. Late in the northern hemisphere season, she was one of the twelve entrants in the VW Scirocco-R Shootout for female drivers, held in Germany. Lucile Cypriano was the eventual winner.

She intended to compete in the North Europe Formula Renault series in 2014, but this fell through. She returned to the Chinese Clio Cup, invited back by her 2014 team, and won it convincingly, with four victories. In Europe, she competed in the Zolder 24 Hours, in a Wolf GB08 sportscar, and was seventh overall, with Jonathan Pizzuti, Kurt Thiers and Guglielmo Belotti.  

In 2015, she worked with Reiter Engineering again, driving a KTM X-Bow in the Nova GT4 Euro Series. She entered the championship for the Slovakiaring round, with Reinhard Kofler, and was rewarded with a third place and a win. She has also achieved two fourth places at the Red Bull Ring. As well as the GT4 Series, Naomi also drove a Lamborghini Gallardo for the Reiter team at last, in the GT Sports Club series for “gentlemen” drivers.

She competed in the GT4 series in again in 2016, in a Reiter-prepared KTM X-Bow. She only did a part-series, with her best finish being a seventh place, at Pau.

In 2017, she began the year with a run in the Dubai 24 Hours, in the X-Bow. She was part of an all-female team with Marylin Nierderhauser, Anna Rathe and Caitlin Wood. They ran as high as fourth in their class, but a collision with another car put them out of the running. They just made it to the end, in 72nd place.

Most of her season was spent in a slightly different all-female team, but with the same car. She raced in the GT4 European Series, usually with Marylin Niederhauser and once with Caitlin Wood, for RYS Team WP. The season was not a huge success and the team did not do the whole calendar. Being disqualified from the opening round at Misano did not help. Naomi did not receive a radio message from the team informing her of a drive-through penalty due to a too-early driver change.

Her best result was a sixth place at the Slovakiaring. Naomi was 28th in the championship individually, with two points fewer than Marylin.

She did not do as much racing in 2018 as in previous years. In May, she drove the X-Bow in the Nurburgring 24 Hours with Laura Kraihamer, Lena Strycek and Rahel Frey. They were second in class and 39th overall. Later in the year, she teamed up with Laura and the True Racing regulars for the Catalunya round of the 24H Series. They were second in class again and ninth overall.

Naomi was signed with the Reiter team, who run the Lamborghini and KTM works sportscar teams, as a junior driver. This araangement appears to have come to an end in 2019. 

At the start of 2019 she was accepted as one of the 20 W Series drivers and raced around Europe in a regional F3 during the summer. Her time out of a single-seater was somewhat evident and she was not one of the quicker drivers in the series, earning a best finish of tenth on-track and 16th in the championship, missing the cut for automatic entry in the 2020 W Series. 

Since then, she has acted as W Series' Diversity and Inclusion officer, and was named as a reserve driver in 2021. She did not race.

(Image copyright KTM)

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 Alinka Hardianti, 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. She was fourth in the Super Sporting class of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup in 2024, with two third places. In 2025, she won the first two races of the Philippine Cup,

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, and in 2024, she was runner-up in the Promotional class of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup. She won two of her races. In 2025, she competed in both the Sporting and Promotional classes.

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.

Hana Burton - Japanese-American driver who has raced in Japan since 2022. She has been a part of the all-female Kyojo Cup since 2023, competing in both a Vita sports prototype and the F4 car used in 2025. She was eleventh in 2023 after scoring a few points, then ninth in 2024, after getting the hang of the circuits. She was ninth again in 2025. Her Kyojo activities followed a part-season in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris Cup in 2022, and a few years of Time Attack.

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. In 2025, she did three more Geely Super Cup races, with a best finish of eighth at Bira circuit in Thailand. She also did some VW Fun Cup racing in Europe. 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.

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. In 2024, she paired Bihang Zhou for four rounds of the GT World Challenge Asia, driving a Mercedes GT3 car. They won the Am class three times and were seventh in the championship.

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. She was twelfth in the 2024 Kyojo Cup, as well as racing her Vita car in the FCR Vita one-make series. Back in a Mazda Roadster, she did five rounds of the Super Taikyu championship, in the ST-5 class. She and her team-mates had a best result of eighth in the Fuji 24 Hours. She was 13th in the 2025 Kyojo Cup, which was now using single-seaters. She earned three top-ten finishes, including two eighth places at Fuji.

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, as well as being a race steward.

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. In 2024, she drove a BMW M2 in the Japanese BMW&Mini Racing championship, finishing twelfth after a part-season.

“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. In 2024, she did at least some rounds of the Malaysian Speed Festival series, in a Vios. 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.

Maaya Orido - Japanese driver who raced in the Kyojo Cup in Japan between 2022 and 2025. She was 17th in her final season, with a best finish of ninth at Fuji. In 2026, she switched to sportscars, entering the Japan Cup section of the GT World Challenge Asia. She joined the Pop Race team in their Mercedes AMG GT4. She and her Hong Kong team-mate Kelvin Ho Chun Ki were second in the GT4 class, with a best overall result of eleventh at Fuji. They were the winners of the Am GT4 class.

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. In 2024, she rallied a Suzuki Swift, after a couple of events in a Vios. She was fourth and third in two rounds of the Malaysian rallysprint series.

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. In 2025, she competed in Chinese F4, doing four races at the end of the season. Her best finish was twelfth at Zhuhai.

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. In 2024, she started competing under an American license and raced a historic Merlyn Mk20 Formula Ford in the UK. She entered both the Formula Ford Festival and the Walter Hayes Trophy, although she was disqualified from the latter for causing a collision.

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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