A sweet and giggly 16-year-old greeted me on Zoom as I began my interview about her upcoming participation in the 2021 FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars Scholarship Shootout. She was Bianca Bustamante, one of the very few young Filipinas who remain active in the local and international racing scene. She was very excited to share that to her pleasant surprise, she had been selected by the FIA’s Women in Motorsport Commission (WMC) as one of the 14 up-and-coming young talents to participate in the aforementioned shootout. The FIA or Federation Internationale de l’Automobile is the governing body of well-known international motorsports, including Formula One.
The ‘FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars Shootout’ is basically an opportunity for women around the world to bag a full race scholarship, courtesy of Scuderia Ferrari’s world-famous Ferrari Driver Academy. If you will recall, the Ferrari Driver Academy has produced successful Formula One drivers such as this season’s Sergio Perez of Red Bull, Mick Schumacher of Haas, and of course, Charles Leclerc of team Ferrari. Needless to say, the world has long been waiting for a female racer to make it to Formula One. Thus, to promote gender equity and help motivate more women to strive for a career in motorsports (considering how expensive that aspiration may be), the FIA’s WMC organizes special events to award racing scholarships, such as this.
Bianca, considering her impressive achievements, was selected from a pool of over 70 applications from around the world, to participate in the shootout. The young Filipina also happens to be the only Asian driver who was selected this 2021.
She shares: “I fell in love with racing ever since I was a kid, and I haven’t stopped training in preparation for this moment. Now that it’s becoming a reality, I will continue to work hard towards being selected for the Ferrari Driving Academy race scholarship. I am so proud to represent the Philippines in this competition and to be the only Asian driver selected is an added bonus, but [it] also adds a bit of pressure to represent the Asia region against the global field! I will continue to train hard leading up to the event and do my best in France!”
Basically, the selected participants compete in a series of elimination challenges, with the first one being a shootout to be held at the Paul Ricard F1 circuit in France. The event will be held this coming October 21-23, during which time the 14 hopefuls will undergo several race tests in order for the FIA WMC to determine the 8 best performing drivers. Those 8 drivers who make the cut shall be sent to attend FIA training camps, and then from there, shall be sent to Fiorano, Italy for their final tests in Formula 4 cars. The winner in this final elimination phase shall be the one recruited and awarded full race scholarships.
As many racers have done, Bianca first developed her skills in karting. She was introduced to the sport by her dad, who was also a former karter. In fact, she shares that as early as 3 years old, she already exhibited a love for the sport. By the time she was 5, she was already racing and has since excelled in the field of motorsport, bagging several karting championships across Asia as she grew up.
And just over the weekend, Bianca attended the Philippine Golden Wheel Awards where she claimed numerous accolades. She received a total of six – yes, six! – awards in recognition of her karting achievements in 2019 and 2020. They include 2020 X30 Senior Overall Champion, 2019 National Senior Karter of the Year, 2019 International Junior Karter of the Year, 2019 ROK Karter of the Year, 2019 ROK GP Senior Overall Champion, and 2019 X30 Senior Overall first Runner-up. The event was held at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga.
She said, “Throughout my 10 years in motorsport, I’ve experienced defeats that I never knew I would be able to overcome. Those setbacks taught me a very important lesson: You cannot swim for new horizons until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. Because of this, I am no longer afraid of failing. I want to thank the Golden Wheel Award Foundation for their support and everyone who has stood by me in this journey. This award marks my final year in karting. I am excited for the next step in my career.”
When we asked what she’d like to share to other young Filipina hopefuls who wish to pursue a career in racing someday, she says: “Racing is very difficult. You need passion, dedication, discipline. It’s like learning a new language – you need to put in the hours to get better! And you find ways to make things work. Gender should never hinder us from achieving our dreams. You need to be brave! It’s only one life.”
Congratulations and good luck, Bianca! You make our country proud.