Singapore, 26 July 2011 – Six ladies by the names of Cheryl Tay, Doris Suresh, Goh May San, Lemna Parvini Sani, Michelle Kuek and Nazilah Abdul Rahim will be going up against the men on 6 August 2011 at the third and final elimination round of the inaugural OCBC Corporate Karting Challenge 2011 –a four-hour kart endurance race series held at Kartright Speedway. CTMC2! Racing is the only all-female team in the entire 30-team competing field and will be putting up their best performance to rival the rest of the males on the track for one of the remaining four spots left for the Grand Final later this year.
Team captain and founder Cheryl Tay, the youngest of the team, created CTMC2! Racing with the objective of providing an opportunity to allow ladies keen in motorsports to progress to another level beyond recreational.
Backed by title sponsor MindCHIC Club! (MC²!), a sports and hobby community platform, Cheryl Tay is managing two racing teams competing in the OCBC Corporate Karting Challenge – the all-female CTMC2! Racing team and fellow brother team CTMC2! PDB Maddox Singapore Racing who have already earned a spot in the Grand Final.
Hailing from diverse backgrounds and cultures (see appendix for profiles), the ladies of CTMC2! Racing were recruited through a series of Ladies’ Night @Kartright – a monthly female-only karting class – another initiative by Cheryl Tay. A final audition was then conducted on 28 April 2011 to determine the remaining team members.
“I started Ladies’ Night @Kartright early this year to provide a female-friendly platform to gather women interested in motorsports. At the same time, it was an avenue for me to discover talent for CTMC2! Racing with this chance to get out of the comfort zone and go racing in a male-dominated field alongside the aggressive men.
“On the track we are all equals, regardless of gender, and I believe the team has what it takes to put up a good fight against the men. We will deliver our most competitive performance on race day and hope for a smooth race to a successful finish,” Cheryl Tay commented.
Other than creating awareness of motorsports to the general public, Cheryl Tay also hopes that women will start understanding motorsports the right way. Having been exposed to all sorts of motorsports through her work as a motorsports journalist and blogger, Cheryl Tay is excited about the opportunity to feel the thrills of racing.
“While helping Cheryl in her quest to help more ladies develop their interest in motorsports, we hope to see women regularly winning local and foreign races within the next three years. CTMC2! Racing is the first of many beginnings and hopefully it will motivate more people, not just women, to take a deeper interest in motorsports,” said Richard Chai, business development director of title sponsor MC²!.