Bianca Bustamante, a skillful 17-year-old racecar driver, has accomplished something that’s never been done in the history of Philippine motorsports.
After a series of grueling tests and qualifying races, Bustamante earned a spot on the 2022 season of the prestigious W Series, regarded as the Formula One for female drivers.
Bustamante aired her excitement and readiness for the coming season during Tuesday’s online Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.
“This is the most amazing moment of my life. For the first time in my life I was driving an F3 car and it was very fast (240 kph),” said Bustamante, who has definitely gone a long way since she started racing go-karts when she was six.
“It’s like a dream to me. The W Series is here to help and hone drivers to get to Formula 1. The goal is Formula 1. So, this is an amazing chance,” said Bustamante during the forum presented by San Miguel Corporation, MILO, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Unilever, Amelie Hotel Manila and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.
“I hope that one day I get to that level of Formula 1. I’m not going to give up on that,” said Bustamente, who underwent a rigorous selection process in Arizona and Barcelona earlier this year.
For now, however, Bustamante is focused on the task at hand, and it begins in Miami on May 8 for the opening leg of the W Series season. There are seven other legs in Barcelona on May 22, the United Kingdom on July 3, France on July 24, Hungary on July 31, Japan on Oct. 9, the United States on Oct. 23, and Mexico on Oct. 30.
Bustamante will race with 16 others representing nine teams. She will race under the banner of the W Series Academy with co-driver Juju Noda of Japan.
“It’s a fully loaded season for me. I want to excel. I want to win. There’s so much to learn, and mentally I will always be aiming to be the best. But I’m glad to be the dark horse. I’m only seventeen,” she said.
“This (W Series) is the pinnacle for women in motorsports. This is the highest level for me for now,” said Bustamente, who thanked her team and supporters led by Hong Kong-based Daryl O’Young of Craft Bamboo Racing.
“I only drive. They do all the hard work,” she said.