Dela Merced tries mettle in AF3

A very promising lady racer has made the jump from Formula Toyota and BMW racing to Formula Three and is out to stamp her mark in this year’s AF3 circuit against a host of talented and more seasoned drivers.

Gaby dela Merced, 23, whose six-year resume includes a second runner-up finish in Formula Toyota and a driving scholarship with Formula BMW, has signed up with Speedtech Asia in the Promotions class of the Asian Formula Three and will drive alongside Tyson Sy, the first Filipino to score a breakthrough win last year en route to a fourth overall finish.

Make no mistake about it, Dela Merced’s entry into Formula Three racing, just a notch lower than Formula One, is not just for kicks.

"I must admit this is something new to me. There is a lot more horse power in F3 racing than Formula BMW.

"It’s quite a big leap actually. But I’m going to do whatever I can to catch up with the rest of the guys.

In terms of winning, I guess we’ll just have to see," she stressed.

Edgen Dy-Liacco, team owner of Speedtech Asia, welcomed Dela Merced’s entry into his squad, saying:

"We are very happy to have signed Gaby. I have seen her race in Formula Toyota and she demonstrated she possesses some talent.

"Formula Three will be a big jump for her and we are putting in place a testing campaign to give her the miles in the car she will use. She has already started on a fitness regimen to get into shape for these physically demanding cars."

Even AF3 Corp. chairman Ed Peña welcomed Dela Merced’s entry, saying: "She has raced in Formula Toyota and BMW and she was competitive. Our fan base is 44 percent female so she will have a lot of them cheering her on. From a sponsor’s point of view it opens lots of possibilities."

Dela Merced will display her driving skills aboard a more powerful car when the first leg of the circuit gets going on May 6-7 at the Batangas Racing Circuit which will host the first three rounds of this year’s event. She has also signed up for the last three rounds on Nov. 4-5 also at BRC.

She has no immediate plans to join the next two legs on June 3-4 and July 15-16 at the Zhuhai International Circuit in Guangdong, China, and the fourth and fifth legs on Aug. 19-20 and Sept. 23-24 in Sentul, Indonesia.

"There was a lot of aerodynamics involved with Formula BMW. It wasn’t too big on the aspect of horsepower.

I’m pretty sure the whole experience will just blow me away," said Dela Merced, who started in slalom racing at 18. Her entry into Formula Three racing is backed by A-Toy, Big Shot Billiards, Goodyear, Oakley, Bilstein, Concep One, K&N, Club Morocco and Zoobic.

In 2004, when she finished second runner-up in the Formula Toyota Series, she also qualified to be a Formula BMW scholarship driver and drove at the Formula 1 circuit in Bahrain. She has also brought her driving skills to Sepang, Malaysia, Bira in Thailand and Goldenport in China.

AF3 organizers, meanwhile, have lined up more promotional activities to liven up the races that will be aired live on television and radio and also on www.asianf3.net and www.mypad.net.