Bianca Bustamante, 16, has been selected to participate in the FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars Youth Scholarship Shoot-out 2021, the only Asian participating in the prestigious event happening from October 21 to 23 at the Circuit Paul Ricard track in France.
Bustamante will be representing the Philippines in a three-day program joining top junior and senior finishers. She is one of the 14 out of 70 participants who will take part in the first round of the event selected around the world.
“I am extremely honored to announce that I have been chosen to represent the Philippines in the FIA Girls on Track- Global Stars shootout to have the opportunity to join the Ferrari Driver Academy,” she wrote on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/biancaracer119/posts/4628011617223208
“I am honored to be the only Asian driver selected for this shootout, and will continue this journey with great pride, preparing as best I can and making the people who have supported me proud,” she added.
The reigning Philippine Driver of the Year and 13 other girls will undergo various tests at the circuit, only 8 drivers will advance to attend the FIA training camp for karting and F4.
Only the top four drivers have the chance to fly to a one-week training camp with Ferrari in Floriano, Italy, where the prize awaits.
Bianca Bustamante’s journey on wheels
Bustamante started establishing her racing career when she was five years old. At an early age, she had won multiple awards and outperformed older racers in karting across Asia and now drawing her luck to professional Formula Racing and continuing to train herself to the next level.
Here’s the list of accomplishments under her belt:
- 4-time Winner of the China Grand Prix Kart Scholarship (2018-2019)
- 3-time Macau International Kart GP Champion (2014, 2018, 2019)
- 2-time Junior Asian Karting Open Championship – Overall Champion (2018, 2019)
- 3-time Philippines Driver of the Year – Karting (2018, 2019, 2020)
- Philippines National Junior Karter of the Year (2018)
FIA Women in Motorsport Commission is a youth scholarship for women created in 2009 to promote young women in the field of motorsport. The scholarship was set up by F1 governing body FIA in conjunction with Scuderia Ferrari’s world-renowned Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA), which has produced star drivers like Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, and Haas rookie Mick Schumacher among others.
Watch Bustamante’s full interview with the Philippine Sportswriters Association here:
https://www.facebook.com/PhilippineSportswritersAssociation/videos/2944730595743346
Source: https://mailchi.mp/50cfe1fc23e1/bianca-bustamante-selected-for-2021-fia-girls-on-track-global-scholarship-shoot-out?fbclid=IwAR02V_YOb0tG0zRYhtuRWVJGPhMAlN47rVprAvGTM9JlNkaBg4YiXuxFjeI, https://www.fia.com/women-motorsport
Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/racerbia/
