Katrina Ee: “I feel like this is just what I was meant to do”

A four-times Asian karting champion, Katrina Ee is truly a rising star of motorsport. The only Asian driver in David Coulthard’s More than Equal bold initiative, the 15-year-old from Hong Kong and Malaysia is ready to take on the next challenge in her career.

“I don’t come from a motorsport background,” Katrina tells Females in Motorsport. “Unlike most drivers, I started from scratch.”

Her passion for racing started at seven years old, when she went karting with her older sister at the Shah Alam International Circuit in Malaysia. The thrill and speed of the racetrack got to her immediately, and her career quickly took off.

At nine, she was already racing in national and international championships across Asia, making her debut in Europe just two years later. She went on to win her first major titles at 12, and by 13 she was a four-time Asian karting champion. And now, at 15 years old, she is in the UK racing around Europe.

With this stellar track record, Katrina is one of six drivers selected to take part in the inaugural edition of David Coulthard’s More than Equal programme, which aims to aid female participation in motorsport and develop young female drivers. 

“I’ve been so grateful for this opportunity,” Katrina says. “As the only Asian driver in the programme, I’m really proud to be able to represent myself.

“I found out that I’d got in while I was racing at the WSK in Italy. I was super shocked, because I didn’t expect such a big opportunity to come at such a right moment: I was about to start racing in the UK and felt like I needed the support.”

More than Equal’s driver development programme is not just about enhancing driving skills, but supporting drivers in all aspects of their training and development. Katrina has a nutritionist, a personal trainer, a psychologist, and, of course, the programme’s driving coaches who are respected racers Sarah Moore and Jordan King. 

“It’s been such an amazing journey so far,” she says. “Especially at my age.”

This season, Katrina has made the step up from karting to car racing. She is currently taking part in the Ginetta Junior Championship, a single-make car racing series for drivers aged 14 to 17, racing for Tim Gray Motorsport. This is a big milestone in the young driver’s career, as it is her first step towards single-seater racing.

“Since I started testing, I knew it was going to be a challenge,” she says. “I’ll take this year as a learning year, but I also want to try to get good results and try my best to be at the top.

Katrina is the only girl on the Ginetta Junior Championship grid this year.

“It’s tough”, she says. “But I’m taking it more as an opportunity to show myself, and to show that even though I’m a girl it doesn’t mean I’m not quick.”

Katrina, from Hong Kong and Malaysia, has moved halfway across the world to pursue her career. 

“Not many people race [in Asia], but there are a lot of good Asian racers out there that I’ve raced against,” she says.

After dominating the competition in her home continent, the next step was to take it on to Europe, which came with its own set of challenges on the track. In Europe, she tells us, the grids are bigger and more competitive, and the drivers more aggressive. 

“I had to adapt to how they drive,” Katrina says. “I can’t be smooth all the time on track, because they’re going to push me off and I can’t accept that. Lots of challenges on track from all the boys.”

The 15-year-old driver thanks her family’s support in her motorsport journey, and is grateful for the chance that they gave her to pursue her career. 

“I understand that my family has sacrificed so much,” she says. “I’ve moved so far away from home just to race here, and that’s when I realised they gave me such a big opportunity.I tell myself: ‘I’m all the way here, why not give it my all, why not try my best, so that, once I go back home, I can look back and tell myself that I really did it?’”

Katrina has clear ambitions for her future.

“Sometimes I have self-doubt,” the young driver admits. “Just like any other racing driver. We all go through bad days, and actually it’s during my bad days, when I’m at my lowest point, that I learn the most.

“Having the chance to pursue this career, though, is really amazing. “I feel like this is just what I was meant to do.”

With her talent, passion and determination, Katrina Ee is definitely one to look out for. The young driver has all it takes to achieve great things, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for her.

All pictures courtesy of CBR Media