Meet the Singapore women making their mark in motorsport

Gladys Lam races production cars across the region, while 16-year-old Kareen Kaur is Singapore’s first female Formula 4 driver. Their routes to the grid could hardly be more different.

Gladys Lam (left) competes in production-car racing, while Kareen Kaur is Singapore’s first female Formula 4 driver. (Photos: Porsche; Art: CNA/Jasper Loh)

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Racing is probably the last thing you’d guess Gladys Lam does for a living. That makes it all the more surprising to learn that she is a professional racer of production-based cars – road-going models stripped down, modified and extensively prepared for racing.

Friends and films such as The Fast and the Furious and Tokyo Drift nurtured Lam’s love of cars, which began in secondary school. She got her driving licence at 18 and drove just about anything she could get her hands on, including her mother’s pickup.

Her education took her through Raffles Girls’ School, West Spring Secondary School and Ngee Ann Polytechnic, where she studied mass communications, before she earned a BA (Hons) in Design Communication from LASALLE College of the Arts. The programme was then validated by Goldsmiths, University of London. She spent about three years as a graphic designer, first at Singapore Press Holdings and then at a smaller outfit, before returning to school to deepen her understanding of design.

Gladys Lam describes herself as an “accidental race car driver”, having first tagged along with friends to Sepang before entering competition herself. (Photo: Porsche)

That training sharpened instincts that would later shape her racing life – how to build a visual identity and tell a story that connects with an audience. At LASALLE, a used manual 1.6-litre Suzuki Swift introduced her to a community of fellow enthusiasts, while arcade racing games had already given her a taste for competition. In 2016, she started using racing simulators and later entered a competition organised by the vendor. Lam placed third and was the only woman in the field.

A track day at Sepang in 2017 with fellow Suzuki Swift owners showed Lam that her virtual skills could translate to the real thing. In 2019, she self-funded a seat in a Proton Saga at the Malaysia Speed Festival, a national-level MAM-sanctioned racing championship in Malaysia. She said the weekend cost her about S$2,000 (US$1,564).

Lam described herself as an “accidental race car driver” who had first tagged along with friends to Sepang. She went on to win the women’s category and finish sixth overall in her class. Extreme sports run in the family too – her mother and brother both competed in wakeboarding.

"The clock doesn't care whether you're male or female," Lam said. Performance is measurable, public, and unforgiving, and women drivers often carry a visibility that magnifies every result. She sees that spotlight as a chance to inspire others, even if it also brings intense scrutiny around gender and performance.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gladys Lam (@gladyslamx)

A post shared by Gladys Lam (@gladyslamx)

Racer Shane Ang added her to his racing team, and Lam is now its only woman driver. Before racing in Thailand and Malaysia with the team, she had competed in Singapore, Vietnam and Taiwan in gymkhana and autocross events.

A season in the production series costs about S$50,000, Lam said, with her racing funded by sponsors and brand partners. “Racing is also part of how I earn my living,” she said.

Lam and her teammates are also organising The Racer Tour in Bangkok in November. “I co-founded The Racer Tour with my race teammates. We want to lower the barrier of entry to motorsports, and we bring people who are curious about racing to give them a chance to experience a real racetrack, in real race cars, with coaching and support provided,” she said.

In 2016, Gladys Lam started training on racing simulators and later entered a simulator competition, where she placed third. (Photo: Gladys Lam)

“Seat time is important,” Lam said. Her progress shows in her lap times, and she measures her 2026 performance against her first race in 2019.

“After seven years in racing, I think more about how my approach has evolved, for example being more intentional, knowing when to push or be patient, and making better decisions under pressure!” she said with a laugh.

Gladys Lam says seat time is key to progress, alongside knowing when to push, when to be patient and how to make better decisions under pressure. (Photo: Porsche)

Lam has a knack for turning visibility into something lasting. When pandemic restrictions halted racing in 2020, she moved into content creation, filming herself repairing her car and borrowing friends’ vehicles for driving videos.

“I started it as a way back into the racing seat. Racing was always the goal and my motivation in my life,” Lam said. “I’m lucky with how it all played out, because today racing is my full-time job.”

Her entrepreneurial streak also led to Dorifto!, the indoor drifting experience she co-founded with fellow racer Shane Ang. Previously based at Velocity @ Novena Square, it is now relocating to another venue in town. Inspired by Initial D, the attraction took its name from the Japanese transliteration of “drift”. It was designed to make drifting accessible to families, first-timers and car enthusiasts.

Kareen Kaur was selected for the 2026 F1 Academy Rookie Test, becoming the first Singaporean to take part. (Photo: Porsche)

Kareen Kaur shares Lam’s love of speed but competes in open-wheel racing, in the single-seater cars used in Formula categories. She is Singapore’s first female Formula 4 driver and races for Evans GP in the Southeast Asia Formula 4 Championship.

Kaur made her Formula 4 debut in 2025 after karting from the age of nine. Her father’s habit of taking cars apart gave her an early introduction to the automotive world, but Kaur has since carved out a racing path of her own.

At 220 km/h, the world goes quiet in the best possible way, or so the Brad Pitt F1 film would have us believe. The engine fills the cockpit, the steering pulls hard against your arms, and the next corner is already rushing towards you. Kaur takes it all in stride, with the calm of someone who decided that racing was her life.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kareen Kaur (@kareen.kaur_racing)

A post shared by Kareen Kaur (@kareen.kaur_racing)

She described controlling a car at speed as a feeling of balance that few people experience. In the cockpit, she listens closely to the engine, uses focus drills – including an exercise with a ball – and settles into what she calls “the zone”.

Off the track, Kaur is a student at a CHIJ secondary school, juggling her upcoming exams with multi-day testing sessions in Malaysia. She trains in the gym three times a week with a coach to build the arm and neck strength, as well as the stamina, needed to handle a Formula 4 car.

At 16, she is also still too young to apply for a Singapore driving licence.

In 2026, the F1 Academy picked Kaur from a global pool of female drivers for its Rookie Test, making her the first Singaporean selected. The academy invited 18 drivers to Circuito de Navarra in Spain in September, all of them women who could compete in F1 Academy in the future.

Kaur’s advice to aspiring racers is refreshingly straightforward: expect to sacrifice, give it everything, and welcome constructive feedback. A bit of humility and a hunger to keep learning go a long way when every lap leaves a record.

Kareen Kaur was introduced to the automotive world at a young age, before karting at nine set her on the path towards Formula 4. (Photo: Kareen Kaur)

Her motivation is as clear as a starting light. The eldest of three girls, she wants girls watching from outside the paddock to picture themselves on the grid. “The boys don’t like it when I beat them,” she said with a chuckle.

Max Verstappen is her favourite Formula 1 driver, and she also raises funds for the Singapore Cancer Society. Her ambition rests on a daily routine of school, training, testing, feedback and another lap.

Both women have also attracted commercial support. Lam said Liqui Moly Singapore was her first sponsor and that Porsche approached her in 2024 to test-drive its cars and become a friend of the brand. Kaur is also a friend of Porsche, while Charles & Keith and Admin By Request are among her sponsors.

Lam found her way to the grid through design, digital culture, simulators, and a well-loved used Suzuki Swift. Kaur's journey began on a Turf City go-karting track when she was still under ten. Together, they show what it looks like when Singaporean women take charge of speed, visibility, and the racing line.

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格拉迪斯·林驾驶量产车参加区域性赛事，而16岁的卡琳·考尔则是新加坡首位F4女车手。她们通往赛道的道路可谓截然不同。

格拉迪斯·林（左）参加量产车比赛，而卡琳·考尔是新加坡首位女子四级方程式赛车手。（图片：保时捷；插图：CNA/Jasper Loh）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

赛车可能是你最想不到的职业，格拉迪斯·拉姆的职业竟然是赛车。因此，得知她是一位驾驶量产车的职业赛车手，就更加令人惊讶了——这些量产车都是经过拆解、改装和全面准备的公路车型。

朋友以及《速度与激情》和《东京漂移》等电影培养了林对汽车的热爱，这份热爱始于中学时期。她18岁就拿到了驾照，几乎开过所有能弄到手的车，包括她母亲的皮卡。

她先后就读于莱佛士女子中学、西泉中学和义安理工学院，并在义安理工学院学习大众传播学。之后，她从拉萨尔艺术学院获得设计传播专业的文学学士学位（荣誉学位），该学位随后获得伦敦大学金史密斯学院的认证。她曾在新加坡报业控股和一家规模较小的公司担任平面设计师约三年，之后重返校园深造，以加深对设计的理解。

格拉迪斯·林自称是一位“误打误撞的赛车手”，她最初是跟着朋友去雪邦赛道参赛，后来才自己参加了比赛。（图片：保时捷）

那次训练磨砺了她日后塑造赛车生涯的本能——如何打造视觉形象，讲述能与观众产生共鸣的故事。在拉萨尔艺术学院，一辆二手的1.6升手动挡铃木雨燕让她结识了一群志同道合的赛车爱好者，而街机赛车游戏早已让她尝到了竞技的滋味。2016年，她开始使用赛车模拟器，并参加了厂商组织的一场比赛。林最终获得第三名，也是参赛选手中唯一的女性。

2017年，林女士与几位铃木雨燕车主在雪邦赛道体验了一次赛道日活动，这让她意识到自己的虚拟驾驶技能也能运用到实际驾驶中。2019年，她自费参加了马来西亚速度节（Malaysia Speed Festival），驾驶一辆宝腾Saga赛车。马来西亚速度节是由马来西亚汽车制造商协会（MAM）认证的全国性赛车锦标赛。她说，这个周末的花费大约为2000新元（约合1564美元）。

林自称是“误打误撞的赛车手”，最初只是跟着朋友去雪邦赛道参赛。结果她赢得了女子组冠军，并在同级别比赛中获得第六名。极限运动也是她的家族传统——她的母亲和哥哥都参加过滑水比赛。

“时间不会在意你是男是女，”林说道。驾驶表现是可以衡量的、公开的，而且毫不留情，而女司机往往因为更高的曝光度，每一次成绩都会被放大。她把这种关注视为激励他人的机会，即便这也意味着她们的性别和驾驶表现会受到严格的审视。

在 Instagram 上查看此帖子 由 Gladys Lam (@gladyslamx) 分享的帖子

Gladys Lam (@gladyslamx) 分享的帖子

赛车手Shane Ang将她招入了自己的车队，Lam现在是车队中唯一的女车手。在代表车队参加泰国和马来西亚的比赛之前，她曾在新加坡、越南和台湾参加过金卡纳和场地越野赛。

林女士表示，参加该系列赛事一个赛季的成本约为5万新元，她的参赛费用由赞助商和品牌合作伙伴提供。“赛车也是我谋生的方式之一，”她说。

林和她的队友们还将于11月在曼谷举办“赛车之旅”。她说：“我和我的赛车队友们共同创办了‘赛车之旅’。我们希望降低赛车运动的门槛，让对赛车感兴趣的人有机会体验真正的赛道，驾驶真正的赛车，并获得教练和支持。”

2016年，林慧玲开始接受赛车模拟器训练，后来参加了一项模拟器比赛，并获得第三名。（照片：林慧玲）

“练习时间很重要，”林说道。她的进步体现在圈速上，她将2026年的表现与2019年的首场比赛进行比较。

“经过七年的赛车生涯，我更多地思考我的方法是如何演变的，例如更有目标性，知道什么时候该奋力拼搏，什么时候该耐心等待，以及在压力下做出更好的决定！”她笑着说。

格拉迪斯·拉姆表示，练习时间是进步的关键，同时还要知道何时该加速，何时该耐心等待，以及如何在压力下做出更好的决策。（图片：保时捷）

林善于将曝光转化为持久的影响。2020年疫情限制措施导致赛车运动停摆后，她转行从事内容创作，拍摄自己修理汽车的视频，并借朋友的车拍摄驾驶视频。

“我最初只是想重返赛车场。赛车一直是我的目标和人生动力，”拉姆说道。“我很幸运，事情最终发展得如此顺利，因为如今赛车已经成为我的全职工作。”

她的创业精神也促成了室内漂移体验馆 Dorifto! 的诞生，这是她与赛车手搭档 Shane Ang 共同创立的。该体验馆此前位于诺维娜广场的 Velocity 购物中心，现在正搬迁至城内另一处场地。Dorifto! 的灵感来源于电影《头文字D》，其名称取自日语中“漂移”的音译。Dorifto! 的设计旨在让家庭、初学者和汽车爱好者都能轻松体验漂移的乐趣。

卡琳·考尔入选2026年F1学院新秀测试，成为首位参加该测试的新加坡人。（图片：保时捷）

卡琳·考尔和林一样热爱速度，但她参加的是方程式赛车，也就是单座赛车。她是新加坡首位女子四级方程式车手，效力于埃文斯GP车队，参加东南亚四级方程式锦标赛。

考尔从九岁开始参加卡丁车比赛，2025年首次亮相F4方程式赛车。她父亲喜欢拆卸汽车，这让她很早就接触到了汽车世界，但考尔此后走出了一条属于自己的赛车道路。

时速达到220公里时，世界仿佛瞬间安静下来，至少布拉德·皮特主演的F1电影是这么描绘的。引擎的轰鸣声充斥着驾驶舱，方向盘紧紧地拉扯着你的手臂，下一个弯道已经呼啸而至。考尔却泰然处之，沉着冷静，仿佛她已经把赛车当成了自己的生命。

在 Instagram 上查看此帖子 由 Kareen Kaur (@kareen.kaur_racing) 分享的帖子

Kareen Kaur (@kareen.kaur_racing) 分享的帖子

她形容高速驾驶时那种平衡感是极少有人能体验到的。在驾驶舱里，她仔细聆听引擎的声音，进行专注力训练——包括用球练习——并进入她所谓的“巅峰状态”。

赛道之外，考尔是圣婴女校的一名学生，她一边要应对即将到来的考试，一边还要在马来西亚参加为期数天的测试。她每周三次在健身房接受教练的指导，以增强手臂和颈部的力量以及驾驶四级方程式赛车所需的耐力。

她只有16岁，年龄还太小，不能申请新加坡驾驶执照。

2026年，F1学院从全球女车手中选中考尔参加新秀测试，使她成为首位入选的新加坡车手。同年9月，学院邀请了18位车手前往西班牙纳瓦拉赛道，她们都是未来有机会参加F1学院选拔赛的女性车手。

考尔给有志成为赛车手的年轻人的建议直截了当：做好牺牲的准备，全力以赴，并乐于接受建设性的反馈。在每一圈都可能创造纪录的赛场上，保持谦逊和渴望学习的态度至关重要。

卡琳·考尔从小就接触汽车世界，九岁时开始参加卡丁车比赛，这让她走上了通往F4方程式赛车的道路。（图片：卡琳·考尔）

她的动机清晰明了，就像发车灯一样耀眼。作为家中三个女儿中的老大，她希望场外的女孩们能够想象自己站在赛道上的感觉。“男孩们不喜欢我赢他们，”她笑着说。

她最喜欢的F1车手是马克斯·维斯塔潘，她还为新加坡癌症协会筹款。她的目标就是每天按部就班地学习、训练、测试、获得反馈，然后再跑一圈。

两位女性都获得了商业赞助。林女士表示，力魔新加坡是她的首个赞助商，保时捷在2024年联系她，邀请她试驾其汽车并成为品牌合作伙伴。考尔女士也是保时捷的合作伙伴，而Charles & Keith和Admin By Request则是她的赞助商。

林女士凭借设计、数字文化、模拟器以及她心爱的二手铃木雨燕，找到了通往赛车之路的途径。考尔的赛车之旅始于她不到十岁时在赛马场的卡丁车赛道上。她们共同展现了新加坡女性掌控速度、提升知名度和掌控赛车线路的风采。

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