A woman at the wheel

WOMEN ARE making their presence felt in motorsport all over the world and Thailand is no exception with Tachapan “Ploy” Vijittranon stepping up to become one of the country’s most promising racers.

She recently landed a coveted Mazda factory-supported drive with the Innovation Motorsport team, which runs the official Mazda2 programme in Thailand Super Series’ hotly contested Super Production category. 

“There are quite a few women interested in motorsport,” says the 19-year-old, who recently finished her secondary education at Charter International School and is deciding on the universities to which she will apply. 

“Women today drive faster and know more about cars than ever before. Most people think that motorsport is for men only but that’s wrong. There are women out there who would really like to compete but very few of them dare to make their voices heard. In my view, women have the competence to be racing drivers. When I started in the world of motorsports, I would overhear the comments: ‘She’s too young and lacks maturity’. ‘She could never drive a car on the road but only on a racetrack’. ‘She’s a woman driver and therefore is an obstacle for other drivers’. But both women and men can be good racers. It’s all a matter of training.

“My parents have instilled in me the spirit of sportsmanship. I must know how to cope with losses while feeling good when I win. I must develop my skills so that they are equal to a male racing car driver then double them. I’m short, which is actually a plus in motor racing, and must constantly exercise and develop,” she says. 

Known to family, friends and fans as Ploy, the determined racer has been cultivating her driving skills and instincts in karts and cars for the best part of a decade. At 10, she attended TrueVisions Toyota Junior Go-Kart Training and won the Asian Karting Championship Thailand in Saraburi in 2009 and the China Karting Championship at Zuhai in 2011.

“My parents have always supported and encouraged me,” says Ploy, whose father is a former racing car driver. 

“People say that I am just following in my father’s footsteps but while I am grateful to him for passing on his talent, I’ve always been adventurous. I ride bikes, motorcycles and all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and love taking part in extreme sports.”

Ploy’s turning point came at the age of 14, when she was given the choice between straight car racing and single-seat, open-seat racing. She opted for the former and signed up for Singha Racing School where she was provided with a Honda Jazz. 

“I would have loved to do Formula racing but the expenses involved even in the feeder series are incredibly high. My father also pointed out that the races are mostly outside the country, which would have meant no media exposure. Thai people wouldn’t never know about us,” recalls Ploy.

The youngster has had her fair share of accidents, the most serious being when her car overturned while taking a chicane at the inaugural year of Thailand Super Series in Bang Saen, Chon Buri. A chicane, an artificial feature that creates extra turns in a road, is a short, shallow S-shaped turn, and requires the driver to turn slightly left and then right again to stay on the road.

“My initial reaction was fear but I quickly overcame that. I don’t want to lose but to win as much as for my supporters and my parents as myself,” she says. 

But after a bouncy start to car racing, which saw her grabbing a lot of headlines, her career stalled. Now back with her Mazda2 hatchback with a 1.5-litre SkyActiv-D engine with the number 44 – the same number as Formula 1 three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton – she is delighted to be competing again.

“I am very glad and excited to be picked by Mazda Thailand. It’s a new step and a big opportunity for me to learn new things and get to drive a good car with a good team,” says Ploy.

The young racer took part in the Mazda Women in Motorsport project’s training camp held at the Mazda Mine Proving Ground in Yamaguchi Prefecture in June. It was her first time behind the wheel of an FR vehicle (the MX-5) and the first time she had driven in wet conditions, but her skills greatly impressed the project leaders.

“My idol is Abbie Eaton who drove her Mazda MX5 in England. We have similar starting points – go-karts and Mazda cars. Now she is driving the Maserati Super GT. She is amazing. My other idol is my Japanese training coach, Keiko Ihara who won the 24 hours of Le Mans Series,” says Ploy proudly.

In the Thailand Super Series 2016, she is in first place for round 5-6 of Thailand Super Compact Class C.

“My goal is going to the GT Asia Series and overseas. I would like people from around the world to know this Thai female racing car driver,” says Ploy.