foto: www.shoot-pro.de
After finishing up with various sports like soccer and even horse riding, Tatiana Calderon started karting in 2005. She began her race with a win in the Easykart National Championship in 2006. In the next season she she finished third in the Colombian National Kart Championship. After the European Formula season in 2014, the Colombian female driver was found leading several international car racing championships including the 2015 FIA European Formula 3 Championship. She gave an incredible opening to this year, by dominating as the runnersup of MRF Challenge 2016. Read this exclusive feature on her journey.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS EPISODE
- At 17, Calderon was staring to race around the world, commencing from USA, later crossing Spain, Middle East and India.
- Reaching the pedestal of champions in the MRF Challenge 2016.
- Her journey of being a woman sportsperson in a male dominated sport.
- Racing against international car racing champions and a stop-watch at the same time.
QUOTES AND TAKEAWAYS
- “The adrenaline, the speed was something I found unique when I was driving and its something I haven’t found anywhere else.”
- “It hasn’t been easy to be a female in a men’s predominant sport, sometimes people shut the door because they think that I won’t be good enough or strong enough or that I won’t have the mental capacity to deal with my rivals.”
IN A FLASHBACK, WHICH MEMORIES DO YOU RECALL AS YOUR INITIAL INCLINATION TOWARDS MOTORSPORTS? CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY SO FAR?
I have always been a sports lover, before I tried the go karts I used to play soccer, tennis and even horse riding but I remembered that the first time I tried karting I felt I had found my real passion. The adrenaline, the speed was something I found unique when I was driving and its something I haven’t found anywhere else. From that moment my passion for this sports grows everyday and I have been very fortunate to have such a supportive family. My sister Paula and me started go karting at the same time although she is 7 years older than me, so to be able to share the motorsport passion with her and have her support its always special as well. I started competing in Colombia when Juan Pablo Montoya was making his way up into F1 so I grew up admiring his career and putting my sight in the pinnacle of motorsport. I was the first female driver to win a national championship in Colombia as well as the only female driver to win the Stars of Karting East Coast championship in the United States. From karting I jumped to single seaters and cars when I was 17 years old, competing around the World first in the US and nowadays competing in an international series called GP3, two steps underneath F1.
IN 2012, YOU MOVED TO EUROPE, TO RACE WITH THE EMILIO DE VILLOTA TEAM FINISHING 9TH OVERALL. HOW WAS THE EXPERIENCE?
It was a tough year, I moved continents, was also my first time leaving alone so it wasn’t easy at the beginning. Also all the tracks, cars, team and the way Europeans work is very different so it takes time to get used to. First few races where the most difficult but now I look back and understand that you learn a lot through tough times. I ended the year well scoring a top 5 and finishing regularly in the top 10.
YOU FINISHED AS THE RUNNERS-UP OF MRF CHALLENGE 2016. CAN TELL US ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OF THE RACES?
I´m very happy to start the year with a 2nd place in the MRF Challenge. I had an amazing time, we went to great circuits in the Middle East and India so it was a new challenge full of new adventures. I won a race and finished on the podium in many occasions so that gave me a confidence boost to start my European season at the end of April. I was able to show that I´m on a good level and I proved to myself that I can challenge for wins and podiums after a very difficult year in 2015 in the FIA F3 European Championship (one of the toughest single seater series in the World where many of the current F1 drivers have raced in the past).
CAN YOU TAKE US TO A HIGH PRESSURE SITUATION ON TRACK WHICH YOU HAD TO DEBACLE?
You are always under pressure because we are on a constant race against not only the stopwatch (time) but also against your competitors. You are pushing yourself to the absolute limit on every corner, on every lap of the race. I would say one of the most crucial parts of a race is the start. Everyone wants to gain positions and take extra risk to advance as much as possible, tension is high because you want to be the first to react to the green lights but you can’t control what people around you are doing so its always an unpredictable factor that comes into play.
You have to take decisions in split seconds so for me that is one of situations where you are most exposed to deal with high pressure.
DO YOU THINK THAT MANY A TIMES PEOPLE OF POTENTIAL FACE A SETBACK WHILE RAISING FUNDS FOR THE NEXT RACE? HOW HAS BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH IT?
Absolutely, unfortunately racing is a very expensive sport where money makes a big difference as, the more money you can spend the more practice and the better team you can choose. I have been very fortunate that my family and a few small sponsors have supported me along the way but there is a limit and with this year we have reached that limit so I´m working hard to find sponsorship to move up the ladder as the higher you climbed the harder and expensive it gets.
BEING A WOMAN SPORTSPERSON, DID YOU HAVE TO CONFRONT ANY SOCIETAL PRESSURE TO PURSUE YOUR PROFESSION?
It hasn’t been easy to be a female in a men’s predominant sport, sometimes people shut the door because they think that I won’t be good enough or strong enough or that I won’t have the mental capacity to deal with my rivals so you always have to proof yourself more over and over again, much more than if you were a boy, but personally that has helped me become stronger and more motivated to beat all the guys and prove that women can compete against men in Motorsport.
WHERE DO YOU ASPIRE TO GO FROM HERE? CAN YOU SHARE A SNIPPET OF YOUR THOUGHTS?
I want to be the first female after almost 50 years to compete in F1. In the last few years we have had a few women coming through like Susie Wolff who until last year was a test driver for Williams F1 team but she wasn’t giving the chance to actually compete in a race. I want to prepare myself to get that chance and compete at the highest level of Motorsport.
WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE FOR OUR READERS WHO ASPIRE TO BECOME CAR RACERS?
I think no matter what you do, choose something you are passionate about, something you love doing because only then you can extract the maximum out of yourself. I think nothing is impossible and we should all have dreams and goals. I believe that if you want something bad enough and you work hard results will come, you just need to be patient. I´m sure we can compete against Men in motorsport, I wouldn’t be doing if I thought I couldn’t win so for all the girls that are out there and want to become race car drivers, let the fear out and dare to be different.