For 19 years, the Sepang International Circuit was Formula 1’s ultimate endurance test: a brutal, high-speed crucible built on a 260-hectare swamp next to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Before the Malaysian Grand Prix fell off the calendar in 2017 due to rising costs and poor ticket sales, this Hermann Tilke masterpiece was legendary among fans and drivers for demanding absolute physical and mental perfection.
While many will remember Sepang for being an iconic venue to the pinnacle of motorsports racing, there is something fans should remember as F1 returns to Malaysia for the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix: the track has and still is the domain of grassroots racing and regional championships. From drivers building their single-seaters to unique racing categories, Sepang has attracted its fair share of female talents over the years.
The Single-Seater Pipeline
Doriane Pin
Before F1 ACADEMY, Doriane Pin needed to prove herself in open-wheel racing. Her testing ground? The Sepang International Circuit. Transitioning from LMP2 endurance prototypes, Doriane made her single-seater debut in the 2023 Formula 4 South East Asia Championship.
Across two rounds and six races at Sepang, she delivered immediate results. She secured four podiums and claimed her maiden open-wheel victory by a commanding 5.3-second margin. Despite missing the opening round, she finished second in the overall standings and took the rookie title.
Kareen Kaur
At 16, Kareen Kaur is rewriting Singaporean motorsport history. She broke ground as the nation’s first female Formula 4 driver and built her single-seater foundation directly on the tarmac of the Sepang International Circuit.
Already the youngest Southeast Asian female driver to score points in an FIA-sanctioned Formula 4 race on her very first competitive weekend, the Singaporean made her debut in Sepang during the 2025 Formula 4 Southeast Asia Championship.
She used the demanding 5.54km track as her primary testing ground to refine her racecraft and data analysis. Recently selected for the 2026 F1 Academy Rookie Test, Kaur represents a promising wave of young talent charting a course to Formula 1.
Biana Bustamante
An F1 ACADEMY graduate who stepped up to the Eurocup-3 Championship, Bianca Bustamante built her open-wheel foundation at the Sepang International Circuit.
When she left karting for single-seaters, the Filipina driver used the demanding 5.54km track to master heavier F4 machinery. During intensive testing with BlackArts Racing, she tackled the circuit’s complex layout to refine her racecraft and sharpen her data analysis skills.
This early track time provided crucial mileage. It built her confidence, prepared her for the Formula 4 South East Asia Championship, and launched her journey onto today’s European single-seater grid.
The Endurance Specialist
Leona Chin
For nearly two decades, Leona Chin has been the veteran anchor of Malaysian motorsport and a Sepang 1000km legend. Best known as the nation’s “Drift Queen,” her career spans everything from rally to GT racing.
The Subang-bred driver capped a dominant 2021 season by securing both the Malaysia Championship Series (MCS) Touring Car title and an outright victory at the Sepang 1,000km Endurance race.
Her track record at Sepang remains formidable. Last year, she won the GTC category at the 12 Hours of Sepang, following it up with 2026 Lotus Cup China podiums despite mechanical hurdles and driving on worn tyres.
Sophia Zara
Sophia Zara is one of the most promising talents in Malaysia’s motorsport scene. Emerging as a 15-year-old phenom who built her racecraft on Sepang’s demanding 5.54km track, she transitioned seamlessly from real-world tarmac to e-sports, where she clinched a Gold Medal in Sim Racing at SUKMA 2026.
Partnering with her father in the gruelling Sepang 1000km, Zara demonstrated maturity far beyond her years. Her performance secured a podium finish in only her third major track appearance, cementing her name in the Malaysia Book of Records as the youngest female podium finisher in an endurance race.
Faye Kusairi
Faye Kusairi built her reputation on the tarmac rather than relying on her celebrity status. She started in grassroots gymkhana and honed her car control in the Malaysia Speed Festival before making history at the Sepang International Circuit. In 2016, she became the first female overall winner of the Sepang 1000km, outlasting the field in a Proton Suprima S.
She returned to the endurance race in 2019 with a Proton R3 all-female team. A qualifying issue relegated them to 26th on the starting grid. Unfazed, Kusairi and her teammates fought through the pack for nine hours to secure a sixth-place overall finish.
Touring Cars and Regional Champions
Farah Irdina
A former equestrian, Farah Irdina proves that competitive discipline translates anywhere. Balancing the gruelling demands of her Certificate in Legal Practice with a fierce drive to race, the law graduate navigated her early motorsport journey largely on her own.
In 2024, Farah stepped up to circuit racing in the Malaysia Championship Series, tackling the Sepang International Circuit in a Honda Fit. She used the demanding 5.54km track to sharpen her racecraft in the highly competitive Malaysia Touring Car class. Beyond Sepang, the FIA Silver-rated driver continues to expand her footprint, representing Malaysia against a global grid at the Formula Woman Nations Cup.
Genevieve Herrrietta Ooi
Genevieve Henrietta Ooi proves that virtual precision translates flawlessly to real-world tarmac. As a sim-racer turned real-world competitor who turned heads in the 2026 Malaysia Touring Car Championship, the 21-year-old Sarawakian is rapidly carving out her space in Malaysian motorsport.
Developed through Toyota’s Young Talent Development Programme, she took on the ademanding Sepang International Circuit with absolute poise. Competing in the MTCC, she secured top-five finishes and even tackled the gruelling Sepang 1000km endurance race alongside Alister Yoong.
Balancing physical racing at Sepang with a SUKMA gold medal in sim racing, Genevieve represents an exciting hybrid generation of motorsport talent.
Gladys Lam
One of Singapore’s most prominent active female racers, Gladys Lam launched her competitive career directly on Sepang’s tarmac. When a last-minute entry opened at the 2019 Malaysia Speed Festival (MSF) on her 24th birthday, she jumped into the car without a single practice session — and took first place in the women’s category.
Since that breakthrough, Lam has secured two first-place MSF trophies at Sepang. She recently returned to the circuit for the 2025 Singapore Touring Car Challenge, a Motul 12 Hours of Sepang support race, where she clinched pole position in her class. With over 30 races across Asia under her belt, Lam proves her grassroots foundation at Sepang set the pace for a strong career in touring cars.
Sepang: The Home of Grassroots Racing
While the world remembers Sepang for its glory days of hosting the Malaysian Grand Prix, its lifeblood has always been grassroots racing. The grandstands might not echo with the roar of V10 engines anymore, but Sepang is far from a relic.
This circuit demands perfection from everyone who tackles its sweeping corners, regardless of their machinery or budget. For women climbing the motorsport ladder, Sepang offers an unforgiving but rewarding classroom.
It is where raw talent meets real-world racecraft, shaping a new generation of drivers ready to take on the global stage. Regardless of where they are in their careers, the women competing here ensure the circuit’s history is still being written.