Diana Rosario and Naomi Zhang will become the first all-female crew ever to contest a Blancpain GT Series Asia round next weekend (October 13/14) when the championship’s 2018 campaign concludes at Ningbo in China.
The Mercedes-AMG GT4 run by Craft-Bamboo Racing made its first outing in partnership with AMG Driving Academy Team LSH Motorsport at Shanghai last month when former Formula Ford Campus champion Rosario partnered James Tang.
The Macau native now links up with her Chinese counterpart Zhang, who has already made Audi R8 LMS Cup, Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific and GT Masters Asia outings this year.
As well as writing championship history, it’s also believed that Rosario and Zhang will become the first all-female crew ever to contest a GT race held in China.
Rosario, who also became Blancpain GT Series Asia’s first female driver last time out at Shanghai, said: “There are certainly a lot more women racing drivers than there used to be but motorsport remains a male-dominated environment around the world. So the fact we have two women racing together next weekend is a significant step, not just in Asia but globally as well.
“I enjoyed my first outing at Shanghai but the car and series were both very new to me. I’ll be working closely with Naomi before and during the weekend to ensure that, as a crew, we are as prepared as we can be. We would love to become the first women to win a Blancpain GT Series Asia race or even stand on the podium; it would represent a breakthrough achievement but we know the level of GT4 is very high so our primary goal is to give a good account of ourselves.”
Her co-driver agreed. “While the number of women drivers has undoubtedly increased since I began racing 10 years ago, there’s still a lot more to be done,” said Zhang. “The fact we’re the first all-female crew to compete in China is one thing, but it’s not something you see very often around the world either. I’d like to thank AMG for giving Diana and I a chance to show what we can achieve against a very competitive GT4 field.”
This season’s final two 60-minute Blancpain GT Series Asia races take place next Saturday and Sunday at Ningbo. Watch them both live on the championship’s website and Facebook page, as well as several Chinese streaming platforms.
