Katrina Ee, a 14-year-old race driver from Malaysia and Hong Kong, has been chosen to join More than Equal’s inaugural 2024 Driver Development Programme cohort. The 14-year-old from Malaysia and Hong Kong is one of six girls chosen from across the globe for the prestigious Programme which aims to identify and nurture high-potential top female racing talent. The non-profit initiative, co-founded by former F1 driver David Coulthard, aims to identify and nurture high-potential female racing talent.
The programme will allow Ee to work alongside world-class performance coaches, including Cycling Stalwart Tom Stanton, former Head of Performance at British Cycling, Sarah Moore, Jordan King, Hintsa Performance, and Smedley Group. A data-led development plan will be led for each individual driver, focusing on technical and tactical coaching, physical and personal development. More than Equal uses data and research to close the performance gap for females in racing and has a thorough selection process for the elite programme. Being the only Asian inducted, Ee’s young talent is highlighted, providing a projection for her future as an up-and-coming race driver.
Born and raised by a Malaysian father and Hong Kong mother, Katrina Ee started her racing career at the age of 7 when she took up karting as a hobby with her sister in 2017. Eventually her passion for the sport grew and she pursued it competitively throughout Asia in 2019. In 2022, she secured her first karting titles as the IAME Series Asia Champion and Rotax Max Challenge Malaysia Champion. In 2023, she swept three Asian karting titles, becoming the Rotax Trophy Asian Champion, IAME Series Asian Champion, and Rok Cup Asian Champion. Ee has shown her potential in various championships around the region.
She recently expanded her competition pool, competing in six rounds in the Champions of the Future Academy Programme across the Middle East and Europe. She is also set to compete in other series in Europe and the United Kingdom. With More than Equal headquartered in London, Ee’s initiation into their esteemed Driver Development Programme is timely.
Katrina Ee said “I still can’t believe that I’ve been selected by the More than Equal panel to join their Driver Development Programme. Growing up racing in Asia, I just worked hard and drove as fast as I could, but after speaking to the team at More than Equal and hearing about their approach to driver development, it is way beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I aim to maximise this opportunity and learn as much as I can, in hopes it gives me the speed and education to move up the racing ladder. It is amazing and I’m just so thankful for this opportunity, I can’t wait to get started. Thank you to everyone for believing in me, and especially my parents for always supporting my dream to become an F1 champion.”
Ali Donnelly, CEO, More than Equal mentioned that “This is just the beginning of a journey for this group and for our programme, and together we want to show that with the right support early in their career, we can accelerate the development of talented female drivers so that they can have an equal opportunity to reach the top of the sport.
Our drivers will benefit from a programme that has been designed with female athletes in mind from the very start, when too often girls have had to navigate programmes and systems in motorsport that were built entirely for boys. Our programme will be highly relevant to teenage girls, applying the latest in sports science to their age and gender.”
Karel Komárek, Co-Founder, More than Equal said “By supporting emerging talent at a critical stage in their development with top-tier coaching, resources, and an evidence-based approach, this programme builds on our commitment to equality of opportunity and removing the barriers which have limited women in motorsport for decades.”
“We are pleased and proud to kick off a new era for young female drivers in motorsport with the launch of the More than Equal Driver Development Programme. This group of talented young drivers will now be part of a programme which has been designed with their age and their gender in mind, with specialist coaches supporting their journey and helping to maximise their potential. This is a hugely exciting moment.” said David Coulthard, Co-Founder, More than Equal.