Angie King on the Ferrari Challenge and What's in Store for 2018

Hospitality industry scion Angie King has made a big splash just two rounds into the 2017 Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific racing series. Despite missing out on the first three rounds held in Abu Dhabi and China, she’s now in fourth place overall in the Trofeo Pirelli AM class behind three drivers--and seasoned veterans in the sport--who, combined, have 11 seasons under their belt. In an interview with Carmudi.com.ph, King revealed that she was already toying with the idea of joining the Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific in 2016. What held her back though was that she didn't have the racing license required for the series. The promptings of Marc Soong, the Executive Director of Autostrada Motore, Ferrari's official distributor in the Philippines, finally convinced King to sign up even though she would be classified as a late entrant for this season. To earn her racing license, King joined the third round of the Formula Masters series held in the Zhuhai International Circuit in China where she finished in second and third place in two of the three races in the Master class. With her racing license in hand following her Formula Masters stint, King was initially only allowed to compete in two races of the Ferrari Challenge. "I ended up signing for Fuji (Speedway) and the last race, which is Mugello (Circuit) but because I got a taste of the podium in Fuji, I was like, 'You know what, I might as well gun for KL as well,'" King shared, referring to the Sepang International Circuit, the venue of the Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific's fifth round. And as we reported a few days ago, King finished on the top of her class in one of the two races, taking the chequered flag ahead of Ken Sato, who's currently second overall in their class, and Yanbing Xing, who's at third overall. King is hoping to join the Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific's penultimate round in Singapore on September 15 to 17 as a support race for the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix but since only a limited number of cars are allowed to run in it, the only way for her to get in would be if a participant who has previously confirmed his or her intention to join decides to drop out. "The spots have all been spoken for but I'm really hoping to get the chance to drive in Singapore because I heard it might be the last that they might have a Grand Prix on the public streets," King revealed. Regardless if King can or can't run in Singapore, she's really looking forward to the seventh and final round in Italy. "The World Finals will be very interesting because that's where (Ferrari Challenge) North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific all meet and it's going to be a crazy Ferrari experience weekend," King enthused. Although the 2017 Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific is far from over, Angie King is already looking forward to the 2018 season. "Next year, I heard the opening race is the Melbourne Grand Prix so I told them (the organizers) I want to sign on for that," she said. "As much as I can, with my schedule permitting, I definitely want to join the races next year. If I can gun for the championship, why not."