http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/Motorworld/Story/A1Story20090514-141511.html
Fri, May 15, 2009
The New Paper
WAGs with drive
By Cheryl Tay, freelance writer
THEIR job is simple - dressed to the nines and put on their megawatt smiles for the cameras at Formula One races.
But unlike the foreign WAGs, the wives and girlfriends of local racers do not enjoy the same glamour and attention.
Rain or shine, they have to follow their husbands and boyfriends to race tracks, helping them to monitor sector timings from the pit and cheering them on from the stands.
Outside the track, some of them have to roll up their sleeves and get all sweaty and dirty in the garage.
These are just some of the things the local WAGs have to live with.
"In the weeks leading up to a race season, we practically live in the garage (at the track)," said Florence Ho, 32, wife of local driver Ringo Chong.
"He'll be working on the car with his mechanics, while I play the role of 'kopi-soh' (coffee lady) cum cleaner cum car polisher all in one.
"It was tough, but it was very sweet as we were together all the time."
Chong, 42, is a driver training consultant based in China.
He races for Singapore in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia (PCCA) and the Aston Martin Asia Cup (AMAC) where he finished third during the leg of the F1 Singapore GP support race last year.
Ho met Chong in 1998 at the Singapore Motorshow and got married to him eight years later.
They have a 21-month-old daughter Renee.
Before she met Chong, Ho had no interest in motor sports at all.
"I knew about F1 only after I met Ringo. It's more of being able to understand his passion and sharing his (emotional) highs and lows. I married him along with his motorsport dream," said Ho.
But it is not all work and no play for the local WAGs.
Lynn Ang-Teo, wife of local race driver Greg Teo and marketing director for Citispa, a local professional slimming and beauty spa, gets to attend advanced driving courses sponsored by her husband.
She hopes to attend the Porsche Driving School in Brisbane to enhance her driving skills.
"Greg pays for my driving courses because he encourages my interest in motor sports, but I think he just wants to make sure that I become a good driver and I won't crash his cars!" said the Michael Schumacher fan.
Teo, 34, spa director of Citispa, who has spent close to a million dollars on his motorsport interest, has also participated in PCCA and AMAC and will be participating in the GT3 Asia Challenge and Macau GT Cup this year.
No interest
As for Petrina Lee, dating Hafiz Koh, 24, Singapore's first full-time local professional race driver, has helped her gain a deeper insight into the sport which she had no interest in before meeting Koh.
"Racing is Hafiz's greatest passion and his influence has rubbed off on me. I've come to understand, respect and appreciate motor racing a lot more than when I was a mere spectator," said the marketing and public relations manager.
The local WAGs make it a point to follow their husbands and boyfriends to races, both local and overseas, but that usually changed once they had children.
"I used to accompany Greg to the tracks in Malaysia every other weekend and to overseas race tracks a few times a year," said Ang-Teo, who met her husband during their university days.
They have been married for seven years and have two daughters, aged three and one.
"But in recent years, I have had to stay home to take care of the kids when he went racing."
Ho feels that her sacrifices are well worth it.
"Ringo's work takes him out of Singapore for most of the year. If you add his races, we hardly have any time together," she lamented.
"It is especially hard now that we have a kid.
"Sometimes, I feel lonely and wish he is around more often, but I understand it is just as difficult for him to be working away from home. I'm fully supportive of his racing. It's not every day that one gets to live his dream."
Lee, however, adopts a different view. "I wouldn't say that sacrifices are made because when you're with someone, you accept him for who he is," she said.
"Despite Hafiz's busy schedule, we always make a conscious effort to spend quality time together. And when he's away, he constantly keeps me updated, so I won't miss out on anything."
The biggest concern of the local WAGs is the safety of their partners.
"I would be lying if I say I'm not worried when he races, but he's a safe driver with plenty of control behind the wheel, so I've a lot of faith in him," said Lee.
"When he's out on the circuit, he doesn't hold back and will go all out to win. I'm just proud of him for having the courage to live his dream."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
Fri, May 15, 2009
The New Paper
WAGs with drive
By Cheryl Tay, freelance writer
THEIR job is simple - dressed to the nines and put on their megawatt smiles for the cameras at Formula One races.
But unlike the foreign WAGs, the wives and girlfriends of local racers do not enjoy the same glamour and attention.
Rain or shine, they have to follow their husbands and boyfriends to race tracks, helping them to monitor sector timings from the pit and cheering them on from the stands.
Outside the track, some of them have to roll up their sleeves and get all sweaty and dirty in the garage.
These are just some of the things the local WAGs have to live with.
"In the weeks leading up to a race season, we practically live in the garage (at the track)," said Florence Ho, 32, wife of local driver Ringo Chong.
"He'll be working on the car with his mechanics, while I play the role of 'kopi-soh' (coffee lady) cum cleaner cum car polisher all in one.
"It was tough, but it was very sweet as we were together all the time."
Chong, 42, is a driver training consultant based in China.
He races for Singapore in the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia (PCCA) and the Aston Martin Asia Cup (AMAC) where he finished third during the leg of the F1 Singapore GP support race last year.
Ho met Chong in 1998 at the Singapore Motorshow and got married to him eight years later.
They have a 21-month-old daughter Renee.
Before she met Chong, Ho had no interest in motor sports at all.
"I knew about F1 only after I met Ringo. It's more of being able to understand his passion and sharing his (emotional) highs and lows. I married him along with his motorsport dream," said Ho.
But it is not all work and no play for the local WAGs.
Lynn Ang-Teo, wife of local race driver Greg Teo and marketing director for Citispa, a local professional slimming and beauty spa, gets to attend advanced driving courses sponsored by her husband.
She hopes to attend the Porsche Driving School in Brisbane to enhance her driving skills.
"Greg pays for my driving courses because he encourages my interest in motor sports, but I think he just wants to make sure that I become a good driver and I won't crash his cars!" said the Michael Schumacher fan.
Teo, 34, spa director of Citispa, who has spent close to a million dollars on his motorsport interest, has also participated in PCCA and AMAC and will be participating in the GT3 Asia Challenge and Macau GT Cup this year.
No interest
As for Petrina Lee, dating Hafiz Koh, 24, Singapore's first full-time local professional race driver, has helped her gain a deeper insight into the sport which she had no interest in before meeting Koh.
"Racing is Hafiz's greatest passion and his influence has rubbed off on me. I've come to understand, respect and appreciate motor racing a lot more than when I was a mere spectator," said the marketing and public relations manager.
The local WAGs make it a point to follow their husbands and boyfriends to races, both local and overseas, but that usually changed once they had children.
"I used to accompany Greg to the tracks in Malaysia every other weekend and to overseas race tracks a few times a year," said Ang-Teo, who met her husband during their university days.
They have been married for seven years and have two daughters, aged three and one.
"But in recent years, I have had to stay home to take care of the kids when he went racing."
Ho feels that her sacrifices are well worth it.
"Ringo's work takes him out of Singapore for most of the year. If you add his races, we hardly have any time together," she lamented.
"It is especially hard now that we have a kid.
"Sometimes, I feel lonely and wish he is around more often, but I understand it is just as difficult for him to be working away from home. I'm fully supportive of his racing. It's not every day that one gets to live his dream."
Lee, however, adopts a different view. "I wouldn't say that sacrifices are made because when you're with someone, you accept him for who he is," she said.
"Despite Hafiz's busy schedule, we always make a conscious effort to spend quality time together. And when he's away, he constantly keeps me updated, so I won't miss out on anything."
The biggest concern of the local WAGs is the safety of their partners.
"I would be lying if I say I'm not worried when he races, but he's a safe driver with plenty of control behind the wheel, so I've a lot of faith in him," said Lee.
"When he's out on the circuit, he doesn't hold back and will go all out to win. I'm just proud of him for having the courage to live his dream."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
