About six months ago, Hong Kong-Malaysian karting champion Katrina Ee endured a terrifying crash.
“[The kart] flipped on the track, and I landed on the back of my shoulder, and I broke the bone,” said Katrina, who recently turned 15.
She explained that she had “blacked out” and lost some memory from before the crash, which occurred during a race in the United Kingdom.
“I woke up; I was in the hospital. And then that’s when I actually realised: oh, I was in a crash,” she said.
She had no memory of waking up and going to a practice session that day.
“It was my first ever big crash,” Katrina said.
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She was off the track for about eight weeks and felt frustrated that the injury had caused her to take a break from her greatest passion.
Katrina, who has become a regional champion in the last three years, was lucky to have only a broken shoulder.
Danger, exhilaration and fast speeds are all part of the attraction, but the young racer knows the risks are real.
“I’m so grateful that nothing really serious happened,” she said, adding that some injuries could take half a year to get better.
Sacrifice for your passion
Katrina has been karting for more than half of her life. She first tried the sport at the age of seven while on holiday in Malaysia, her father’s home country.
Something just “clicked” when Katrina got in a kart for the first time. She credited “the thrill, the speed and the adrenaline rush” with making her fall in love with the sport.
“I really enjoyed all of that competitiveness and being fearless,” she said.
While seven years old might seem young to be driving a kart at high speeds, some children started as young as four, Katrina said.
The karting community in Hong Kong, where the racer grew up, is very small. With the support of her parents, she moved to Malaysia at the age of 10 to pursue the sport more seriously.
“I was just so grateful that my parents were able to bring me and be able to sacrifice so much. They supported me so much to the point where they were able to bring me to all these different places in the world to race,” she said.
Katrina has also stopped going to a regular school, as her busy race schedule takes her across the UK and Europe.
She started attending Minerva Virtual Academy, an online international school that caters to athletes, this academic year.
“It helps me to kind of like, balance my classes and everything,” she said, noting she could do her schoolwork at her own time and pace.
Still, she regrets not being able to have a typical secondary school experience.
“I don’t get to have the high school teenager life that most of my friends back in Malaysia do,” the Year 10 student said.
“I used to go to a physical school there, and I don’t get to have that life any more. I know I sacrificed so much.”
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Katrina must also give up her free time, as much of it is dedicated to perfecting her racing skills.
She has little time for other activities, especially when preparing for competitions.
During big race weekends, she is often practising five or six days a week, waking up at 6am and returning home at 8pm.
“It’s a very, very relentless sport where you are just on track, day and night,” she said. “It’s a very tiring sport, but ... I don’t mind sacrificing things and waking up early.”
The efforts have paid off. Katrina has claimed several junior Asian titles since the age of 12, which she said were some of her proudest moments.
A proud female racer
The adrenaline rush is just one of Katrina’s motivations. Another is to “beat the boys”.
“It’s just really nice to break boundaries as a driver and especially as a girl,” she said.
Karting is very male dominated and Katrina wants to show the strengths of female drivers whenever she hits the track.
But she has faced some pushback.
She said her male competitors had tried to push her off the track a number of times during races.
“Because it would be embarrassing to lose [to a girl], right?” she said. “It makes me more motivated to push them off.”
But Katrina does not let their actions bring her down.
“Gender doesn’t really matter. It’s just about yourself. You can’t really compare or care about the people around you,” Katrina said.
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She is proud to represent Malaysia as a female driver, and she hopes more women and girls join the sport.
Katrina said she was “really glad” to see many more women getting into karting.
“I feel like now it’s becoming more equal compared to before,” she said.
Although she is just a teen, Katrina has high hopes for her career with ambitions to one day become a successful Formula One driver.
Until then, she hopes to continue to show her strength, resilience and work ethic.
“As the driver that I am, I’m never going to give up,” she said. “Racing is all about determination, motivation and how you bring yourself up. It’s about the mindset that you go on track.”
All drivers go through ups and downs in their career. The young champion knows a strong mindset will help her go a long way.
“I just try to stay as positive as I can and just persevere no matter how hard it is,” she said.
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Stop and think: What first attracted Katrina to the sport of karting as a youngster?
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Why this story matters: Katrina is providing a good example for other young girls who want to pursue a career in sport despite a lack of opportunities. This is especially true for motorsport, which is traditionally dominated by men.
