Way before the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix snaked around the Padang, there was the Thomson track.
And way before Singaporeans cheered for Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, there was Miss Anne Wong-Holloway.
Miss Anne took part in the Singapore Grand Prix which had drivers racing a 4.8km circuit in Thomson Road.
Miss Anne, now 67, raced competitively for about five years.
She was one of a few women who competed in races at the circuit, which opened in 1961.
In an interview with The New Paper on Sunday, Miss Anne still remembers many details about her racing days.
“There is nothing quite like racing back then. It remains as one of the best times of my life,” says Miss Anne, who worked in advertising before retiring.
Growing up, her car mechanic father exposed her to cars at a young age.
“There were always cars at home or at my father’s workshop,” she says.
Laughing, she adds: “I was quite naughty back then. The first time I was on the road was when I was 12, way before I got my driver’s licence.”
Even after she got her licence as soon as she turned the legal age of 16, driving on the roads was not enough for Miss Anne, who was 12 when the Thomson circuit opened.
As soon as she heard about other people joining the open races, she told her father she wanted to try.
Not only did he say yes, he got his friend to lend her a car. It was a Hillman Imp.
Miss Anne says: “Before I knew it, back in Easter of 1970 when I was 21, I was there in that car, testing the circuit out.”
But her first experience was not perfect. She describes the track as “tricky” and even saw an accident while she was there.
Says Miss Anne: “The circuit had all these turns and none of the safety features of today’s races.
“There was a Ford Escort that crashed, and it looked so bad, like it was wrapped around a lamp post.”
DISAPPOINTED
Her first race a week later did not end well either. Her engine failed, and she did not complete the race.
“I was disappointed when my car engine pengsan (Malay for fainted), but it was something that I wanted to continue doing.”
And she did.
Miss Anne took part in more races at Thomson and started to do well in some of them. She says she was often the only female competitor.
“But I didn’t think of it as (something) different. I just saw myself as a racer, someone who wanted to do what she enjoyed,” she says.
Her proudest moment was during her first overseas race in Batu Tiga in Shah Alam, Malaysia, just a few weeks after she first started racing.
She finished third in a friend’s Mini Cooper. That inspired her to race overseas.
“The two drivers ahead of me were experienced drivers but getting third place out of the 30 drivers was still an achievement. I enjoyed myself,” she says.
Over the next four years, she took part in races in other parts of Malaysia such as Penang and Ipoh.
Her racing career even took her to Macau, where she was champion at the Macau Grand Prix.
Miss Anne says: “I was still an amateur but emerging first out of 22 racers left me shocked. There were so many professional (racers), I was humbled by that victory.”
Even when the Thomson circuit closed down in 1972, she continued racing overseas.
Two years later, she decided her time in the fast lane had “run its course”.
“It started getting costly, and I found that if I wanted to keep it up, I would have to spend more money. It became pointless to me.” But the need for speed never left her.
Although it has been 40 years since she last raced, she keeps up to date with Formula 1, watching the night race here on TV each year.
The Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix will take place from Sept 16 to 18.
Her favourite racer?
She answers without hesitation: “Fernando Alonso”.
“He drives in an aggressive way and he has a lot of talent. He is the best driver around.”
This article was first published on Sep 11, 2016.
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