After making her SuperFormula debut last year, Colombian racing star Tatiana Calderon will continue her journey in Japan's premier single-seater championship, as she returns to TreeBond Drago Corse after a very promising end of the 2020 season.
Colombian racing star Tatiana Calderon had a busy 2020 and, despite the challenging world health situation, she managed to put together an impressive program that included the 24 Hours of Daytona, a full European Le Mans Series campaign, the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans and her debut season in Japan's premier single seater championship SuperFormula.
Coming from a difficult but equally character-building year in FIA Formula 2 - the closest step to Formula 1, where Calderon holds the role of Development Driver for the Swiss outfit Alfa Romeo Sauber - the 27-year old from Bogota had a very competitive season in both formula and sportscars, confirming herself as one of the leading and most inspiring figures in female motorsport.
Making her debut for the returning ThreeBond Drago Corse in SuperFormula, Calderon was forced to miss two rounds due to the coronavirus-related travel restrictions, but nonetheless scored two 12th place finishes and showed constant improvements as the season progressed. In the final round at Fuji, one of the few tracks where Calderon had the opportunity to test prior to the race weekend, the driver of the #12 Drago Corse car signed the fifth fastest lap during the race, despite a hydraulic issue on the grid ultimately hampering her final result. She was then able to replicate the performances in the post-seasonal collective test session, where she again appeared in the top-10.
As a testament of her progress, ThreeBond Drago Corse announced that Calderon will be back to Japan for a sophomore season in SuperFormula, where she will get the chance to build on the experience gained in her first campaign at the wheel of the Dallara SF19 - one of the world's top machinery and the closest to F1 in terms of performance.
Tatiana impressed her team with her dedication, professionalism and perseverance, which have always been defining features of the Colombian driver.
"Firstly, I sincerely hope that the Corona disaster will end as soon as possible." - commented Tatiana after the announcement. "Under these circumstances, I am incredibly happy to be able to compete again with ThreeBond Drago Corse. After the experience last year, I have been exposed to the Japanese culture and have been able to communicate well with the team, so I feel confident and full of trust going into the season."
"I am very grateful to my sponsors, who have made it possible, Bandero, KOE, RoKiT, the Colombian Ministry of Sports, Escudería Telmex Telcel and of course to ThreeBond and Honda, whom like Drago Corse I already consider as part of my family", she continued.
"Last year I really enjoyed my Japanese adventure, I learned together with the team and I feel that we made a lot of progress during the season, both in the development of the car and in my driving and understanding of the category, so I really want to go back and pick up where we left off. I am definitely in love with Japan and I hope this year we can have the fans in the stands. I thank everyone for their support and I look forward to the start of the 2021 tests."
“I am very happy to be working with Tatiana again this season." - echoed ThreeBond Drago Corse Director Ryo Michigami. "Despite the fact that she was unable to compete in all the championship races in 2020, she showed very good performances, proving that women can compete at the highest level in Japan."
"As a team we are very excited to have her participate this season. This will be the second year for both of us in the category and we will do our best to meet our high expectations.”
The 2021 Super Formula calendar is scheduled to kick-off at Fuji Speedway on April 3-4, while pre-season testing will begin on March 10-11.
2021 SuperFormula calendar:
April 3-4, Fuji Speedway
April 24-25, Suzuka International Circuit
May 15-16, Autopolis
June 19-20, Sugo
August 28-29, Twin Ring Motegi
October 2-3, Okayama
October 30-31, Suzuka International Circuit
