ThreeBond DragoCORSE announced former F2 racer Tatiana Calderon as one of their race drivers for the team's Super Formula return, as the Colombian will be the first female driver in the championship in over 20 years.
ThreeBond DragoCORSE will make its Super Formula return after switching their operations to the Japanese-based F3 championship at the end of 2016. Today, the team led by team-manager and SuperGT driver Ryo Michigami announced their first driver for the upcoming campaign, as Tatiana Calderon is set to make her debut in the series.
Calderon was the first ever female driver to compete in F1 closest feeder series in 2019 and will now extend her international racing resumé to the Japanese premiere formula championship. She will also be the first woman racer in the series in over 23 years: Irish Sarah Kavanagh last entered two races for team Cerumo in the 1997 season of the then-branded Formula Nippon.
"As previously announced, we will be entering the Super Formula Championship series in Japan as ThreeBond DragoCORSE."
"This time, we would like to announce that we will be welcoming Colombian driver Tatiana Calderon with her excellent record and now position as the first female Super Formula driver. And we would like to say we are honored that she would choose us for as the team she drives for in her first year in this race series."
"Furthermore, we believe her selection in the spirit of the Japanese government's policy of promoting female participation in the workforce and FIA's Women in Motorsport philosophy."
"The team is preparing wholeheartedly for official testing in March and we will report on our progress as we go."
Ryo Michigami commented: "With ThreeBond DragoCORSE participating in the Super Formula series from this year, we conducted an extensive search for a driver and decided on Colombian female driver Tatiana Calderon. With this, we have fullfilled another of my wishes for ThreeBond DragoCORSE: to always strive for new things and create history. I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation for ThreeBond Co., Ltd., who gave us this chance, and to all who put their effort into this team."
ThreeBond Racing fielded another female racer during last year's All-Japan F3 Championship, Japanese Ai Miura. They finished 5th in the team's final standings.
Tatiana Calderon is currently competing in the Asian Formula 3 championship for SevenGP, this weekend supporting the Dubai 24H schedule at Dubai Autodrome, UAE. The Colombian finished 4th in Sepang at the Asian F3 seasonal opening round: a result that boosted her confidence after enduring a tough Formula 2 campaign.
Earlier this week, Calderon also made her GT endurance debut in the ROAR Before the Daytona, as she was announced as one of the four drivers for the all-female crew GEAR Racing by Grasser in the Rolex Daytona 24 Hours.
Ph credits: F3 Asian Championship