Race Against the Machine
by Toby Martin

Gabbie dela Merced represents a new frontier in sports - a gender-blind playing field where skills and competitiveness alone matter. In a sport long considered a millieu for men, where female racer were merely a curiosity and a sideshow, Gabbie carved her niche bit by bit, and while she may not dominate the field completely, she stakes everything she's got at every race, establishing the no-nonesense, aggressive brand of competition gabbie represents. Determined to enter motorsports after wearing a variety of varsity sweaters in high school, Gabbie manages to convince her reluctant father to let her give it a go after she is awarded a 'Best Driving Style' at a local Porsche press event.

She had then turned 18 and the debutante's gift from dad was a Toyota Starlet, sans windows and airconditioning, a slalom ready coach for the lady. Shortly thereafter, in August 2000, she promptly drove into a Shell Helix Slalom Series and took 3rd in the Ladies Division in the first race she ever joined or even ever seen. While still flushed with victory her dad laid down the grim reality of racing, his financial support ended with the car and she'd have to find her own sponsors, if she were to continue racing. Juggling the marketing for her sponsorships, her training and race schedules and school was the challenge as she shifted from slalom to production class circuit racing and eventually formula 3 and formula BMW. The early days found her pounding the streets and knocking on doors seeking anyone willing to sponsor a female rookie racer, and encountering unscrupulous brands who splashed her with their logos but not with the cash. She eventually met and settled with her current management team that eases the burden on her schedule but she continues to personally meet every potential sponsor.

Whatever determination gabbie pours into the management and sponsorship end of her career she magnifies exponentially on the track, where her true mettle is seen. Suprisisngly when prodded to share her favorite race, she didnt recount a podium but instead a special 4th place finish. In the final lap of the qualifying race, a competitor slammed into her car, damaging the front and smashing her windshield. The mechanicals were repaired but her crew had no replacement windshield and as a result she was prohibited to continue. Unfazed by a seemingly large drawback, Gabbie scoured the pits for a windshield that would fit her car's make. There were none, yet she was undeterred.

Finally finding a spare windshield for a different make and model in a garage at the back of the track she instrcuted her crew to jury-rig a duct tape solution to install the glass. She made it just in time to enter the race as the backmarker. The victory, she recalls, felt like bagging 1st place. Gabbie's dogged focus and commitment to her goals, willingness to go against the grain and innate ability to dodge and surmount obstacles are what took her from slalom rookie to raceway celeb, in the process breaking barriers for other Filipinas who wish to walk in her step.As this issue of onesport goes to press Gabbie is in the United States seeking sponsorships to race in any of the various events that may be available for her.