Need for speed: Natasha Seatter was the only female driver to compete in the Formula BMW Pacific series last year.

PETALING JAYA: She don’t have a valid driving licence yet but that has not stopped Natasha Seatter from burning a hot trail on the tracks.

From drifting to high performance and saloon cars, Natasha, a stunner of Scottish-Malaysian parentage, loves racing and she thrives on taking up a challenge.

And motorsports fans could soon hear more of her as the 18-year-old returns to the JK Racing Asia Series (formerly known as Formula BMW Pacific) for a second season.

Natasha is determined to be competitive in this year’s JK Racing Asia Series which will support the Malaysian, Singapore and Indian Formula 1 Grands Prix plus feature in Asian Festival of Speed events at Sepang, Sentul and South Korea.

Recent testing sessions has demonstrated she has made a big jump in performance and she is definitely eyeing visits to the podium this season.

Natasha was the only female driver to race in the Formula BMW Pacific series under Petronas Mofaz Racing Team last year.

She got her break during the Petronas Formula Xperience (PFX) programme, which gives promising young drivers the chance to experience formula racing.

She won all four races at the PFX in 2009, against other boys her age.

Natasha started out with an impressive career in kart racing, posting some good results at the Asian Karting Open Championship by placing fourth overall in 2008, and was named Rookie of the Year in the senior category last year.

Natasha was also the only female driver to be invited to test drive the Lotus Formula T125 at Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi recently and said it was her father who inspired her to take up the sport.

“I followed my dad to watch a Rotax kart race in Langkawi when I was 12 and I got hooked from there.

“My dad also used to race in the Malaysian Super Series and is very much involved in motorsports.

”I went into karting competitively for about five or six years before moving up to Formula BMW (now called JK Racing Asia Series) last year,” said Natasha, who is also eyeing to win a place in the Petronas Syntium Racing Team that is competing in the Super Taikyu Endurance Series in Japan.

Natasha, born in Sarawak and the eldest of three sisters in the family, ultimately hopes her passion will lead her to Formula 1 but is aware of how the struggles to get there.

“I just aim to do well in the JK Racing Asia Series this year and finish in the top five overall,” she added.

Her mother, Datin Ida Seatter, said Natasha is a strong and determined girl who has committed herself to developing her career in racing.

“She follows a strict self-imposed fitness regime and diet to improve her stamina and focus during races. She goes to the gym at least three times a week, does weights and only takes a single day off every week.

“Also, drivers like her cannot just show up at a race, jump in a car and drive. She has to be involved in maintaining her own vehicles, managing things like transporting her equipment to the venue and getting registered, arriving early to survey the track’s racing lines and other things that happen throughout the course of a race weekend.

“It’s not as glamorous as one thinks,” she chipped in.