Women’s Month 2023
Many thanks to Ms. Angel Andal for the interview below 🙂
Today we cap off Women’s Month with an interview from an extraordinary lady in the Automotive Industry, particularly in racing.
For the whole month of March, people online and in media around the world have been celebrating women in all sorts of ways. But if I were to ask you, what really is a “woman” to you?
While we see TV, movies, and Online Media “liberate” a woman as someone who is strong, independent, capable of taking care of herself, equal to any task out there, at the end of the day we go home and be with the women of our lives – our wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, who lovingly trust and depend on us even as we truly depend on them; who willingly take care of their families even before themselves; women whose tasks are unequal to anyone – namely, the task of giving their strength and their lives fully out of love.
Who is a “woman” to you? While the world we live in will always create stereotypes of what a woman “is” or should be, the truth is, if you are a woman reading this, you are simply free to be YOU. Pursue your dreams, love and raise your family, live and give your life fully to what is noble, true, just, and praiseworthy. Live a life of love.
If there is something truly unique about a woman, it is the God-given gift to birth or bring forth “life”. A woman who truly lives and loves is like a “spring of life” to those around her – she brings unity to a group, and there is no limit to what or where she can be.
Today, as we end Women’s Month, we’d like to thank and lift up all the women who bring “life” and joy into our lives. At Vserve Trading, we have the pleasure of sharing the story of Ms. Angel Rios Andal: a wife, a mother, and one of the few women today competing at Drag Racing – breaking barriers and paving the way for more women to get into the sport. VServe Trading and Bosch are proud to sponsor Ms Angel in her racing career.
Angel has been into cars and racing even as a child. She learned to drive at the age of 13, and at the age of 31 entered Circuit Racing while being a mother of two. She recently won 2nd place at the 2023 National Drag Racing Championships at the Batangas Racing Circuit. Prior to that, in 2018 she was awarded 3rd Runner Up in Golden Wheel Awards as one of the Top 4 Female Motorcycle Racers of the Year.
Interview with Ms. Angel Andal
1) At a very young age, what made you want to be a racer? Do you recall the moment when you thought, this is it, this is what I want to do in life? How did your family or friends first react to your passion in racing?
Everytime na makakawatch ako ng race even sa TV lng, I almost feel like I’m there, getting ready for the perfect start, putting down perfect laps, battling out other drivers and winning. 😅
How did my family react? AYAW nila tlga kasi babae daw ako.. babae “lang” ako at hindi ko kakayanin ang race and speed ng kotse. But I proved them wrong, na hindi porket babae ako hndi ko kaya makipag compete sa mga boys and I love it when people doubt me. It makes me work harder to prove them wrong.
2) What races have you watched, and what is the best thing you like about racing?
Moto GP yung mga napapanood ko before, at hindi ko afford ang big bike that time so I’ve decided to race using small bikes like scooters.. that was 2018 nung na stop ako sa circuit racing ng motorcycle kasi na aksidente ako during the race but that incident didn’t stop me to race. Nag try naman ako sa drag racing ng kotse.
What I like about racing? The competitiveness of it. Seeing cars and drivers battle it out is a thrill like no other ❤️
3) How did you start learning how to race?
My father thought me how drive when I was 13. Naalala ko pa, inuupo nya ako sa lap nya habang nag dadrive sya hanggang sa ayaw ko na bitawan ang steering wheel😂
(What was your first professional race, and how did you feel?) TSR race, eto yung first professional race n nasalihan ko but not in car racing. It’s a circuit racing sa motorway back 2018 wherein I was awarded 3rd runner up in Golden Wheel Awards for being the top 4 female racer of the year.
4) What was your biggest challenge in pursuing a racing career, and how did you overcome it?
Starting a career in racing sport is expensive. From investing in gear and equipment to getting sponsors on board, the road to becoming a race car driver requires more than just talent. It’s a big investment emotionally as well as financially 😔 buti na lang I’ve been pretty lucky so far to have great companies behind na tumutulong sa akin to pursue the sport na kinahiligan ko.
5) At what age did you start learning, and how did you start assembling cars on your own? What tools do you use, and what are the benefits and challenges?
It all started with motorsport; initially I rode a motorcycle, kaya lang during the race na-aksidente ako and napilayan yung left foot ko. And at some point I realized that I would like to develop and move to another level. Parang sabi ko sa sarili ko gusto ko parin mag race ulit but this time car racing naman.
Nag start ako matuto mag drive ng motor and cars when I was 13 but started circuit racing when I was 31, a mother of 2 na ako during that time 🙂 I don’t know if it’s harder being a female car racer and mother of 4 naman nung napunta ako sa car drag racing, pero on the marketing side it makes a lot of sense because it’s still unique. But I think the big thing is having the trust from companies to follow your path… prang feeling ko I need to do my best palagi so that they will support me parin.
6) Even now, people don’t yet see so many women in the Racing Sport, but certainly that is about to change. What can you say to them and to other girls who dream of doing the same thing? Or for that matter, any kind of endeavor that initially was stereotyped for men.
For young girls/ mommies/ ladies who would like to get into motorsports, I would recommend not to be afraid of difficulties, to go towards adventure, because this is a very eventful activity. You will succeed, move forward; do not lose heart and do not despair. If you like it, if you want to do it, DO IT! Prepare and compete – there are no boundaries. We are all equal, both boys and girls, and the cars are the same. And the only limit is you.. ❤️
7) What are your plans in the future? What is your goal for racing in the long term?
My goal in racing is to be the first female racer in the Philippines to be awarded as the Driver Of The Year in annual Golden Wheel Awards.
8) As a lady racer, what can you say about the age-old stereotype and all the memes on the internet connoting that “women are bad drivers”?
“Women are bad drivers” is a phrase that has been repeated a number of times by countless of people. For me, Its just another one of those myths created by men, thankfully that old fashioned breed of ‘gentlemen’ is decreasing 🤣 And if that’s true, what am I doing on top of the podium holding a trophy, and getting a round of applause from fellow male racer. ✌️
You may contact Angel Andal in her email or at Facebook. Angel is sponsored by Vserve Trading and Bosch.
Angel Andal is sponsored by
