Text by Dian Pasquinal Kaur
There is something undeniably exciting about meeting a young woman who races cars for a living. Not because it is common, but because Adele Lew carries none of the bravado one might expect from someone hurtling around a circuit at high speed.
Instead, she is warm, quick to laugh and refreshingly self-aware, balancing a demanding racing career with running her own advertising agency, creating content for brands and squeezing in pickleball sessions between gym workouts. Yet beneath the easy-going charm lies someone fiercely competitive.
“I’ve grown up around motorsport, but what drives me today is still the same thing that got me hooked in the first place: the thrill of racing and the sense of achievement when a race goes the way you’ve worked so hard for,” Adele shares.
These days, racing is about far more than simply getting behind the wheel. Together with her partner, Rahul Raj Mayer, Adele is building their racing programme from the ground up, managing everything from sponsorships and logistics to race preparation and media commitments.
“It’s a lot to carry,” she admits. “But what I’m trying to prove isn’t necessarily to other people; it’s to myself. I want to look back one day, stand on that podium and know that every sacrifice, every late night and every challenge was worth it.”
Racing In Her DNA
Motorsport has, in many ways, always been part of her story. From the age of three, weekends meant following her father to Sepang International Circuit and watching him race. She grew up around the paddock, absorbing the sounds, atmosphere and camaraderie that define the sport.
Ironically, becoming a driver herself was never part of the original plan. That changed during the Covid-19 lockdown. Out of sheer boredom, 19-year-old Adele started karting with her father. What began as a casual father-daughter activity quickly evolved into something much more serious.
“We trained almost every day and spent countless hours talking about driving techniques.” Before long, the pair were racing against each other, sometimes late into the night at tracks in Johor. “That was definitely more stressful than fun,” she quips.
“There’s a different kind of pressure when you’re competing against the person who taught you everything you know.” The turning point came when Adele was selected for Toyota Malaysia’s Rookie Racing Programme, becoming the first female driver to participate. Her professional racing career had officially begun.
Her Own Race
Being a woman in motorsport, however, comes with its own set of challenges. To Adele, racing itself is fair. Performance matters, and fast drivers earn respect regardless of gender. The problem, she notes, is that women often have far less room for error.
“When a male driver makes a mistake, it’s viewed as part of racing,” she observes. “When a female driver makes a mistake, some views aren’t as kind. However, what frustrates her most is how easily women’s achievements are dismissed. “If we’re fast, people say it’s because of the car, the set-up or someone else’s influence. But when something goes wrong, the criticism becomes very personal.”
Over time, Adele has learned to block out the noise. “The best response is always performance,” she emphasises. “Results speak louder than assumptions.” Passion, she believes, is the only thing that makes the sacrifices worthwhile. Motorsport demands an extraordinary amount — physically, mentally and financially — but she would not trade it for anything.
“I want to look back one day, stand on that podium and know that every sacrifice, every late night and every challenge was worth it” – Adele Lew
“I’ve always been a disciplined person. When I commit to something, I want to do it properly.” Setbacks are simply part of the process. People see the mistakes as much as they see the successes, she says. “But racing has always been about overcoming challenges, both on track and within ourselves.”
One of her proudest moments came last year when she competed in Thailand. It was not her biggest result on paper but perhaps her most meaningful. She raced on unfamiliar circuits, in a country where she did not speak the language, against drivers who knew the tracks far better than she did. “Competing alongside talented female drivers from Thailand was incredibly inspiring. Being able to see my own growth in that environment made me realise how much I was capable of,” she recalls.
Setting The Pace
Beyond speed and adrenaline, motorsport has taught her lessons that extend well beyond the racetrack: resilience, leadership, communication and remaining calm under pressure. “It forces you to make decisions quickly when the stakes are high. A lot of those lessons apply directly to everyday life and business.”
This year, Adele Lew is stepping up to her next challenge – competing in the GR86 Cup. It marks her first season driving Toyota’s rear-wheel-drive platform, which is an important step towards future ambitions in GT racing. “My dream track car would definitely be a Porsche 911 GT3,” she grins. Despite the stereotypes that still persist, she is quick to challenge assumptions about women and cars.
“Understanding a race car goes beyond physically working on it,” she points out. “I can tell when the rear feels unstable, when the alignment is off or when the set-up isn’t working. Before engineers can solve a problem, the driver needs to communicate exactly what’s happening.”
Off the track, life is refreshingly ordinary, a guitar, a good film, a new restaurant and precious moments away from the pressure of competition. But one belief continues to anchor her. “Do it for yourself, not for others,” she says.
“When you focus too much on other people’s opinions, you lose sight of why you started.” For a young woman carving out her own lane in one of the world’s most demanding sports, that mindset may well be her greatest driving force of all.
