Heroine on the Racing Track
By Susana Chan
At early 6:00 am on the weekends, Diana Rosario starts her practice on the racing track as usual. She has kept this habit for many years since the age of 14. Diana, a Kart and Formula Campus veteran with 11 years of experience, is now the only female racer in Macau. She started to play the Kart at nine and has been participating in various kinds of car racing competitions.
Being the only female racer, Diana does not show any conceit on her face. She thinks man and woman are equal in state – woman can do the same thing as a man can, and can even do better. Due to her rigid personality, Diana has proved her belief by winning a total of seven overall championships and other championships in different racing car since 1998.
In order to maintain enough strength to sustain these exhausting sports, Diana trains herself with push-up and dumbbells to strengthen her fingers and arms at every single moment of her free time. Her efforts paid off. Some people may think girls should not play this kind of sport. However, Diana disagrees with them. “By winning the games, I can prove that they are totally wrong,” Diana says firmly.
In spite of that, Diana believes that “racing is actually a competition in which one competes with oneself instead of others”. Asking Diana if she feels playing the Kart or Formula Racing is life-risking, she claims that “every sport has its own risk” and therefore the first thing a beginner should learn is how to ensure safety. “Whenever any unexpected accidents happen, only the racing driver knows how to reduce the harm and thus help protecting or rescuing oneself.” Diana adds. For this reason knowing the safety rules is essential.
Moreover, Diana has been focusing on Formula for three years while she has never thought of giving up playing Kart, as she states that these two sports bring her distinct feelings on the racing track. She loves both Kart and Formula. “It is easy to learn Kart, but hard to achieve proficiency in it.” Diana says, “to get even 0.1-second speed improvement is not easy, and it required calmness to break records.”
In addition, Diana has become more mature after participating in various competitions all these years. The greatest change is her attitude and mentality while facing her racing career. She has learnt to stay calm whenever facing any situation after the big accident in 2001 which made her clavicle broken.
In Diana’s opinion, calmness brings success. “You never know what will happen in the next moment when you are on the racing track,” she adds, “so only calmness can help you concentrate and lead to victory."
