Racing to stardom

Long before she was dubbed Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition 2’s "Racing Goddess," Gaby dela Merced had been making waves in both local and international racing circuits.

After scoring class wins in Shell Slalom Series from 2000 to 2002, Gaby proceeded to win the Philippine Formula Toyota and touring car championships. She also completed most of the 2004 season in Formula BMW Asia as one of their Scholarship Drivers. In March 2006, she joined the Asian Formula 3 Series, becoming the first female driver in the region’s premier series.

Gaby’s star shone even brighter when she was chosen as one of the housemates in the celebrity edition of the Philippine franchise of Big Brother. Through the reality show, Gaby hoped to catch the attention of potential sponsors to help finance her races.

Her passion and love for racing and determination to become better, earned the nods of potential sponsors and won the hearts of the viewers.

One of Gaby’s best moments in PBB was being taken out of the house to join a race in Subic where she won without any practice.

She let go of her chance to become PBB’s Celebrity Big Winner when she voluntarily exited the big yellow house to attend the Lyn St. James’ Women in the Winner’s Circle Foundation’s 2007-2008 Driver Development Program in Arizona. With the voluntary exit of two other housemates, Big Brother invited Gaby to return two weeks after her training abroad. She became the Celebrity Third Big Placer at the end of the season.

After her PBB stint, ABS-CBN gave her Gaby’s Xtraordinary Files where she was able to showcase her hosting skills. She also became one of Studio 23’s VJs.

The call of showbiz may be tempting but racing remains Gaby’s first love. In December she successfully completed the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill race.