Fellow Motorist: Kenneth Ho, race car driver, entrepreneur, and member of the Shane Ang Racing team
Kenneth Ho, 36, a professional race car driver and entrepreneur, talks us through how he got into the sport as an adult and what it takes to become successful as a race car driver.
This Fellow Motorist story is part of a series featuring the racing drivers from the Motorist-supported Shane Ang Racing team, a group of Singapore's best drivers who battle it out on track in some of Asia's toughest motorsport competitions.
How long have you been a motorist?
Less than one year. I'm only 18. Haha, I'm kidding. More like 18 years of driving experience after getting my licence at 18.
What do you like and dislike about being a motorist in Singapore?
Apart from having ownership of a car, there's nothing to like. All the things I like, such as car meet locations, local motorsports, and car modifications, are slowly being killed off. Whereas for the things I dislike, I could probably write an essay on, like perpetual traffic jams, lack of parking lots, high cost of ownership, et cetera.
For 2026, Kenneth is racing in the Siam GT category of the PT Maxnitron Racing Series in this custom-built Honda Civic FK8 race car.
What would be your ultimate dream car?
Pagani Zonda F, manual.
How did the ideas for Mini Me Racing and Dorifto come about, from concept to reality?
My boss, Shane, asked me, "Can this be done? Can that be done?" And I said yes.
How long have you been racing, and how did you get started?
I have been racing for only five years. I always dreamed of being a racer since I was a kid, watching Michael Schumacher in his Ferrari years, but I never had the chance.
My parents refused when I asked for a go-kart – that was when I was in primary school. F1 drivers usually start go-karting even younger than that.
Looking for ways to go racing, I discovered something called Gran Turismo Academy. A professional racer by the name of Lucas Ordonez got his GT3 racing seat by winning a competition which started from a game. You literally play a game and become a real race car driver; all you needed was the game and a PlayStation. So I saved up and bought a PS3, Gran Turismo 5, and back then it was a Logitech G25 (an entry-level sim-racing wheel), and played it every day.
There were online time attack competitions in the game, and I would occasionally go to attempt some, just to see where I stood. I was very pleased when I often placed in the top 100 globally and top 10 locally in Singapore. Maybe I had a fighting chance at the Academy.
Sadly, this Academy was not open to us in Southeast Asia. But I continued grinding, eventually even buying Gran Turismo 6, hoping one day it would be open to us. That day never came.
So, having no way of racing, I did the normal Singaporean route: get a degree, go to work in a corporate job, earn my own paycheque. And so, I took my first year's bonus paycheque and spent all of it on a built Proton Saga in Malaysia, and that's how I started racing.
I started in 2018, in Malaysia's MSF Saga Cup, thanks to my friend, Lester, who jio'ed me (P.S. he's a multiple Malaysia GR86 Cup winner).
The Saga Cup was a one-make race, and it was huge in Malaysia. There were over 80 Sagas on the grid that year. And I was really pleased with myself when I finished in the top 10 out of more than 80 drivers in my first two races.
But because of COVID-19 in 2019, I had to stop for three years, thanks to the borders being shut. Hence, only five years of racing experience since 2018.
When the borders eventually reopened, I continued in the MSF Saga Cup. Shane also competed in MSF that year, albeit in a different class. He had an opportunity to try my Saga on the track, and when he stepped out of the car, he said to me, "Stop driving this piece of sh*t".
The next year, he brought me to Thailand to race, and that was how I started.
Kenneth striking a pose while racing in the MSF Saga Cup series in 2019, just before COVID-19 shut down the borders and put a pause on his racing journey.
What has been the most rewarding part of racing for you?
Challenging myself to be faster, to be free of mistakes, to be consistently performing amongst the top drivers.
And what's the most challenging part about being a racing driver?
Finding the money, and it's a lot of money, to pay the bills. Oh, and having to do media, haha.
What do you do to relax in between races?
Nothing special in particular. Just day-to-day stuff. I enjoy practising on the simulator when I have more free time.
Out of all the cars you've raced so far, which is your favourite?
The Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Well, it's a factory-built race car, after all.
What's your favourite race track?
The Nürburgring Nordschleife. I've played it enough on the simulator to be able to memorise all of the track's 147 corners.
What's next for you in your racing journey?
Depending on the sponsorship, hopefully China GT next year.
Kenneth (driver of the Honda Civic on the left) celebrating with his team and teammate, Shane Ang (driver of the Honda CR-Z on the right), after winning the Thailand Super Turbo D1 Championship in 2024.
Do you have someone you look up to in the racing world?
Michael Schumacher was my childhood hero. I grew up watching his entire career at Ferrari. As a kid, I would cry when he retired from a race, haha!
An honourable mention will be Alex Zanardi. He was a multiple-time champion in CART (one of the top open-wheel racing series in the USA). He lost both legs in a racing incident but came back to racing with hand controls. He's also won multiple Gold medals in the Paralympics. Unfortunately, he recently passed away. RIP to a legend.
What would you say to people who want to race like you?
Look for my boss, Shane Ang, he will hook you up. Bring cash. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. You need to have money to race and prove yourself first before you will have a chance at getting sponsored.
Kenneth speaks in a post-race podium interview after taking a class win in Race 3 of the 2026 PT Maxnitron Racing Series.
All photos courtesy of Kenneth Ho and Bing Han Visuals.
Read More: Fellow Motorist: Shane Ang, race car driver, entrepreneur, and founder of the Shane Ang Racing team
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