Keiko goes from part-time model without a licence to be the only female on the grid in just six years.

SIX years ago she was a part-time model making extra cash as grid girl. Now she is the only female racing driver in British Formula Three.

It has been a remarkable progression for Keiko Ihara who did not have a drivers licence and had never even been behind the wheel of a car when she decided motor racing was her future.

Now the 32-year-old Japanese is staying in F1's Takuma Sato's old flat in Marlow, has a half-million-pound-a-season sponsorship deal and her sights are firmly fixed on Formula One.

It is a fairytale story, but its roots can be found in Ihara's uncompromising determination.

As Jarno Trulli's grid girl at the 1999 Japanese Grand Prix, she was thrilled and inspired by Formula One. But a combination of background and culture convinced her to keep her decision quiet.

She said: "I didn't tell anyone I was going to become a racing driver. I was a model.

"They would have laughed at me. Especially in Japan where the culture is very backwards like that and they believe the preconceptions about women drivers."

Instead, she set about turning her dream into reality on the quiet. Her family were not told, and most of her friends were kept in the dark as well. It was not until she had completed her first competitive race, finishing third, that she finally came clean. By then, she had momentum behind her and was shifting up a gear. Stints on the British Formula Renault Champ-ionship and the French Formula Three Championship followed in quick succession before Ihara enjoyed an eye-catching season in 2002, winning twice and getting on the podium in every other race she started.

That was followed by third in the Formula BMW Asia driver championships before she attracted the attention of British Formula Three powerhouse Carlin Motorsport ahead of the 2005 season. It seemed like a dream move, but she quickly discovered Formula Three could be a bumpy ride.

She said: "Some drivers ignored me at the start. They didn't think I should be there and they tried to bully me on the track."

That came to a head at Nurburgring, when she was bumped off the course and had to retire.

She said: "It made me look stupid in front of my sponsors. But I kept going and by the end of the season I was pushing them off the track."

An eighth place finish marked the high-point last year, but consistent top-tens punctuated by podium finishes is the requirement this year if she hopes to impress team bosses in the World Series by Renault, the next step up the racing pyramid.

It's a big ask, but the rewards are equally impressive. The winner of the World Series by Renault is automatically tested in the Renault Formula One car, and last season's winner is now a driver with BMW's Formula One team.

However, Ihara knows the g-force in Formula One, where top speeds regularly exceed 330kmh compared to the 280kmh of Formula Three, might prove too tough on her petite frame.

But she will scale that hurdle when she comes to it and if her only route into Formula One is as a test driver, she would still regard it as a triumph.

First though, she needs a big season in Formula Three. Preparations continue until April 17, when the six-month, 24-race season explodes into life at Oulton Park.

She said: "Nobody backed me at the start. But my family supports me, the other drivers respect me now and I'm very excited about this season."