Gaby Dela Merced

Entertainment career

Dela Merced has appeared in television commercials promoting the Creamsilk conditioner and Carefree feminine wash lines. She was also an endorser of Goodyear, Standard Insurance, Oakley, Puma and Prestone.

Dela Merced was host at Slipstream of Studio 23 and Living It Up at QTV.

Dela Merced was part of the reality television series Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition 2 at ABS-CBN as a housemate. She made a voluntary exit in November 2007 to attend a driver's development program for international racing in Arizona.

Dela Merced hosted Gaby's Xtraordinary Files at ABS-CBN which premiered in 2008. She appeared in Kung Tayo'y Magkakalayo as Asha, one of the "Triple A" antagonists of the drama.

Racing career

Dela Merced first started racing at 16 years old.

In 1999, she raced in the Philippine Challenge, earning the Championship Cup.^{[citation needed]}

In 2000, she participated in the Philippine Slalom Championship, earning class wins. She returned in 2001, earning class wins once more and becoming the Ladies Champion.

She competed in the Novice division of the SVI Challenge Cup that year, driving for Big Shot Billiards She achieved multiple class wins and podiums in this season.

She competed in Class C of the SVI Challenge Cup in 2003. She achieved multiple wins and podiums both overall overall and in her class. She also competed in the Philippine BRC Production Touring Car Championship in 2003, finishing 3rd overall.

In the Philippine Formula Toyota Championship in 2004, she placed 3rd overall. She was also one of the recipients of the Formula BMW Asia scholarship. Dela Merced competed in the 2004 Formula BMW Asia season, driving for Team T.E.C Pilipinas in the first four races and for Team E-Rain in the next four. She finished 15th overall and ranked 6th in the Rookie Cup.

In 2006, she competed in the Asian Formula Three Championship for Speedtech Asia. She finished 14th overall and had a highest race finish of seventh. She is also the runner-up in the Philippine National F3 standings of the championship. She is noted to be among the few Filipino women to race in the Asian Formula Three Championship and the only Filipino woman to complete a series.

In December 2008, Dela Merced made her endurance racing debut when she joined the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill. Along with Robbie Montinola and Angelo Barretto, Dela Merced co-drove for Team Castrol-Speed Trapp Racing. Driving a BMW M3, the trio finished 6th in the E0 class and 12th overall, out of 68 cars.

In March 2009, she tried out for Spoon Sports. She was signed and entered into the Western Endurance Racing Championship (WERC). Her teammate was Veronica Peyon. The first round was a 3-hour night race at Buttonwillow, where her team finished 4th. This was followed by a three-hour race at Llihrednuht (Thunderhill run backwards). Peyon suffered a heat stroke and had to abandon the race, so Dela Merced drove for the remaining two hours and eventually finished 2nd. She drove alone in the next 3-hour night race at Buttonwillow until the car suffered a gearbox failure, forcing her to abandon the race. The next race was at the Infineon Raceway, where she was joined by Tom Lepper who had replaced Peyon. They won the race. The last round was in Thunderhill, where there was a 6-hour points-awarding race that preceded the 25-hour non-points-scoring race that involved 68 cars. She was joined by Lepper, Ken Kurtz, and Charles Stowe in this round. In the end, the team ranked 2nd overall and 1st in the E0 class.

In 2019, she participated in TA2 Asia Racing for Tecpro Idemitsu Racing, becoming the first female driver for the series. In the 2019 Giti-Formula V1 Challenge, Dela Merced drove for Standard Insurance M1 Racing Team.

In November 2020, Dela Merced participated in the Bonifacio 8-Hours Endurance of the Makabayan Endurance Race Challenge Series held at the Clark International Speedway. She shared a team with Allan Uy and Marc Soong, driving an MG5. The team finished 8th overall while ranking as the first (and only) team in the Manufacturers' class.

She returned to the series in June 2021 driving for Team Mazda Philippines. The team, driving a Mazda MX-5 Miata Spec Series car, also comprised Allan Uy, Marc Soong, and Aaron Guevara. In the Kagitingan 4-hr Endurance Race, the team finished 1st overall as well as in the Open A and Class 1 classes. In the Kalayaan Cup 12-hr Endurance Race, the team once again were the winners overall and in the Open A and Class 1 classes.

In 2022, she was part of Team MSCC Mazda Miata, and was joined by Angie King and Tyson Sy. The team drove a Mazda MX-5 and finished 1st overall as well as in the Open A and Class 1 classes in the Bonifacio Cup 8-hr Endurance Race Challenge in November. Her team also won in the two aforementioned classes in a 4-hour race.

In April 2024, she joined the 2- and 4-hour races of the 4-hr Kagitingan Cup as a driver for Ethanworx-Crane Cat Racing 1 alongside Ethan Matthew Ong and Chenee Jimenez. The team did not finish either race. In the 4- and 8-hour races of the 8-hr Bonifacio Cup in November, she was entered as a driver for Ethanworx Motorsport alongside Pep Lo, Ethan Ong, Dodie Cabasal, and Chenee Jimenez. The team was listed to have entered with a Toyota 86.

In May 2024, she participated in the first round of the 2024 MSCC Miata Spec Series held in Batangas Racing Circuit, as a guest driver driving for Shell Pro. She finished 2nd in Race 1 and 3rd in Race 2.

Flag football

Dela Merced became part of the Philippines women's national flag football team in late 2023. The team participated in the 2023 IFAF Women's Asia-Oceania Flag Football Championship and finished 6th.

Racing career summary

Complete Formula BMW Asia results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics fastest lap)

Complete Asian Formula Three Championship results

(key)

Television

Film