Top spot eludes Chelsea Herbert at LOSK event

Chelsea Herbert in action at the All Ladies Race Day.

Jan 28^th and 29^th saw Chelsea Herbert compete at the ‘Ladies Only Special Kart Event’ at the Combined Districts Kart Club, in Lithgow. Competing in the Junior National Light class (the biggest field in the event), Chelsea was under no illusions that the level of competition would be any easier than the male dominated class she normally competes in.

Leaving a sunny Auckland (finally) and arriving to a very wet Sydney was a little frustrating as it seemed every other meeting we competed at in NZ was wet. To the contrary, our wet weather racing skills gained over the year proved to be beneficial. Over the wet two days practice that was available to us Chelsea appeared to be in a class of her own and referred to as a duck and not a Kiwi.

Race day dawned and the sun shone, and as the twenty odd Kangaroos that had invaded the track overnight disappeared off into the surrounding fauna, we entered qualifying for the first time on slicks. After some stunning drives and fastest laps, a P2 pre final and a well calculated and preferred P3 start position for the CIK format final was where we started, unfortunately an off track excursion to avoid a spinning driver took the cherry of an already iced cake of what was just a fantastic weekend. After dropping back to last in the final, an inspirational drive back through the field to claim fifth was the best that we could do with the laps remaining, oh for two more laps! Philosophical though was Chelsea as it was one of the best karting weekends we have had. The event itself, too raise awareness and money for the Australian National Breast Cancer Foundation was awesome. The Combined Districts Kart Club made us feel as if we hadn’t left our home track and adopted us as we were one of their own. Everyone was very kind and supportive and welcomed our visit.

The event organisers were excited to have a NZ entry making their event a truly international one; they have invited us back next year and asked that we bring some more of our Kiwi girls along too. The event continues to grow and has become the unofficial women’s Nationals, with those winning their respective classes allowed to run their Pink plate at events!

Our hosts ‘Stones Kartsport’ supplied us with very competitive gear available allowing us to compete at the front whilst making the trip cost effective and possible for us. So for next year ladies there are a number of arrive and drive lease packages available as the boys step aside, with the lease money being donated back to the cause.

Chelsea would like to thank all those who supported and helped make the trip possible.