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Press Releases by Annette Blenkarn
August 14, 2004
Podium
Finish for Annette at her first Stars of Karting event
Annette Blenkarn finishes on the podium again. This time
at the Snap-on Stars of Karting event held this past Sunday,
August 8th, at CartBC in Chilliwack B.C. Canada.
The Snap-on Stars of Karting is both the pinnacle series
in the sport of kart racing, and is also the first step to
the champ car series. Stars of Karting is poised to establish
North American karting to allow new generations of North American
racing stars to flourish.
Annette received the opportunity to compete in this event
in the Easykart 125cc class when two drivers that were to
compete in the class this weekend were not able to make it
to the event.
"I got a call late Thursday night asking if I wanted
to try my hand driving an Easykart in the Stars race that
weekend. How could I turn it down? It was a ride at a karting
pro event and a great opportunity to drive another kind of
kart. I will race whenever I can, and this provided me with
an opportunity to do so."
Easykart is a spec class that takes spec racing to the highest
degree, with control not only over the engine and tires, but
also very limited adjustments to the required chassis. Recently,
Formula BMW USA Series has chosen Easykart America as the
first feeder series for their program.
The Easykart class competition was close throughout the whole
weekend. In Saturdays qualifying, there was less then 1/10th
of a second between pole position and Annette's qualifying
time which put her 5th on grid for the pre-final.
In Sundays pre-final Annette picked up a passenger which
resulted in disappointment; "I was making my way up through
the field when a hornet got inside my helmet. I tried getting
it out by opening my visor but then it just got further in
my helmet. It really disturbed my concentration when I could
feel it crawling around my cheek, my lap times went down after
that and I lost all positions. I just wanted to finish the
race with out a sting on my eye that would prohibit me from
racing the final".
Things went better during Sundays final. Annette found the
kart set-up had phenomenally improved from her previous sessions,
however on the first lap going through corner three, she got
a little sideways and put two wheels off. This gave her competition
a lead that she would need to catch up to. Once her set-up
came in, Annette was able to catch her competition and make
some passes. She was on the hunt for 3rd place when a technical
problem occurred with the car ahead of her, which moved Annette
into her 3rd place finish.
Annette has been storming the Northwest karting arena since
she began racing karts in late June of this year. On June
27th, with only one karting event under her belt, she won
her class at CartBC with over a 30 second lead. This win ended
up landing her a seat as an official driver for 1st Kart and
Checkered Flag Racing. Since joining her team, she's been
on the podium at club events, and dominated all of the events
at her first BCKCA Regional Race held August 1st in Quesnel
B.C. at Caribou Raceway Park.
Now, Annette is preparing for her Canadian National karting
debut August 19 - 22 at CartBC where she will be competing
in the 125cc Leopard spec class.
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