FIA - Female Kart Racer Receives Joint Award From Women And Motorsport Commission

Female Kart Racer Receives Joint CIK-FIA Women & Motor Sport Commission Award

Beitske Visser, from the Netherlands, has been honoured at the CIK-FIA Awards Ceremony in Paris last night. The 16 year old female kart racer was deemed by the members of the Women & Motor Sport Commission to be the most deserving recipient of this new award, and was presented with her trophy by Commission President Michèle Mouton for her achievements in the 2010 CIK-FIA Karting Championships.

Beitske Visser said: "I am very happy and proud to receive this FIA Women & Motor Sport Commission & CIK-FIA Karting Award, especially in its very first year, and also because the level of competition between the girls involved in international karting in 2010 was especially high compared to previous years. It is good to be awarded a trophy as the best female driver, but the real challenge for me remains to beat the boys on the track! When I compete, I feel myself as a racing driver, not as a girl.

"In 2011, I plan to step up to the KZ1 class, which is even more competitive than KZ2 which I raced during the 2010 season. I will enter the CIK-FIA European KZ1 Championship and the World Cup for KZ1. Of course, I hope for the best, even if I know the challenge is even bigger. Then, as from 2012, the plan is to compete in cars. My goal is to reach Formula 1 one day."

During 2010, Beitske contested the CIK-FIA European KZ2 Championship and became the first female driver to ever win a European Championship round in a gearbox class when she beat 52 other racers to win Race 1 at the second round of the series in Varennes, France. At the conclusion of the four-race Championship, Beitske was classified fourth overall from a field of 82 racers, a significant achievement for such a young aspiring driver.

Michèle Mouton, President of the Women & Motor Sport Commission said:

“The mission of the Women & Motor Sport Commission is to encourage, support and promote more women in all aspect of the sport, and our objective for the next three years is to concentrate on competition. Karting is the grassroots of motor sport. Awarding a trophy to a young promising girl is a symbol of encouragement for more girls to persevere, not simply a reward for a purely feminine achievement; there is still a long way to reach the top in this highly-competitive sport."