Junior Racer Hits 300 Races in 2.5 Years

Last week marked an important milestone for one junior racer at our Santa Clara location – Charlotte, a nine-year-old junior racer, just reached 300 races with us! And if that race total isn’t enough to blow you away, she’s recorded this tally in only two and a half years. As a result, Charlotte now finds herself in the national K1RS Top 50.

Home for Charlotte is San Jose, California, so you’ll most often find Charlotte wearing her bright pink helmet at either our Santa Clara or South San Francisco location – setting weekly and monthly junior lap records. Charlotte is also a regular in our Santa Clara Junior League. She completed every round last year and is competing once more this year. In fact, she finished just outside the podium in the first Junior League race last month.

The next racing challenge for Charlotte is outdoor karting. Her father, Chris, recently gifted her with a go-kart and a custom K1 RaceGear pink racing suit to match her helmet.

We had a chance to interview Charlotte via email recently, where the young racer opened up about how she began racing, what she likes about K1 Speed, and what her aspirations are.

K1 Speed: Charlotte, how did you get started in racing? Was it at K1 Speed or from attending a race, or..?

Charlotte: My first time racing was at K1 Speed in Santa Clara when my dad took me when I was in 2nd grade.  I thought it was fun, but I didn’t get competitive until my dad brought my older cousin along. I got beat by my cousin and had to prove myself that I can beat him in the future. I asked my dad to bring me more often and after practicing many times, I was able to beat my cousin. And he has never been able to beat me ever since – unless I let him.

K1S: Do you watch or follow any motorsport series? If so, what’s your favorite?

C: I don’t watch any series because I spend most of my free time at K1 Speed or playing a racing video game. But, I watched an F1 race once last year and I want my own go-kart to be the same colors as Force India (pink and black).

K1S: What do you like the most about racing at K1 Speed?

C: I like the speed of the go-karts because going fast is exciting. I like learning about how to drive faster and improving. I like trying to beat my own best lap time. Also, the people that work there are always nice and friendly.

K1S: I see you’ve only been racing at K1 Speed for the last 2.5 years – quite the number of races in such a short time! How regularly do you visit?

My dad takes me to K1 Speed almost every week. Sometimes more than one time a week. Each time I go, I try to do 3-6 races. I do Junior League races too. I also like going to different K1 Speed tracks because they are all different. I’ve been to San Francisco, Dublin, and Torrance, but spend most of the time at Santa Clara.

K1S: Do you have aspirations of becoming a professional driver or is this more just for fun?

C: I want to become a professional racer when I grow up. I practice on a racing sim pretty often after doing homework from school. My dad just bought me a new go-kart and I’m excited to try racing outdoor go-karts this year for a different experience.

We wish Charlotte the best of luck in her future races at K1 Speed and on the outdoor tracks! We’ll definitely keep an eye out for her when we open our first outdoor course later this year!