PAIR OF PINK PLATES FOR ALEXANDRA WHITLEY AT LADIES DAY

Alexandra Whitley leading Katherine Wilson in the Clubman category. (Pic: quickpixels.com.au)

Queenslander Alexandra Whitley came away from the seventh annual Ladies Race Meeting in Lithgow, New South Wales as the big winner with a pair of pink plates on the weekend.

The event, which sees one of Australia’s longest standing karting venues turn into a sea of pink, attracted female kart racers coming from as far away as Tasmania and Western Australia. While the racing was one of the big aims for the fast femmes across the weekend, another was to create awareness and raise much-needed funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation

Competing in both the Senior National Heavy and Clubman categories, 19 year-old was Whitley was dominant on her way to victory winning nine out of her ten races contested across the two-day event. Her only defeat came at the hands of New South Wales driver Jessica Schwarz in the Senior National Heavy pre-final.

Courtesy of her domination Whitley was also presented with the Nicole Franks Perpetual Trophy as the best performed driver in the event. The trophy is named in honour of a young female racer who was tragically killed in an incident during an event at Wollongong in 2002.

It is the second time that she has taken the honour, and her pair of victories takes her ‘pink plate’ tally to a total of seven.

Whitley with one of her winner's trophies (Pic: quickpixels.com.au)

“Out of the seven times the event has been run, this year is the sixth that I’ve competed in – it’s just a fantastic event,” said Whitley.

“Sometimes it can be daunting for the girls to take on the guys on the track, but this event allows the girls to go out there and have some fun with very little pressure. What makes it even better is the fact that it’s all for a great cause.

“The racing is still very tough, sometimes the girls are rougher than the boys, but at the end of the day everyone is there to have a good time and that’s what happens.

“The atmosphere around the track at Lithgow is amazing, it’s probably the best club we go to in the country. “

Whitley travelled down to the Lithgow event with her Father and her boyfriend who acted as her support crew for the weekend and when asked if she’ll be back to defend her title an instant “for sure” was the answer.

Another Queenslander to win her respective category was Ipswich’s Donnelle Waldon who overcame Katilyn Hawkins by the narrowest of margins to claim the victory in the TaG Restricted category.

Brianna Wilson recovered from a pair of non-finishes in the opening two heats to claim the overall victory in Junior National Light, while it was the opposite for Tyra Maranik who had dominated the lead-up events only to see Wilson take the win while she sat on the sidelines.

Chloe Cosis mastered the conditions to win the Pink Plate in the Cadets category (Pic: quickpixels.com.au)

In Junior National Heavy it was Jaymi Mackay who remained undefeated across the weekend while Chloe Cosis and Tayla Harnas won the Cadets and Rookies categories respectively.

Sydney driver Sarah Collins overcame a DNF in the pre-final to win the Senior National Light category. In the Ladies National Over 35s it was Cheryl Harradine who took the win, as did Sally Poynting in the Ladies Canteen Cup.

2013 Ladies Race Meeting
January 26/27
Lithgow, NSW

Cadets
1. Chloe Cosis
2. Paige Raddatz
3. Claudia Sousa

Rookies
1. Tayla Harnas
2. Lily Bowditch
3. Eryn Osborne

Junior National Light
1. Brianna Wilson
2. Charlotte Poynting
3. Olivia Bell

Junior National Heavy
1. Jaymi Mackay
2. Ellexandra Best
3. Keely Branson

Sarah Collins won the Senior National Light category (Pic: quickpixels.com.au)

Senior National Light
1. Sarah Collins
2. Alexandra Lawrence
3. Stephanie Sandrone

Senior National Heavy
1. Alexandra Whitley
2. Jessica Schwarz
3. Monique Millmore

National Over 35s
1. Cherly Harradine
2. Jenny Taylor
3. Sarah Cosis

Clubman
1. Alexandra Whitley
2. Stephanie Sandrone
3. Katherine Wilson

TaG Restricted
1. Donnelle Waldon
2. Kaitlyn Hawkins
3. Renee Chettle

Canteen Cup
1. Sally Poynting
2. Marie Borg
3. Lauren Goodman