A TEENAGER from Garelochhead has taken one step closer to her motorsport dream after buying her own kart.
Katie Anderson took up indoor karting at Team Sport Clydebank in January 2022, before branching out into outdoor karting at Larkhall Circuit later in the year.
The 14-year-old was initially taking part in a rental car championship, placing in the top 20 despite only completing five out of the 15 races in the series.
Katie’s success left her hungry to take her racing to the next level in a personalised kart.
After receiving support from family and friends, Katie has purchased her own kart – which allows her to hit speeds of up to 70mph.
She said: “It makes a really big difference because you change a lot of how you drive to fit your kart. It’s so much faster as well.
“All the rental karts are the same speed and some of them you can be really bad, some are alright.
“You don’t change the tyres either so they’re always really old. In my own kart, I can change the tyres to suit the weather so you don’t really have a disadvantage.”
Despite only getting involved in the sport 14 months ago, Katie now has 93 races and 47 podiums under her belt, including 12 race wins.
The Hermitage Academy pupil has enjoyed racing simulation games since she was young, and was also inspired by the “precision, speed, and determination” of Formula 1 drivers.
Katie has joined the LMMotorsport racing team is and now taking part in the West of Scotland Kart Club’s Junior Rotax. She hopes to move on to the Scottish Championship next year.
Her ultimate goal is to be selected for Formula Women or Formula 1, and follow in the footsteps of former Williams development driver Susie Wolff – also from Argyll and Bute.
In a bid to support her strides towards achieving this goal, Katie has taken up a Saturday job at Helensburgh’s Park Pavilion Café to help pay for costs associated with her kart.
She is also seeking sponsorship from anyone who is able to help, with mum Renee anticipating costs of up to £500 per race in the future.
Katie said: “My family and close friends are doing their best to help me through fundraising and donations but I could really do with some outside support of some sponsorship.”
Those who would like to support Katie’s motorsport journey can contact katieandersonkarting@gmail.com.
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