At the tender age of 19 Vicki Kemp is sending the racing world into a spin. The young newcomer to Wesbank V8 racing left for the USA last week after being chosen as one of only 40 young motor racing talents from around the world to compete in the 2010 NASCAR Driver Talent Search and Shoot-Out in Sacramento, California.
Born in Port Elizabeth in 1991, Vicki started her racing career when she was just 10 years old when her father, Eugene Kemp, bought her a 60cc GP Junior kart. In 2007 she became the first girl to win a South African National Karting Championship.
Vicki successfully completed her first regional V8 event at Celso Race on the 17 April, setting a best lap of 68,1 seconds on used tyres – a remarkable achievement when you consider that she was only able to get into the car on Friday for the first time for three eight-lap sessions.
Vicki is set on becoming the first South African woman to compete in the NASCAR series.
The Shoot-Out searches for new talent and hosts a driver development programme focused on finding and developing young talent for the NASCAR Cup. Selecting a maximum of 40 drivers out of more than 700 applicants, the drivers join a three-year programme at the academy offering an extensive driving course which includes advanced driver training experience with race crews, career guidance and contact with talent scouts, driver couches, team personnel, team managers and owners.
Vicki returns on Friday the 19th of November, just in time to compete in the final race of the 2010 Wesbank Super Series at Kyalami on November 26th-28th.