Katelyn Hickey got much more than she bargained for during last weekend’s Australian Late Model Title at Sydney’s Valvoline Raceway, exceeding even her own expectations to not only qualify for the feature race, but finish inside the top 10.
Making the move into Late Models at the beginning of the 2016-17 season following a successful decade-long stint in Speedway Karts, Hickey only had five race meetings under her belt so far this season, all of which had been character-building to say the least, so it was with somewhat depleted confidence that she headed into the Australian Title.
Aiming simply to qualify for the 40-lap Australian Title-deciding feature race, this feat began to become a likely possibility for the 22-year-old racer, as she picked up two top-five finishes in her heat races on night one, before coming home eighth in the preliminary feature race. Returning to the track on Saturday night, a sixth-place finish in her remaining heat race saw Hickey earn a direct qualification into the feature race, starting from position 19.
Managing to keep out of trouble, Hickey did well to survive the extremely turbulent feature-race action, and it was her consistency that ultimately rewarded her with a ninth-place finish.
“I hadn’t had the best of runs so far this season, so I was a bit nervous heading into the Australian Title, but qualifying into the feature race, let along finishing inside the top 10, was a pleasing result,” enthused the Narellan (NSW) based racer.
“This result has given me a lot of confidence, and hopefully I’m going to be able to build on it and be able to enjoy more good results for the remainder of the season.”
Once again racing at Valvoline Raceway this Saturday night for the next NSW Club Championship round, Hickey will unfortunately be unable to contest this season’s NSW Title at Valvoline Raceway on March 9 due to other commitments.
Hickey would like to thank the following 2018-19 season sponsors: Dean’s Tyre, Brake & Mechanical Repairs, Giffen Signs, Grim Race Cars, and TS Spray Painting. Special thanks go to her mum and dad (Cassandra and Dean), her grandma (Lesley), her boyfriend (Brad Giffen) and Brett Gale.
To find out more about Hickey and her team, LIKE them on Facebook by searching KH Racing.
