Tiffany burning up the karting circuit
Four years after starting karting, Tiffany is nearing the end of her second season with the BirelART team.
Despite only being in her fourth year of kart racing, Tiffany Napier caught onto the sport fast, and is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Sixteen-year-old Tiffany started karting when she was 12. According to her father, Craig, motorsport is in her blood.
“Her brother, myself and her sister all used to race, so it was only natural for her to take it up and learn pretty quickly,” he said.
Within four months of her beginning to practise in March 2015, Tiffany took part in her first race in July that year. No more than a year and a half and her first national championship later, Tiffany joined her first racing team, BirelART, in early 2017.
Fast forward another year and a half, and Tiffany is nearing the end of her second season with BirelART. She has been racing in the Junior Max category (ages 12–16) every year, and according to her father they chose to keep her in the same category this year to gain more experience.
“We could’ve moved her up to the Senior Max category, but because most other drivers already started when they were close to five years old and Tiffany a lot later, she has a lot of experience to catch up on,” Craig explained. He also admitted that it’s been quite a tough year, but did mention that the experience has been extremely important.
Her last race was a national event at Killarney Raceway in Cape Town on 11 August, where Lady Luck dealt her a bad hand.
In the final lap of her qualifying (flying) lap, the driver in front of her experienced technical issues, which forced Tiffany to abandon her flying lap. This meant she had to start in 14th on the grid, way back in a very strong field.
“I really felt that I had found some good pace before qualifying, but unfortunately, circumstances just didn’t allow for a flying lap and I really paid for it all weekend,” explained Tiffany.
Reflecting on this season, she stated that, “It really has been a season of highs and lows, but that is the nature of the sport. I am too determined to give up and am looking forward to the final round at Zwartkops”.
The next step for Tiffany will be the final Northern Region race in Vereeniging on 1 September, with the final national race at Zwartkops Kart Raceway on 30 September.
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