Speedster Emma Gallagher is in the midst of a busy time on the kart racing scene taking out several placings ahead of events in Invercargill and Dunedin later this month.

The 12-year-old recently represented her school, Ashburton Intermediate, at the KartSport New Zealand National Schools’ Championships on a sealed track.

She won top female in the Vortex Mini Rok class and was sixth overall in a field of 17.

Emma enjoys the sport because she likes driving fast.

She started racing at age five, was really proud to have finished sixth in a really competitive field.

Ahead of the competition she said she was excited to be competing and was aiming for a top six placing.

Early this month, she competed in round two of the Christchurch Grass Kart Clubs’ winter series.

She had one first place and two seconds.

"I really loved having the pre-determined grids at a club day. The intermediate grade had a large super competitive field, so I was really happy with my results,” Emma said. 

The following day, she took on the KartSport Canterbury’s reverse track Club Day and came home with a win.

“It’s been a while since I’ve done reverse track but I found my TC Performance track notes and after a study of them I hit the track for practice on Saturday.

“I have definitely improved since the last time we did reverse track.  It was great to fine-tune a few areas before Garden Cities coming up at the end of September,” she said.

In the time trials, she placed third before gaining two wins and two seconds in the heats.  
In the final, she started in pole position and won.

“I didn’t get the best start in the final which put me back to second but I tucked in behind the lead kart and made a move with three laps to go.

“I was really happy and proud of myself for going for it,” she said.

Emma has a growing number of top accolades under her belt including a second placing for New Zealand at the NZ Grass Kart Championships in the Intermediate Standard Life Grade.

Every week, Emma travels to KartSport Canterbury in Christchurch for practices where she spends about two hour.

“I do a lot of practice,” she said.

Her parents Michael and Hayley Gallagher are very supportive of her racing.

Hayley said racing was good for Emma’s confidence.  “Emma’s racing and achievements prove girls can do anything, especially in a male dominated sport,” she said.