Irish Karter Kayleigh Cole wins Formula Female Star Drive Award

Irish Rotax Max karter Kayleigh Cole has been named as the first winner of the Formula Female Star Drive, an initiative set up to showcase female talent in Irish Motorsport.
Kayleigh is the only female currently competing in the Senior Max 165 class and, despite having taken up racing less than two years ago, has already established herself as one of the frontrunners.The 15 year old from Cork impressed during the month of May with the following achievements:

 Kirkistown 5th May 2019 – P1 Qualifying, P1 in Heat and P2 in Final with fastest lap overall for the
weekend of all classes
 Galway MI Karting Championship Round 2 – P2 in Heat
 Whiteriver MI Karting Championship Round 3 – P3 in Heat, P3 in Final

The Star Drive initiative is run by Formula Female, an initiative set up by Irish Hockey Star Nicci Daly to encourage more women to get involved in motorsport. They teamed up with Ireland’s premier indoor Karting centre, Kylemore Karting to launch a new monthly award for females in all disciplines of Motorsport.
Starting in May, they name a monthly Star Drive, picked by a panel from all motorsport disciplines all across the country. The monthly winner is the subject of a press release from Leo Nulty Promotions, a feature on Motorsport.ie and a cash award of €100.
When the last monthly winner is named in September, all of the winners will be invited to Kylemore Karting for a Media Training Day, and of course, a race! The initiative aims to recognise, reward and highlight the performance of women in motorsport in Ireland.
To be eligible for the award, competitors simply have to log onto the Formula Female website and register their details.

Nicci Daly, Formula Female: “It is great to name our first Star Drive winner. Kayleigh has made quite a name for herself in Irish Karting circles already and I am sure she has a very bright future ahead. Part of the idea of this award is to showcase achievers in the sport and Kayleigh is already a great inspiration to young girls considering getting involved in motorsport. Kayleigh has been consistently running at the front of the grid and has been unlucky with some mechanical issues preventing her from achieving more podium positions and wins. We want to congratulate Kayleigh on a great month during May and look forward to seeing her continue to the top step more regularly in the Rotax Senior Max category. Well done Kayleigh, keep up the great work.”

Header Image from Marc Quinlivan Photography