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Profile
Trace Lee O'Rourke
Place Of Birth: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Inspired by Cristiano da Matta, Patrick Carpentier,
Paul Tracy, Ayrton Senna, Eddie Irvine.
Australia's First Formula Rotax 125 Superkart
Champion - 7/8/03
July is a quiet period for Trace & the team
with no racing on the Victorian calender until
early August.
Trace has been competing strongly in the 2003
Victorian Superkart season after winning rounds 2
& 4 at Winton during March & recently in
May, winning all heats.
She made the trip across to South Australia for
Round 3 at Mallala during April. Never seeing the
circuit before, on her first outing on the circuit,
Trace qualified 6th out of 26th. Running in the top
10 all day, due to making various changes to the
chassis to get the best set up, she finished 5th
outright [the highest placed Victorian],
and she also set the fastest lap time for the race
meeting.
Trace will begin further testing in preparation
for the 2003 Australian Nationals where she will
defend her number one status.
And.. to the request of the 'team', we have
posted a photograph of the crew at work during a
race meeting in May 2003.
Australian Sprint Karting - Race #16
Trace decided to start kart racing in 1995, with
the aim in mind to make it to Super Speedway. She
saw karting as a stepping stone and a place to
learn the basics of motor racing.
Today, Trace still competes in sprint karts
regularly and is a member of the Go Kart Club of
Victoria, located at the Melbourne International
Kart Complex.
Her current sprint kart class is Senior
National, the class she began in and still enjoys
racing because it 'keeps you honest'.
Because of the Yamaha KT100J engine's lack of
instant power the characteristics of this engine
encourages the driver to be super smooth which
Trace feels benefits any other type of racing she
participates in.
Trace's current chassis European Dino 0299.
The Senior National class is a controlled
category run under the Australian Karting
Association. All competitors must use the Yamaha
KT100J engine, Dunlop SL1 slick tyre, Dunlop wet
tyre, and the AKA14 muffler.
Class weight varies from event to event, but
most often she competes in Pro at a combined driver
and kart weight of 140kg.
Over the years, Trace has also previously
competed regularly in Clubman Light and the Rotax
125cc class.
Her favorite tracks include her home track at
Todd Road and her most favourite event is the
Portland Street Grand Prix which she won in early
2002.
Australian Super Karting - #1
CAMS introduced a new experimental class in
Superkarting, the Formula Rotax 125cc Max and in
2002 it was recognised as an official category.
The benefit of this class is that the engine has
been well established in Sprint Karting for a
number of years, and with very minor changes the
kart & engine can also be used in Super
Karting.
Superkarting is run under the governing body of
CAMS and races on CAMS approved circuits, like
Eastern Creek, Winton and Philip Island to name a
few.
Trace is a member of the Victorian Superkart
Club.
Her first meeting was at Calder in October 2001,
where she leased a kart & engine package for
the day. Impressed with the Rotax, she was
determined to purchased her own kart & engine
and continue with this category of racing.
It wasnt until a broken rib from Sprint Karts in
early 2002, that the issue of Superkarting came up
again within the team, and with plenty of time
spent in recovery and debating future direction of
her racing, a new package was soon purchased and
was debuted at Calder in July.
In her third Superkart event she placed 3rd in a
2 hour relay race at Calder, and then at her next
race meeting, The Australian Superkart
Championship, she became Australian 2002 Formula
Rotax Superkart Champion.
Trace's current Superkart chassis is the
Australian Monarco GP4. Class weight is a minimum
160kg combined driver and kart.
Obviously her favorite track is Philip Island,
home of the 2002 Australian Nationals and her
Australian number 1 status!!
Background
1995 - Karting: Trace began sprint kart racing.
1997 - Australian Institute of Sport: During
December, Trace was chosen to attend the first
CAMS-AIS Talented Driver's Camp in Canberra.
Fourteen drivers attended the inaugural program
which included, Jason Bright, Todd Kelly, Troy
Hunt, Steven Richards, & Jason Bargwanna to
name a few.
1997 - Australian Karting Association: During
1997 and 1998, Trace represented the Australian
Karting Association & attended various motor
sport activities around Australia to help promote
the sport & encourage women to become more
actively involved.
1997 - Ballarat Light Car Club: Trace joined the
Ballarat Light Car Club and competed in the
Autocross events. She won the 1997/1998 Gardon
Motors Autocross series Ladies Class in a Holden
Camira
1998 - Super Speedway: Trace worked as the Pace
Car driver for the
1998/1999 Super Speedway Season at Calder Park's
Thunderdome.
1999 - HQ Holden - Circuit: Trace made her HQ
Holden race debut at the Winton circuit July 1999.
and later competed at at Calder's flat track in
August, and Philip Island in September.
1999 - Bathurst October - Meditrak: Trace worked
as a driver for the medical team at the Bathust 2
litre race in October 1999. "Working with the
Meditrak team was a real buzz and driving around
the mountain has given me ambition to race there
one day"
1999 - HQ Holden - Super Speedway : She competed
at Round 1 of the
1999/2000 Super Speedway at Calder Park's
Thunderdome in December
1999, and finished 5th outright in Division 2
for the series.
2001 - Ballarat Light Car Club: Trace has
rejoined the car club to compete in club
events.
2001- Superkarting
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