Turlinjah girls race to top

The pair last week set off on a journey to the Gold Coast to compete in a national qualifying leg of the Sodi World Series, where go-karters compete for a place in an international race at the end of the year.

Madelyne and her younger sister Katelyn got the opportunity to compete with their team, Les Femmes Kangourous, hoping to gain points in the series.

After overtaking Japan, Les Femmes Kangourous are now second in the ladies’ international ranking behind France.

Katelyn is delighted and says the event will encourage more girls to take up the sport.

“It’s really good how the Sodi World series is beginning to encourage female drivers across the world,” Katelyn said.

“It’s really giving us girls a chance to prove ourselves in a male-dominant field.

“If you’re a girl and interested in motorsports, grab the chance while you can.”

The weekend event was a six-hour endurance race, where Les Femmes Kangourous struggled with many issues.

There were several challenges, including time-consuming pit stops, black flag penalties and mechanical failures, as the sisters’ teammate Chloe Herbison explained.

“I was driving along and when I hit the rev limiter on the kart, the throttle cut out and I was shunted twice from opponents behind me,” Chloe said.

“I wasn’t going anywhere. I thought that was the end for us and our race was over.”

Due to a fortunate turn of events, Les Femmes Kangourous came ninth out of 24 karts, was fourth in the lights category and first in the all-female category.

Madelyne relished the brilliant result and the experience.

“It was really great; I really enjoyed the experience,” she said.

“With some fierce competition, I was stoked that the team finished ninth in a male-dominant field.

“We really showed Queensland what two girls from the Far South Coast of NSW are capable of.”