Newton Aycliffe based kart racer, Scarlet Whitaker Dunn, made an impressive start to her 2025 Junior Pro-kart race season at Teesside Autodrome in round 2 of the Teesside Sprint Series on Sunday 27th April.
This was her first race event in her Junior Pro-kart, having moved up from the ultra competitive Honda Cadet 200 formula, for this year.
Scarlet has had very little opportunity to test this new kart, which is quite different in that it has two Honda 200cc engines and is significantly heavier when around 20kg of ballast has been added to bring the kart/driver up to the minimum weight required for the class. She also had to master rolling starts, her previous formula only having standing starts.
Scarlet struggled through her qualifying heats with a recurring brake problem, which worsened as the races went on. Thankfully she enjoyed better luck in the final race of the day where, after battling hard for 17 laps in the blistering heat, she finished a very creditable 8th place against some formidable competition.
This achievement was even more remarkable because the engines on Scarlet’s kart are both very tired and need to be replaced to give her a chance of being competitive for rounds 3 & 4 (in a few weeks time) and for the remainder of the season. This will require an investment of around £2000.
If you are in a position to help Scarlet towards this cost then please email: mail@amandawhitaker.com as every little helps our family, made up of three generations of racers.
Scarlet said, “Even though the weekend was difficult, with ups and downs throughout, I enjoyed it, with the new experience of the race with the different kart, rolling starts and the race as a whole.”
Scarlet’s Grandad, Ron, said “Thanks to our driver Scarlet for putting in a heroic effort in her first ever pro-kart drive. She had a few tears in her first heats when an overheating brake left her with a long pedal and eventually no brakes and a struggle to the finish flag.
“With 20 kilo of ballast, an evil handling kart and no brakes, it’s just the ticket in preparation for British Touring Cars in three years time!
“Thanks also to Howard Lucas for all his help this weekend and our team Amaron staff, who never gave in.”
We would like to thank Amaron Racing, PHM (Peninsula Historic Motorsport), Carbon Arc Training and Consultancy, Grandad Ron and Rob Storey for their generous assistance and financial support, making this possible.
To support Scarlet in her journey please email mail@amandawhitaker.com.