Caterham Motorsport has appointed 20-year old karting ace, Laura Tillett, to assist with development of the new karting championship it will launch in 2013.

Tillett, 20, was the first British female to compete in the ‘KF1’ World Championship, the karting equivalent of Formula One, following considerable success on the British scene.

The Tillett family is very well-known in the global karting world, as Tillett Racing Seats are the world’s leading supplier of race seats, rib protection and karting accessories.

Aspiring racer Laura joined Caterham last week and will spearhead the Caterham kart series project, announced at last month’s AutoSport International show in Birmingham.

Caterham Motorsport Manager, Simon Lambert, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Laura on board. Kart racing is clearly in her family’s blood and her expert knowledge of the karting world will be invaluable in helping us set up what will be a uniquely accessible championship.

“Laura will be working on every aspect of our planned karting series, from race formats to technical specifications and from race venues to organisational know-how.”

Kent-based Laura will initially be based at Caterham’s Dartford factory base.

Caterham unveiled its ambitions to run a karting championship at AutoSport International. With the recent launch of the Caterham F1 team and Caterham Motorsport’s existing 25 years of experience running low-cost, high-value one-make racing series, it now has the ‘ladder’ to potentially take young racing drivers from entry-level motorsport to the pinnacle of Formula 1.

Lambert added: “We want to make motor racing as accessible as possible to parents and youngsters to whom going racing might not have been feasible before.”