Courtsey of PaddockTalk.com

For the first time a female driver has earned the privilege to join the CAMS Aussie Young Gun driver development program which is a joint initiative of CAMS and Aussie Racing Cars.17 year old Kart racer Brooke Leech who hails from Sarina in North Queensland will get behind the wheel of the #20 Aussie Racing Car Commodore for the balance of this season as a lead in to a full season assault on the soon to be announced expanded and even higher profile 2011 Championship. “Here at CAMS we believe the AussieYoung Gun program is an important part of our overall strategy to create new opportunities to grow the sport’ said CAMS Manager Michael Smith, ‘the Aussie Racing Car category has a strong National series that provides a perfect platform for driver development and I wish Brooke the very best of success in her future driving career, we will all be following it closely”

Brooke has been a front runner in the Queensland Karting scene for several years now and it was her competitive spirit and sensational results to date that lead to her being noticed and the subsequent inclusion in to the Young Gun Squad.

“I am so thrilled to have the opportunity of being able to move in to circuit racing at such an exciting level, the Aussie Racing Car category is an amazing class to be driving in and the car is just awesome. I have seen the cars on TV but I never thought I would get the chance to have such a serious crack at it’ said Brooke during a recent test day, ‘I expected it to be like a big kart but it is nothing like that, the harder you drive the more grip the car generates, it seems to leap off the turns, its an incredible experience”

An adrenalin charged lifestyle is something that Brooke is familiar with. She co manages Animal Crackers Pet Store where she is the mainstay of the operation, included in her profile is doing hands on shows for the public with such reptiles as a huge carpet snake or a scary bearded dragon. She is on the go all the time and in addition to Karting she keeps the adrenalin flowing by blazing around the trails on her Motocross bike or pounding across the waves on her Jet Ski.

Jumping straight in to a race car from a Kart is a daunting experience for anyone particularly when you don’t even have a road drivers licence so to help her get up to speed she has spent a couple of days at the Performance Driving centre on the Gold Coast.

“Brooke has a natural feel for what a car is doing’ V8 Supercar driver Paul Morris said after he spent some time lapping in the school car with her, ‘the rigorous program our instructor Belinda has put her through over the past couple of days has shown her how to get the most out of a cars dynamics that will certainly transform in to faster lap times, I am very happy with her progress”

The first appearance for Brooke behind the wheel will be at Round 4 of the Aussie Racing Cars Super Series to be held at Phillip Island on 9/11 July. Keep on eye out for the distinctive liveried CAMS car that has had pink striping added to give it that feminine touch.

[News Source]