RAQUEL MARTINEZ WKA MANUFACTURER’S CUP KERSHAW REPORT
“Martinez wins her first WKA National of the season”

Wittier, CA (March 16, 2011) – This past weekend Raquel Martinez and Martinez Racing headed east for the second round of the WKA Manufacturer’s Cup. The series was making its debut at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, SC. The track lacked grip, but the weather was perfect all weekend long and the team was ready for competition.

One week prior to the WKA National, Raquel raced in the opening Cal State race at CalSpeed making her senior debut in the PRD category. The weekend got off to a rough start with a mechanical problem causing her not to be able to set a time during qualifying. In the prefinal Raquel went from twentieth position to finish fourth in the fourteen-lap prefinal setting fast time on the way. The final became a three kart breakaway with Raquel leading a good portion of the race. Raquel moved from third to second with a great pass on the final lap.

Raquel took this momentum to the East coast setting the pace for a majority of Friday practice at Carolina Motorsports Park. On Saturday the fourteen-year-old driver capped off the day with a podium in Yamaha Jr. Heavy. The weekend continued to get better with Raquel capturing pole position in Komet Jr. Heavy and going on to win the prefinal. Qualifying in fifth position in Yamaha Jr. Lite she made quick work of the field also capturing the prefinal victory. In the Komet final, “Rocky” pulled a gap on the opening laps and never looked back tacking a commanding victory and her first of the season. Unfortunately the Yamaha final did not go as well with Raquel fighting hard finishing in sixth position.

“This was a great weekend for the team and I knew a win was just around the corner,” commented Martinez. My tuner Corey had the karts dialed in all weekend and my P1 engines always kept me out front. I can’t thank everyone enough for their support and we are not strongly in contention for multiple National titles. I am looking forward to the next round at South Bend where we had success last year.”

To learn more about Raquel please visit www.raquelmartinez.com.  Raquel would also like to thank her sponsors King Taco, Pepsi, P1 Engines, Grand Products, Top Kart, RLV, Bridgestone, DWT, Alpinestars, MLP Imaging, Troy Lee Designs, Bell Helmets, Graphix Plus and PKS Kart Supplies.

Photo Credit:  Sean Buur