F1 sensation Lewis Hamilton might be making the headlines in today’s newspapers, but tomorrow it could be a young lady from St Bees who is attracting all the media attention. Abigail Gerry is just 11 years old, but already she’s made a piece of karting history by becoming the highest placed female in the national kart championships. Last year, after competing in six arduous rounds at venues in Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Warwickshire, Dorset, Lanarkshire, and her home circuit at Rowrah, young Abbey put most of her male rivals to shame by finishing runner up behind the eventual British Champion Sam Jenkins. Although many highly talented young ladies have taken part in this competition, none of them have previously finished quite as high in the rankings.

Abbey started karting five years ago as a member of Rowrah’s famous Racing for Buttons scheme which aims to turn local primary school children into racing drivers. Within a short space of time she had acquired her own Honda powered kart capable of exceeding 50mph on Rowrah’s twisty circuit. She had to wait another 12 months before reaching racing age but it didn’t take her long to hit the front. Her big breakthrough occurred in 2005 at the Warden Law circuit near Sunderland. Here she took 4th place in the British Open Championships, overtaking two of Britain’s top drivers on the very last corner of this enthralling race.

Abbey’s performances were being recognised by many top team owners, not least of them being Martin Hines who runs the crack Young Guns outfit. Hines was responsible for "discovering" quite a few of today’s top F1 stars, including David Coulthard, Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson and the latest phenomenon Lewis Hamilton. All of these drivers had been frequent visitors to the Rowrah circuit and Coulthard was a former Cumbria Kart Racing Club champion winning a trophy that Abbey would later claim herself.

So, as we contemplate the chances of Lewis Hamilton becoming F1’s first ever black champion, how likely is it that St Bees could produce the first lady winner of this glamorous competition? That could be a long way off, but the prospect of Abbey becoming Britain’s first female Karting Champion might just be a few months away.