Tiffany Chittenden has an enviable motorsport record as the only woman to have won the British National Karting Championship, and she’s showing her skills on New Zealand race tracks.
The Brit has also raced Porsches, Aston Martin GTs and has worked with some of the world’s leading manufacturers, including Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin and Bentley.
Chittenden’s father, Mike, raced Touring Cars and her mum, Michaela, was involved with the Vanwall Formula One team during the 1960s.
As well as contesting the Porsche Carrera Cup Championship in the UK, Chittenden also put in two seasons racing in the Great Britain Aston Martin GT4 Challenge, picking up the odd podium finish and winning the Aston Martin Challenge in 2011.
Such was her pace, Chittenden was invited to test Formula Ford, Formula Renault, Formula 3 and Sports Prototypes. She also attained her International Race Licence, became an Association of Race Drivers School Level A instructor and a Motorsport Association performance driver coach.
So, what is she doing in New Zealand?
“I met my partner Matt [Hamilton, a successful Kiwi karter and race car driver] at the world finals in 2010 where he was racing,” she told Driven.
“We had a bit of a long-distance thing going when I decided to come over here and give it a go and see if I liked it or not. That was just over a year ago and I’m still here.”
The move paid off and the Christchurch-based racer qualified for the New Zealand team that went to Valencia, Spain, in November 2014 for the world finals of the Rotax Max Challenge.
“I wasn’t doing much racing in the UK and to be able to get back in a kart and do what I love has been fantastic, especially being able to qualify for the world finals. It was a tough year, though, as you [NZ] don’t have the class [D2 gearbox Rotax] I used to race back in Europe.
“Therefore, I had to jump into a Rotax Max Heavy to race for the chance to get a ticket for the finals, but that meant I had to carry 42kg of lead. That was a bit of a challenge, especially at tracks I’d never been on before.”
When not racing Chittenden works with youngsters who are keen on karting and it is something she really enjoys.
Racing karts and helping others to learn the art and race craft isn’t as glamorous as racing Porsches or Aston Martins, but the 32-year-old loves the cut and thrust of karts and the amount of seat time she gets.
“I love karting. A lot of people think it’s a stepping stone to other things but it’s not. In karting you get to do a lot of racing with all the practice, heats and then the finals.
“I can remember my first Formula Renault race where I only had one 15-minute session in the car before going straight into the race and then having to wait around for three hours for the next session – and then that gets red-flagged after a few minutes.”
Being a woman in a male-dominated sport made Chittenden more determined to succeed.
“A car doesn’t know who’s driving it and I think there aren’t as many women racing because more young boys are steered towards the sport than girls. Therefore, you don’t see that many woman racers at the very top simply because there aren’t that many doing the sport compared to men,” Chittenden said.
There’s a bit of unfinished business for her in 2015. She wants to get to the world finals again, and win a New Zealand championship – and now she’s got a year’s racing under her belt, who would bet against her?
