Karthaus back on her feet

By John Hopkins

Calgary racer Amy Karthaus just missed out on a podium finish in the opening Amateur 600 Sport Bike race of the CMRA season at Race City Motorsport Park May 24.

In her first track action since undergoing reconstructive knee surgery during the off-season, the Bow Cycle Kawasaki rider finished fourth after leading the opening laps on her new ZX-6R and backed that up with a seventh place finish in Amateur Heavyweight.

Karthaus was in the thick of a three-way battle for second place in 600 Sport Bike when she went over the kerbing while negotiating lapped traffic and slipped back to fourth.

“I’m a little bummed that I made a mistake so close to the finish like that, but am really happy with my lap times, as they are suspiciously the same as last year," she said. "With a new knee, and a new bike I couldn’t really ask for anything more.”

Karthaus had only picked up her new bike the evening before action began but received set-up help from fellow competitors Tim Easton, Guy Tomlinson Sr. and David Chambers.

“I really love this bike, it just seems so easy,” Karthaus added. “I really needed some help with set up, but luckily I had a ton of help from some really knowledgeable guys. We didn’t have a lot of time to get it just perfect, but I am really happy with the direction we’re heading.”