Benoni karting star Emma Rose Dowling continues to make waves on the international circuit after claiming her first podium finish in the United Kingdom last week.

The talented teenager, who is part of the prestigious F1 Academy Discover Your Drive – Champions of the Future Academy (COFTA) programme, achieved the milestone at the PFI International Kart Circuit as she continues her development against some of the world’s top young drivers.

The 15-year-old St Dunstan’s College learner said this achievement marked a major step forward in her rapidly growing career.

“Getting a podium internationally was a really big moment for me, as a lot of effort has gone into it on my side,” she said.

“Standing on the podium really showed me how far I’ve come.”

Competing internationally has presented a completely different level of racing from what the young driver was accustomed to back home.

“Racing in Europe and the UK is extremely tough because the drivers are very experienced, have really good race craft and are just very strong drivers overall,” said Dowling.

“I would say racing in Europe is a big step up from what I’m used to and is really competitive, but from racing in Europe and the UK, I feel like I’ve learned a lot and improved a lot myself as a driver.”

The breakthrough podium, however, did not come easily.

Dowling endured a frustrating weekend, plagued by technical problems, despite showing impressive pace throughout practice.

“Last week at PFI was quite a struggle for me mentally because we had some really bad technical luck, like my chain falling off and my sidepod coming fully off,” she explained.

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“So it was quite frustrating because in practice I was really fast and felt very confident going into the weekend.”

Instead of allowing setbacks to derail her campaign, Dowling showed resilience and maturity, fighting back strongly in the final race.

“I think overcoming those technical issues and the problems we had that weekend was probably the hardest part, but I kept my chin up, stayed focused on my side and drove the best I could, securing a podium in the final.”

The result has given the Benoni speed queen a timely confidence boost as she continues adapting to larger grids and fiercer competition overseas.

“It definitely was a confidence boost because that weekend didn’t go as planned, and it definitely put me down a bit,” she said.

“But I also think improving over the last few races has given me a lot more confidence driving with bigger grids, so I’m just going to keep my chin up, keep listening and keep improving wherever I can.”

While securing an international podium ticked off one of her major goals, Dowling believes there is still much more to achieve this season.

“The goals I’ve set are definitely to keep improving and keep progressing because where I was last year compared to where I am now is a really big difference,” she added.

“Going from racing in South Africa to racing all around the world and now getting podiums internationally is huge and one of the goals I’ve reached, but the plan is to get more podiums and more experience this season and show what I’m made of.”

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