Raquel Martinez has just finished a successful 2009 season exceeding her goals.  It has been a big jump for her moving back into the National scene in the TaG Junior category competing in the Championship Karting International Series along with select IKF and WKA Manufacturer's Cup races.

Raquel surprised everyone at the opening round of the CKI series at New Castle by qualifying second.  Showing strong in all of the heat races she would start second for the prefinal.  In the the prefinal she fought hard to finish third.  The final was going very strong until she was forced off track, but she recovered very well to finish an impressive sixth in only her second race in the TaG Jr. category.

Round 2 was held at the new New Jersey Motorsports Park and once again Raquel showed her speed by qualifying second.  The heats went very well with a win in the final heat.  The prefinal and final did not go as well with a seventh in the prefinal and she was involved in an opening lap incident in the final.

CalSpeed in Fontana, California was host to Round 3.  Qualifying in the eight position, Raquel knew she had hard work in-front of her in the heat races.  Starting sixth in the prefinal Raquel lost a few position in the beginning of the race and was never able to recover finishing eighth, but she knew she could turn things around in the final.  The final got off to a great start picking off drivers one by one.  Just after turning the fastest lap of the race at that point in the race, Raquel moved into fourth position, but would be betrayed by her engine losing the chain.

The final round of the Championship was held at the Oklahoma Motorsports Complex in Norman, Oklahoma and Raquel returned to the front of the pack qualifying in fourth position.  Starting in fourth Raquel held her position throughout the race giving her a solid starting position for the final.  Running the leaders early in the race, Raquel was pushed off the track in Turn One and was forced back to fifteenth.  Determined to keep a top five in the championship, Raquel charged up to eighth and secured fourth in the inaugural CKI Championship.

Raquel has also competed in numerous IKF and WKA races this season with multiple podium finishes.  Her best result came at the final round of the WKA Man. Cup in Charlotte, NC where she finished 2nd in Yamaha Super Can heavy.  Just two weeks following the WKA race she headed out to Las Vegas, Nevada for the SKUSA SuperNats to compete in TaG Jr.  In what is considered the biggest race of the season, Raquel qualified a solid ninth.  Moving up in all of the heats she gave herself a sixth starting position for the final.  An incident in the first lap forced her back to fifteenth, but she would not quit and battled back to finish seventh and set the second fastest lap of the race. 

2010 will be a busy year for Raquel competing in four different series.  Working with her tuner and coach Chris Wehrheim, the season will start off December 28th where she will head to Daytona Florida to compete in the WKA Man. Cup series.  Throughout January, February, and March Raquel will be focused on the Gatorz Challenge of Americas.  She will also be returning to go after the Championship in the CKI series where she will compete in TaG Jr. and KF3.  The team is also working on plans to compete in select WSK events in Europe.