About me and growing up around motorsport
Im a 16 year old that’s grown up and lived in Taupo New Zealand my whole life. Attending my 3rd year at Taupo-Nui-A-Tia Collage as well as working out at the Taupo Motorsport Park part time in weekends and after school.
Growing up in a family linked to motorsport, with my grandfather and uncle both racers, I always found myself at the track, whether it was my home track in Taupo, Manfeild, or Hampton. Naturally, I grew up wanting to become a racer as well. I was given the chance to become that when I turned 6 years old and Dad found a cadet kart for sale. It was then when I got my first opportunity to drive when we used to take it to an empty car park and set up cones for me to drive around. This sparked a love for driving and being in control for me.
Once I turned 8 years old I had my first chance to drive on track joining the 2016 Kartsport Tokoroa Cadet Racket championship which I ended up winning in my first year racing. I loved it but unfortunately stopped karting in 2017 for a couple of reasons. After this I stayed connected with the racing scene, still always out at the track and wanting to get back to racing. I knew if I did, I would have the drive and talent to be competitive. It wasn’t until after covid that I would get the chance to hop back behind the wheel; this time it was something a little bigger than the go-kart.
On the 12th of July 2024, I did my first test day with Dennis Martin, the owner of the Sabre Motorsport team, on the Manfeild backtrack. This is a test day that all the New Zealand greats have done, including Scott Dixon, Liam Lawson, Shane Van Gisbergen, and many more. I wanted to impress Dennis and everyone around me to show I had what it took to do this. Before going down, I was watching through old footage of other drivers doing the same test as me, looking at areas for me to improve and gain time on others. I got to the track early Friday morning, saw the car for the first time, and knew this is exactly what I wanted to do and what I’ve been watching for years. I got behind the wheel and set the fastest time they saw that whole year in my first couple laps out on track. I was still improving and setting the bar higher every time I went out and managed to find nearly a second, which cemented my ability, and I proved exactly what I wanted on that day.
After that, I then joined the Manfield winter series with Dennis and the Sabre Team. Joining halfway through the season, we all knew it would be a challenge, but not a challenge I couldn’t face. I finished P3 in my debut race after gaining 8 positions throughout the race distance. This was exactly what I wanted to show again, that I have the pace in lap time as well as the capability to race wheel to wheel.
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