WARRNAMBOOL Kart Club’s Jaxon Johnstone is feeling confident of kick-starting a busy new year at his home track this weekend.
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The 14-year-old starts his karting season with round one of the Victorian Country Series, which will feature a cameo appearance from V8 Supercar driver Nick Percat, at Lake Gillear this Saturday and Sunday.
A week later the year nine Warrnambool College student will head up to Queensland to start his second full season of the Australian Karting Championships at Ipswich Kart Club.
But firstly the teenager, who was introduced to the sport by his father and long-time go kart driver Andrew, will put his focus into delivering a strong performance in the K3 class at his home track.
“I feel pretty good and pretty confident that we will do well this weekend,” he said.
“I feel like it’s a bit easier (driving in Warrnambool) because you have a home track advantage.
Johnstone completed his fifth consecutive top-five finish – four in the K12 class and one in the K4 – with a fifth place after six rounds of the Victorian series in 2018.
The Warrnambool resident also finished seventh in his first full season in the K2 class in the national championship, which included his highest race finish of seventh at the final round of last season in Port Melbourne.
But the avid go karter has put in the work during the off-season to ensure he attacks 2019 at the top of his game.
“Hopefully this weekend we can finish on the podium and in the nationals I’m hoping for a top-five finish,” he said. “I have done a bit of training and testing with the go karts. It’s mostly the kart but I have done some fitness work too. I have been doing some personal training.”
Over 250 drivers from across Victoria and Australia are expected to descend on Allansford for the club’s first meeting of 2019.
The weekend’s racing begins with practice at 8am on Saturday followed by qualifying at 2pm.
Sunday is where the action is set to heat up as the drivers put all of the previous day’s efforts on the line to try and secure an opening round victory, with 13 sets of two heats and a final scheduled to start at 8am.
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Sean Hardeman
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
I'm a sports journalist for the Warrnambool Standard who covers a number of different sports across the south-west of Victoria. I enjoy watching cycling, surfing, football, soccer and Formula 1.
