Aidan Curtis
A MOUNT Gambier high school student is keen to get back behind the wheel after returning from a weekend of racing on the iconic Mount Panorama track.
Jobe Stewart, who is just finishing up his Year 12 studies, has had his eyes set on a racing career since he first got a taste for life in the fast lane.
He said he was given a go on a friend’s quadbike at the beach when he was around seven and he was instantly hooked.
“I loved it heaps and mum and dad tried to get me into some form of motorsport, but they wanted to do something a little bit safer and not on dirt,” he said.
“So I got into go-karts down here in Mount Gambier at the local track.
“I raced here for three or four years, then I got into the bigger stuff, state level stuff, and then nationals in my last couple of years of karting.”
Mr Stewart said he could not quite describe what it was about racing that he loves so much, but a lot of it has to do with how competitive it gets out on the track.
Following races at a state and national level in a go-kart, Mr Stewart took the next step and jumped into the TGRA 86 series in a car of his own.
He said it was a big step up going from a Kart to a car, but it did not take long at all to adjust.
“Coming from go-karts to cars, the first few times you notice it’s a fair bit faster,” he said.
“Even at the start of weekends, you go out for the first practice session and it’ll feel a bit fast, but once you get a few laps under your belt, it gets better and better and you get more comfortable in the car.
“Then the speed doesn’t really phase you and you more focus on the technique and trying to get everything right.”
His ultimate goal, though, is to get to the top and race with the very best in the V8 Supercars.
“After this year, the next few steps to get to the Supercars level, there’s Super3 and Super2, which is a pretty big step up as far as cost and racing,” he said.
“I’m not really sure what I’ll be doing next year, but that’s definitely the plan, to get into Super3 and take that next step.
“First I’ll just try and see where it takes me and go up the ranks, see if I can actually make it to the V8s.”
He said he will continue to train hard while he is at home in the meantime and give it his all on the track to keep chasing his dream.
