"Looking at it now, diabetes is almost a race that's difficult to win, but you can achieve good results," the 23-year-old told The Standard.

"For me, it's now head down, arse up - as they say - and get on with life."

Speaking on the eve of last weekend's Supercar championship round at Barbagallo near Perth, Perkins said his role as an ambassador for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation gave him a chance to give something back to the community.

Perkins, the son of six-time Bathurst champion Larry Perkins, will be in Warrnambool on Saturday to meet with fellow diabetes sufferers as part of his new campaign called Join Jack's Journey.

The rising Supercar driver was diagnosed with type one abetes three years ago, at the age of 19.

A fitness enthusiast, Perkins was spending many hours pounding the pavement in his running shoes to get in shape for karting and Formula Ford events.

His hard work paid off when he joined the Fujitsu development series in 2006, finishing third in the championships.

His 2007 season came to an abrupt halt when he was diagnosed with diabetes before the penultimate round and he was forced to stand down from the series.

Perkins said he was becoming incredibly thirsty at the time and found he was getting up several times each night to go to the toilet, but put those symptoms down to the need for increased hydration during races.

His weight had also dropped to 60 kilograms and his eyesight deteriorated, so he sought help from his optometrist.

He was referred to a doctor who discovered his blood sugar level was in the high 30s rather than the normal range of four to eight.

He was immediately admitted to hospital: "At (a level of) 40 you can go into a coma."

Perkins said a specialist told him he would never be able to race again.

"It was pretty hard to take at the time, but there were people in there who were far worse off than me. There were people with no arms or legs, so I got a reality check."