WARRNAMBOOL’S Jay Coul dreams of wafting through a winding course at breakneck speed, leaving the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo in his wake.
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While the glory of Formula One racing is just a dream at the moment, the Warrnambool College student is making waves on the Australian karting circuit.
The 14-year-old is eyeing a berth in the Australian Karting Championship next year – the pinnacle of Australasian kart racing – and is expected to be one of the youngest competitors to vie for top honours.
The circuit will take Coul to tracks in Newcastle, Geelong, Melbourne and Queensland and features the country’s most decorated karters.
Coul – who is coached by 17-time Australian karting champion Dave Sera in Melbourne’s port district – finished second on his home track in the Victorian State Cup last weekend.
He was pleased to snare a place in the hotly contested field.
“I’ve been driving karts for about five years. My mum’s brother gave me a go and I just love the speed of it all,” he told The Standard.
“I was happy to place here last weekend.”
Jay’s father, Laurie, said his son was beginning to become accustomed to racing alongside national drivers.
“At least half of the guys in his group (in Warrnambool) were national drivers. That was his first senior event, so that was pretty cool,” he said.
“We’ll be progressing into seniors early. Jay will probably be one of the youngest senior drivers, if not the youngest, on the national circuit.
“He needs to get an A grade tick. It’s going to be a bit of a battle to get it but we should get it with his experience to date.”
Coul made his name with victories in the Victorian Country Series and numerous open race events over the junior years of his career.
His father said he spent most of his time working on the karts and was considering racecar mechanics as a career, should his Formula One dreams fail to eventuate.
“We’ve set it up so he does most of the work on the karts.
“It’s a good workshop here and he wants to work on them as a backup option,” Laurie said.
“We want him to learn more about the mechanics and all of it. That’s the big picture as well.
“These cars can do about 160km an hour, so they’re a weapon.
“They’re brilliant.
“He’s tied up with Shamick Racing, who have national and international drivers. It’s a good place for him to start.”
Round one of the Australian Karting Championship begins on February 10 in Newcastle, New South Wales.
