My Story

I have always loved motorsport and intended to race professionally. I am always on the look out for new options and am always open to all and any possibilities.

I began racing competitively in 1993 as a member of the Manawatu Kart Club. I took out my first NZ Kart Nationals in 1995 at the age of 9. I continued racing Karts through to 1999, winning most major events including the National Kart titles in Midgets, Cadets and Junior Restricted.

At 12 years old I became the youngest licensed race car driver in the world. I competed in the Formula First National series claiming race wins and a lap record. At 13 I competed in the Formula Ford Championship, finishing 4th in my first year in that series.

Strong results influenced winning an AMP Premium Scholarship, which recognises and rewards those who demonstrate the ability, application and attitude to succeed. In the same year Motorsport NZ awarded me the Steele Trophy for the most promising up and coming driver under 21 years old.

2001-2002 saw solid results in the Formula Ford Championship. In 2003 I took out the fiercely competitive New Zealand HQ Championship and 2nd place in the Australian Grand Prix Formula Ford support race. I was awarded the Motorsport NZ Bruce McLaren Scholarship for ‘Outstanding Driver of the Year’. This gave me the opportunity to travel and work in England for the McLaren Formula One team, based in Woking.

I left Palmerston North Boys’ High School the following year after completing four years study and enjoyed representing the school playing first eleven hockey. Later on that year I was awarded a scholarship by the Prime Minister of New Zealand and undertook an Automotive Technician's course in 2004.

In the same year I received the Team USA Scholarship and Steve Horne prize for Outstanding Driver in the 2004 Formula Ford International Series. As part of the scholarship I travelled to America competing in a round of the Barber Dodge Championship Series, winning Rookie of the Round. I also had time to graduate from the Motorsport ‘Academy of Sport’ in New Zealand.

2004-2005 along with Ash Cairns/Cairns Bins, we ran in the inaugural Toyota Racing Series winning round two and finishing fifth overall. After that, Ash and a number of local businessmen chipped in to pay for a drive in a couple of the Australian V8 Ute Series rounds. I qualified fourth and finished fifth overall in the first round at Wakefield Park. At Eastern Creek two weeks later, I qualified on the front row of the grid, won the first race and broke the lap record.

With a driver vacancy in the Kanga Loaders Ute, I was quickly offered a drive for the remainder of the season. To fulfil this commitment I relocated to Australia and after a brief stay in Melbourne, I moved to the Gold Coast to be employed by Kanga Loaders as an apprentice Fitter and Turner.

In 2006 I progressed into the V8 Supercar Development Series racing the Kanga Loaders AU Falcon. To finish in the top ten in my first outing in a Supercar at Adelaide was a great way to kick the season off. After six rounds of the series, the highlight of my debut V8 Supercar season, was an invitation to pilot the TKR Commodore in the inaugural ‘main game’ round in Bahrain, where I raced alongside Australia’s elite motor racing stars like Skaife, Lowndes and Ingall.

I kicked off the 2007 season in a Ute. I broke the lap record during round one at Clipsal. I then secured a drive in the Bathurst 12-hour event racing a 335 BMW. A competitive weekend led to a V8 Supercar Enduro drive with Paul Morris Motorsport. I partnered Fabian Coulthard at Sandown finishing 19th and Bathurst 16th. I completed the year racing in the V8 Supercar Development series finishing fourth at the final round.

2008 was a trying year. I took part in 4 main game rounds, Eastern Creek, Winton, Phillip Island and Bathurst, driving for Team Kiwi Racing. Following this most of 2009 was quiet until Ash Cairns invited me home to New Zealand to race in the 2009-2010 NZ V8 Ute Series. We achieved great success winning the NZ Championship convincingly collecting a number of lap records along the way. I was fortunate enough to be invited by Big Gun Racing to co-drive with Peter Burnitt in the CNW Falcon Ute in the 10 year anniversary event at Clipsal. Finishing 4th in the final race and regaining the lap record I held in 2007 made a great weekend. The highlight for the season was the Trans Tasman V8 Ute Challenge around the Hamilton Street circuit. To win the challenge was the icing on the cake to end the New Zealand season.