Young Christchurch driver Tom Alexander is preparing to take a big step up, racing an NZV8s at the V8 Supercar meeting at Pukekohe next month.
Alexander, 18, finished fourth in this year’s Formula Ford championship and sees moving to NZV8s as the best way to achieve his ambition of racing V8 Supercars.
And he has high-level support as Ken Smith, the doyen of New Zealand motor racing, is helping him learn his craft and meet the right people.
“I’ve done two years in Formula Ford and I’ve showed good speed,” Alexander said. “Now I’m looking to move up to a higher class and I’ve got two options, NZV8s or Toyota Racing Series.
“The NZV8s are the most popular with the fans and it’s easier to get sponsorship for them. My ultimate goal is V8 Supercars so it will be good to be racing in front of the Supercar paddock in a V8.”
His Ford Falcon, running in Carters Tyre Service colours, is a lot bigger, heavier and more powerful than a little Formula Ford single-seater and Alexander says driving it requires a change in technique.
“It’s a lot different from Formula Ford,” he said. “You’ve got to be patient on the throttle or you just spin the wheels.”
So far he has had one successful test in an NZV8 and will have another test day before joining close to 30 other drivers taking to the track at Pukekohe on April 12. He also tested a Toyota Racing Series car earlier this week.
Ken Smith, triple New Zealand Grand Prix winner and still a fast driver in his 70s, spotted Alexander racing a kart and offered him a test drive in a Formula Ford car. He now advises the young driver, who is temporarily based in Auckland working with Smith, on his racing and helps him make the necessary contacts.
“I like him and I think he’s got plenty of potential,” Smith said. “He’s a very smooth driver and he would be good in a saloon car [like an NZV8].”
Traditionally fast young Kiwi drivers have aimed to race single-seaters in Europe or America and some have succeeded, but Smith says that path that is now too expensive and racing V8s is a more realistic career ambition.
“To race a single-seater in Europe is almost impossible now,” he said.
NZV8s have mainly been the preserve of older drivers but Alexander is one of an influx of teenagers and drivers in their early 20s who have entered the championship this season.
Turua brothers AJ and Brad Lauder lead the class for the original-specification NZV8s and other young racers include Shaun Varney (Auckland), James McLaughlin (Lower Hutt), Mark Gibson (Taupo) and Liam MacDonald (Invercargill).
NZV8s series coordinator David Slater sees good reasons for the influx of young drivers into the championship.
“It is the top championship category, and it is a stepping stone to V8 Supercars,” he said.
“And people are realising that they are not too expensive to run, and they are not too expensive to buy now either.”
