FORMER Leeton local and Griffith Kart Club member Jarrod Whitty will be taking the step up to racing in cars at the Toyota 86 racing series event at Phillip Island this weekend.
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Whitty, who has raced karts for the last six years, is keen to jump behind the wheel.
“After seeing the series launch last year we did some research,” he said.
“We were talking about where we could go to after karting and this seemed the best step forward.”
The Toyota 86 racing series was started in 2016 and features up to three professional drivers who will mentor and compete against a potential field of more than 35 drivers.
The series also coincides with many V8 Supercars race weekends where the class takes part in support races.
“It will be a great experience to be sharing a pit lane with some pretty high profile drivers,” he said.
Having started his racing career back when he was just 12, the thought of racing around a track like Phillip Island hasn’t really sunk in yet for Whitty.
“I just think it hasn’t really clicked in my head at the moment, it will probably hit me more when we start,” he said.
Whitty will take to the track in his first competitive session early on Friday morning when first practice is held for the Toyota 86 class.
The young driver knows he probably won’t make it as a professional but wants to continue to take part because of his love of racing.
“I know I am probably not going to make it,” he said.
“I am just using this series to help improve my driving ability and will see where things go from there.”