New Zealand’s youngest-ever motor race winner, Jackson Culver, is moving up to Formula Ford and will contest the South Island series and the New Zealand championship early next year.
The just-turned 14-year-old from Loburn in North Canterbury will line up for the opening round of the South Island series at Levels Raceway over the first weekend in November.
“I’m super pumped, just counting down every day, really waiting for the race,” said Culver, who rates the first two corners of the Timaru-based circuit as his favourites of all the tracks he’s raced on so far, even though he’s only been there once for testing.
“I really like turns one and two. Quite tricky, but it’s definitely fun when you get it right.”
Culver made the switch from karting to cars as soon as he was 12 years old, gained a MotorSport New Zealand licence, and started racing in the North Island-based Formula First series, which uses 1200cc VW-powered cars.
He won his first race in the Formula First category at 12 years and 225 days, back in May last year.
The former karter highly recommends starting a car racing career in First and credits his Sabre Motorsport team and Dennis Martin for preparing him to move up to Formula Ford.
“Learning all the simple stuff. Drafting, learning how to heel-and-toe, and drive in the wet. It builds you up for Formula Ford, I reckon, and all those things become second nature.”
The more powerful 1600cc Formula Ford is the next step up the junior single-seater ladder, and highly-regarded race engineer and former accomplished single-seater driver Jason Liefting will oversee his 2025-26 Formula Ford campaign.
He has already coached Culver through several test days and is teaching the Year 9 student both on and off the track.
“I’ve already learnt a crazy amount, everything from the data to learning how to drive the new tracks and adapt. I’ve learnt a lot about the car as well, and what different changes do,” said Culver.
“It takes a little bit to get your head around [data], but once you get used to it, it starts to make a lot more sense and helps you go faster.”
Culver officially made his race debut last month in Formula Libre races at a local Canterbury Car Club meeting at Ruapuna, where he qualified and finished behind fast and experienced Formula Ford driver Dylan Petch, although somewhat off his pace, the youngster steadily closed the gap over the three races.
The South Island Formula Ford series has three rounds before Christmas, each a fortnight apart, at Timaru, Christchurch’s Ruapuna and Teretonga at Invercargill.
That’s followed early in the new year with the two southern rounds of the New Zealand championship, back at Teretonga and then Timaru.
Culver will race with his familiar number 12. “That’s my number because that’s how old I was when I started car racing.”
Header Image: Euan Cameron
