New Zealand’s youngest-ever motor race winner, Jackson Culver, has now added two more victories to his short resume. Both of his recent Formula First wins came during the Manfeild Winter Series.
The 12-year-old from Loburn in North Canterbury won his first race in the junior single-seater category at 12 years and 225 days back in May, a one-hour enduro, but now he’s added victory in the shorter sprint races that make up championships.
Culver was even more delighted with his win last weekend over Hayden Lines, who finished third overall in the national series last season and only entered the penultimate of the four-round series.
“I made sure I was leading into Higgins so that I could lead down the back straight, held the inside line so that everyone would have to go on the outside if they wanted to pass, kinda blocked up into the last corner, came off good and I was over the line before I knew it,” he said afterwards.
But the biggest improvement for Culver came from working hard on his driving techniques and making sure he got everything right from inside the car.
“The in-field hairpin was important. Making sure I was getting to the right braking markers, having the right pressure on the throttle, turning in and apexing, making sure I was hitting all that so I could get a good run out onto the straight.”
The pre-teen said he also learnt a lot from watching Lines and learning from his rival’s experience.
“I followed him through practice and his lines were a lot different, I tied them and they’re quite fast!”
In the other two races held over the weekend Culver finished second but then slipped off the track into retirement in the final race after hitting unseen oil on the track.
At the previous round in July, Culver took his second win and finished runner-up in the other two races.
Competing in the winter series is solid preparation for him to have a second year in the New Zealand championship which starts in late October, with the final round of the winter series at the beginning of September.
“I still need to improve more, especially in qualifying but through the races now I’m pretty confident I know what it takes to win more races.”
The national series runs until Easter 2025. By then, he’ll be 13 and will want to move up to the bigger, more powerful Formula Ford cars.
Header Image: Geoff Ridder
