Jackson Selwood hasn’t been on the kart racing scene for long but already he’s proven he has a whole lot of talent.
15-year-old Jackson was always a little more competitive than his family and the rest of the other kids racing around in karts at GJ’s By The Lake. Turns out once Jackson hit a track outside of the family-friendly GJ’s he found he had some real talent.
“It all started just after the pandemic; mum had been looking at ways to start karting and she came across Junior Sprockets who were holding a come and try day at Newcastle,” Jackson recalled.
“We spent most of the day there, we were on the track and did some skills off the track too. Troy Hunt who ran the day had a karting team, so we spoke to him a bit more about how to get started. He told us to buy a kart, get all the gear and then come back to him.
“So, we did!”
From there Jackson did a few club days at the Newcastle Kart Racing Club, then at Lismore, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour, Dubbo and Sydney.
As he grew more confident, he moved into competing at Australian Karting Championship (AKC) events.
“My first AKC race was at Coffs Harbour and I raced two this year, one in Newcastle and then in Coffs.”
Jackson’s mum Tammy says Coffs Harbour has been testing…
“Eight weeks before Nationals last year he broke his hand at Coffs – the surgeon said it would take eight weeks to heal. We held the surgeon to that, Jackson still practiced in a cast, and it healed!
“Then this year at Coffs he crashed. I was there so when I saw it I made the mad dash to the ambulance. He was fine thank goodness!”
Jackson’s most recent win is the NSW Trophy Series Title. The title is contested over five rounds throughout northern regional NSW at Newcastle, Tamworth, Coffs, Lismore and Port Macquarie.
The championship attracts some of the state’s best drivers and heading into the final round Jackson already had the win in the bag.
“I had an unbeatable lead by the time we got to the last round; it was such a fun series.”
Being just 15, Jackson is still balancing school while working on his goal to become a professional driver.
“I have personal training on Tuesdays so I try to get schoolwork done on Monday and Wednesdays and on the other days I work on getting the kart race ready with Dad who then drives me everywhere I need to go.”
Jackson is looking ahead to what’s next, a transition to cars. He’s doing some training at Queensland Raceway and plans to compete in both karting and car racing throughout 2026.
He couldn’t do any of it without some incredible sponsors.
“JBS Scone have given me money for a new helmet, Anytime Fitness Scone look after my fitness, Warburton Real Estate is on board, as is Saunders Motorgroup and The Cottage Restaurant Scone.
“You get asked what you want to do when you get older and not many people expect racing. You can’t get the speed from anything else and it’s just so fun and enjoyable.”
| As you can imagine, karting and car racing isn’t a cheap sport. If you or your business is interested in discussing sponsorship opportunities contact Tammy: 0418 339 834 or selwoodt@bigpond.net.au |
