AWC Motorsport Academy Drivers Announced


  14 December 2015

The newly formed AWC Motorsport Academy has named a four-driver all-Tasmanian lineup to contest the 2016 Australian Kart Championship.

awc academy kart driver 2016
Above: AWC Motorsport Academy team members for 2016 (L to R) - Nathan Zuj (27, Launceston), Lachlan Dalton (13, Prospect), team principal Andrew Walter, Jackson Callow (13, Youngtown) and Brody Appleby (19, Devonport)
pic - Paul Scambler, The Examiner

The team will field two drivers in the ultra-competitive X30 Class.

After competing in the series last year, Brody Appleby of Devonport will be looking to take yet another step forward and improve on his impressive performances last year. He will jump into an FA Kart for the first time next year but has already begun testing to ensure he’s right to go from the very first lap.

Joining him will be Nathan Zuj, who has undoubtedly been the best senior driver in Tasmania for several years. Until now he hasn’t been able to race regularly outside of Tasmania but this opportunity allows him to show the rest of Australia exactly why he has been the yardstick in Tasmanian Karting for so long.

Taking a big step up is Launceston driver Jackson Callow who will pilot the team's KA2 entry. Callow has been dominant in both Junior National Light and more recently Junior National Heavy taking home consecutive Tasmanian Closed State Titles. A successful stint recently in Junior Clubman sees Jackson ideally poised to take full advantage of the opportunity next year.

Rounding out the team is Lachlan Dalton who will represent the team in the KA4 Class. After a very successful Cadet career Dalton has been in recent times competing in Junior National Light and Junior Clubman. Lachlan’s pace at the recent Tasmanian State Title proved he can mix it with the best and is certainly up for the challenge next year.

“Whilst this will be a learning year for our team, I am certain the drivers we have picked will acquit themselves very well and we are very keen to bring home some good results" Team Principal Andrew Walter said.

"There will certainly be no excuses when it comes to equipment as we believe aligning with FA Karts and James Sera Karting Centre will provide us with the right tools to do the job.

"It’s also great that Tasmanian entities like SRT Logistics and Motorsports Tasmania have realised what we’re trying to achieve here and have come on board to support our program”.

The team advised that Marcos Ambrose will be taking on more of a mentoring role within the group and hopes to share the knowledge he has accrued from over 25 years of competitive motorsport at the highest level.

“Honestly, I just can’t wait to get these kids out on the track and start testing" Ambrose said.

"We’ve picked some real hard chargers here and we’re going to have some fun next year and give this championship a red hot go.”

The team has now turned attention to pre-season testing and preparation for the first round of the series which commences at Dubbo on February 5.

The team would like to thank both Motorsports Tasmania and SRT Logistics for their support and are also looking forward to announcing some more sponsors soon.

 

Driver Profiles:

Brody Appleby
Team leader for the Motorsport Academy.  Brody Appleby first came to national prominence when he won the 2008 Tasmanian State Title in Rookies, He backed this win up in 2013 by winning the State Title in Clubman Heavy. A former Fujitsu “Cool” driver Appleby competed in the National Series in 2015 and was a consistent top ten finisher. This year Appleby takes the knowledge gained and hopes to go a few steps further towards the front of the pack in the X30 class.

Nathan Zuj
Also a multiple state champion, Nathan Zuj has been Tasmania’s premier driver for the last five years competing in and dominating the ultra-competitive Clubman Light.  Zuj has changed focus to the X30 class in recent times and has been no less dominant. This is Nathan’s chance to test his skills on the big stage and he will compete alongside Appleby in the X30 class and is looking forward to showing the established drivers in this class what he can do.

Jackson Callow
Jackson Callow has been without a doubt the standout driver in Tasmania’s junior ranks over the past year. He has collected two closed state titles and a litany of other wins since moving to Junior’s. A well noted wet weather specialist Callow will be jumping into fastest junior category, KA2 and is looking to put in a solid first year in the series.

Lachlan Dalton
Second generation racer Lachlan Dalton will represent the team in KA4. After winning a closed state title in 2013. Dalton has competed at the front of the Rookies class before moving into the junior ranks for season 2015. He performed strongly in Junior National Light and Junior Clubman at the recent Tasmanian State Titles and will no doubt be one to watch throughout the series.

 

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