There's a photo somewhere of me at nine years old, standing on a podium at my home track in Palmerston North, New Zealand with a grin that probably took up most of my face. I'd just won my first race, a go-kart race in a Vortex Mini ROK, and even then, I think I knew this was it for me. Palmy's competition is no joke. Winning there meant something real.

That win ended up being a springboard. I carried the momentum all the way to the WPKA Gold Star Championship, where I won the final round of the series and, with it, the entire title, helping me to springboard from club to national racing. Not a bad way to wrap things up.

Learning to drive in the rain

Fast forward a few years, and I'm lining up for my first Formula First race at Manfeild. I'd made the jump from karts to an actual race car, and I thought I knew what I was doing.

I didn't.

It was pouring rain, absolutely bucketing down, and I'd never driven a race car in the wet before. A kart in the wet and a car in the wet are completely different animals. I tried to launch off the line like it was a dry day, botched the start, and found myself clawing my way back through the field. Somehow, I managed to get to the front and take the win. It wasn't pretty, but I'll take it. That race taught me more in a handful of laps than months of dry-weather testing.

Standing on a podium with my childhood hero

If you ask me for my most memorable moment in motorsport so far, it comes back to Round 1 of the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship in 2023 at Hampton Downs.

I was racing against Greg Murphy. That Greg Murphy. A man I'd watched and looked up to my entire life. The whole weekend had been a mess; battery failures, gremlins, the kind of mechanical chaos that makes you question everything. But we finally got the car sorted for the last race of the round.

I won.

And then I stood on the podium next to Greg. My first Formula Ford win. Against a legend. I genuinely had to remind myself it was real. That's the only way I can describe it, a proper pinch-me moment.

What comes next: the Mustang GT4

I've just finished high school, and I've signed with Miedecke Motorsport to race the #95 Lubrimaxx Ford Mustang GT4 in the Australian GT4 Championship. Saying that out loud still feels a bit surreal.

"This is the best team I could be with, especially being fresh off a Formula Ford championship," I said when the deal was announced, and I meant every word of it. Miedecke has delivered two strong seasons, and that's the environment I want to be in, a team that knows what it's doing, where I can absorb everything around me and grow fast.

I tested at Phillip Island recently, and I won't pretend it wasn't a shock to the system.

The physics of the Mustang GT4 are the biggest hurdle I've ever faced as a driver. Going from a lightweight open wheeler to a car with ABS, traction control, and more than three times the weight is a massive shift. The best way I can explain it is that you have to be smoother in the macro, but rougher in the micro. It sounds like a contradiction, and honestly, it kind of is, but the Mustang is front-engined and has a lot of "soul" to it. It rewards precision around weight transfer in a way that Formula Ford never demanded of me. Finding that last one percent of pace is a technical puzzle I'm genuinely excited to solve.

I adapted quicker than I expected. I think that gives me confidence heading into the season.

The path I’m walking

My role model has always been Brendan Hartley. Over my Formula Ford years, I've built a good relationship with his father, Bryan, which has meant a lot to me. Brendon's journey, from junior formulas all the way to the World Endurance Championship, is exactly the kind of path I want to follow.

The WEC is my goal. Not next year, not the year after, but that's the destination I'm pointing towards. Right now, GT4 is the next step on that road, and I'm taking it seriously.

When that helmet goes on this season, the goal is to win. But I'm also realistic, I'll learn as much as I can, stay out of trouble, and put myself in a position to be competitive as quickly as possible. The Australian GT4 field is no joke, with world-class drivers coming in from all over. That's exactly the kind of challenge I want.

The Mustang and I are just getting to know each other. But I've got a feeling we're going to get along just fine.

More than 34 cars are expected to race for honours when round one of Monochrome GT4 Australia gets underway at the Shannons SpeedSeries at Philip Island, Victoria, Australia from 27-29 March.