YOUNG GUN: JAYDEN WANZEK

Young Gun: Jayden Wanzek

South Australian Circuit Excel racer Jayden Wanzek showcased his future prospects by challenging leading contender Asher Johnston during the last round of the state series at The Bend Motorsport Park, but his journey started well before he was born.

By HEATH McALPINE

Wanzek was impressive when Circuit Excels supported the Supercars when competing on The Bend Motorsport Park’s West layout, he followed that form up by taking his first victory at the state round. For the overall round result, he finished third after mechanical dramas and a racing incident hampered his weekend.

“It’s really fun racing with him and it’s a credit to Asher for his really good driving,” Wanzek told Auto Action.

Wanzek is a third-generation racer, who really didn’t have a choice as he was born into a family enthusiastic about the sport.

“I’ve been interested in cars ever since I was born,” Wanzek explained. “I’ve always had a passion for it, but my family have competed in various generations starting with my poppa, who gave my dad a shot and he loved it. Then, when I was old enough my dad let me have a go in his Hyundai Excel and I’ve loved it since then.”

It was baby steps for Wanzek as he didn’t follow the traditional karting pathway rather decided to learn in his father Justin’s Excel.

“When I turned 12, I could get a Level 1 Motorsport Australia licence, which is a non-speed type allowing me to compete in motorkhanas where I learnt gears and how to drive,” recalled Wanzek.

“My dad initially bought the Excel in 2016 when I was 12 and he raced it for a while, but he always had the idea of handing it down to me when I reached the age, I could drive to give me a crack.

“When I turned 14, I was able to gain my Level 2 licence, which allowed me to participate in supersprints at race circuits. My dad and I took turns before I started beating him, so it was decided I needed a coach.”

Enter former V8 Supercar driver Simon Wills, who is using his wealth of experience to mentor Wanzek.

“We met Simon at a Circuit Excel club meeting, so we started talking to him about mentoring me and he was interested,” said Wanzek. “Not long after, he went out on a practice day not long afterwards and he started coaching me, which he has done ever since.

“He’s taught me heaps. It was to get to him early because he taught me the right way of how to drive and picked up bad habits early. He’s very disciplined about consistency and always hitting your marks and points. He’s very, very hard on that.

“He’s been great because he’s got me to analyse data and helped me read it to identify so we can see what areas I need to improve in, plus how to find those points.”

Making the leap into circuit racing has been quite an experience for Wanzek after dabbling briefly in karts before his father handed him the keys to the Excel, a car he built for $7000, but continues to be upgraded.

“Definitely, there’s a big difference between participating in supersprints to racing, the competition is fierce and learning racecraft,” explained Wanzek. “I did do one-year of karting in between learning to drive a car and motorkhanas, which that just helped me learn lines as well as racecraft, which did help me when I was ready to enter Circuit Excels.”

It’s been a learning experience for Wanzek, but he credited his opponents for fast tracking his progression.

“Circuit Excels is very, very competitive in pretty much every state you go to,” Wanzek stated. “There’s Asher, Danny Errigo, James and Tom Benford, we’ve got a good bunch of drivers that are very fast, very competitive.

“They race hard, but fair and definitely when I started out, I found out how challenging it was, though it is an excellent category to learn in.”

What’s next for Wanzek? Maybe a Porsche, maybe a Toyota, but his aim is pretty simple.

“Definitely the end goal is to be a professional driver, whether that be in Supercars or overseas,” he said.

“We’re still deciding on the next step, which will either be Toyota 86 or Porsche Sprint Challenge. We’re trying to finalise that for next year.

“Opportunities pop up and we’re not going to deny any, we hope to take them.”

This web edition of Young Guns aims to highlight some of the talent from within the junior ranks. If, like Jayden, you fit the criteria please email [email protected] with a blurb about yourself, the categories you’ve competed in, some imagery to go with the story and contact details.

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