Dan looking to make an impact
In addition to Sports Sedans, the Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia Scholarship Series is shining the spotlight on some youngsters at SMP and one of them is Ruben Dan.
At just 15 Dan is looking to begin his pathway to Supercars in the one-make category, which is staging its second round at the Motorsport Australia Trophy Tour event.
The Central Coast based driver is looking to bounce back from a tough season opener at Phillip Island where he showed pace, but was on the back foot after getting caught in a multi-car crash at Miller Corner in the opener.
Despite finding himself down in 34th after race one, the teenager still raced his way up to 10th by the final race.
The Seiders Racing Team youngster is looking to make a similar impression to what older teammate Jordan Freestone has done so far.
Freestone has backed up his opening round victory by topping both SMP practice sessions with Alice Buckley just behind.
Meanwhile, Dan has eased into things being eighth and fifth, a solid start for the rookie.
He arrives in SMP with high expectations, hungry to turn heads.
“There was not much I could do after qualifying. I made a little mistake on my end which sent me back to P6 which was still amazing for my first session,” Dan recalls to Auto Action of his Toyota debut.
Ruben Dan racing hard at Phillip Island. Image: Tamara Jade Media
“I was hoping to race forward from there, which I did but then I got involved in the crash at Turn 4. I don’t think I could have avoided it. Wrong place, wrong time.
“The team did an amazing job to fix the car and I am really happy with how I raced, working my way back up to 10th.
“I worked really hard to get to that. It is a competitive series and the drivers I am against are a lot older than I am. My teammate Jordan Freestone is almost 10 years older than me!
“It was still a great way to start the year and there are a lot of other opportunities to get podiums.
“It was a big learning weekend and I am really excited for SMP to show the big boys what I am made of.
“For me to be in the top five in the pace was amazing so hopefully we can execute round 2 and get a few podiums.”
Dan has taken an unusual route to the start of his Supercars dream.
Ruben Dan gets some hang time racing a Ginetta in the UK. Image: Supplied
Unlike most youngsters who go karting all over Australia, the Central Coast product was doing that in both Europe and America.
At just 14 he started his car racing career in the UK in the Ginetta Junior Championship where he scored two podiums to be one of the leading rookies racing on famous tracks such as Silverstone, Oulton Park and Brands Hatch.
Now back in Australia, he feels the experience in the UK has him well placed for the challenges that lie ahead.
“I am very privileged to have these opportunities,” Dan said.
“I did a full season of Ginetta Juniors in the UK which is like the best series in Europe for 14–17-year-olds and that experience helped me as I am used to the competitiveness.
“All the racing and living in the UK when you are just 14 is not easy and taught me a lot of life lessons.
“I enjoyed my time in the UK a lot but there were a lot of factors and it was perfect to come back here with my family.
“Supercars is what I want to do and where I want to be and this is the first step.”
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