TOWNSVILLE kart racer Josh Smith is heading to Europe next month as he takes another step towards his Formula 1 dream.
The 15- year- old kart racer has stepped into the senior ranks of Australia’s national karting competition and will soon race against the world’s best young racers in Spain and Italy as part of team Kosmic Racing.
Smith linked with the Australian motorsport outfit recently and has also secured sponsorship from the Australian Motor Sport Foundation rookie program, which in the past has sponsored Australia F1 driver Mark Webber and Indycar racer Will Power.
Smith will race in July’s CIK- FIA European Championships, with the first round in Spain and the second in Italy.
‘‘ It’s pretty much the strongest racing you’ll find anywhere in the world, so it’s going to be the toughest challenge I’ll have faced up to that point,’’ Smith said, who has raced competitively for eight years.
‘‘ Fitness is going to be crucial and it gets pretty hard in the gym sometimes, but hopefully the hard work pays off and I do well.’’
The Year 10 Ignatius Park College has previous international experience and he raced in the junior division of the 2012 CIK- FIA Asia Pacific Championships in Macau.
Smith also won the recent Brian Farley Memorial race in Sydney and competes in the second round of the Australian series in Adelaide next week after finishing fifth at the opening round in Ipswich.
‘‘ It was great to win my first race of the year because it’s good for confidence and also for sponsorship,’’ Smith said. ‘‘ I was one of three racers to get one of the ( Australian Motor Sport) sponsorships, so I was pretty overwhelmed when I found out.
‘‘ It’s going to be a massive help with my racing.’’
