11th October 2011

Percat's journey from karts to Bathurst Champ - from the Adelaide Advertiser

Nick’s our Holden hero
NICK Percat’s journey from Flagstaff Hill schoolboy to Bathurst V8 Supercar champion started like most motorsport careers – in a gokart he found in his father’s shed.
Percat was five when he first took hold of a steering wheel and instantly fell in love with the sport.
He tried football at school, but it just didn’t compare to go-karting.
Ever since he graduated to a proper racing car, the only looking back he’s done has been the occasional glance in the rear vision mirror.
And by the age of eight, Percat was racing go-karts at Bolivar and Oakbank and had become a state junior champion.
‘‘Dad (Marc) is a mechanic and he had a go-kart in the shed and wanted me to get into it,’’ he said.
‘‘Then from the first time I drove it I just didn’t want to stop.’’
He continued go-kart racing until he was 14 when he stepped up to state level Formula Ford, followed by Aussie Racing Cars in 2006 and the national Formula Ford championship from 2007 to 2009 – when he won the series.
A Sacred Heart College graduate, Percat left Adelaide to live in Melbourne four years ago when he signed with Holden Racing Team.
This season has been his first full campaign in the Fujitsu development series and also yielded two drives in the V8 Supercar pack with Garth Tander.
The first was at Phillip Island last month and the second was at Bathurst on Sunday when he became the first debutant to win the race in 30 years.
He had little time to party on Sunday night as yesterday was fully booked with public appearances, radio interviews and press conferences.
‘‘We had to drive from Bathurst to Sydney at 7.30am so Sunday night wasn’t too big,’’ Percat said.