Lachlan Tombleson is hoping to emulate his Australian success at the World Grand Finals in Portugal this month.
At 14 years old, Taupō's Lachlan Tombleson has become the youngest driver in Australian history to win a round of the national karting championship.
By Dan Hutchinson
Tombleson has been racing karts for about seven years and competes in a class where 14 is the minimum age.
“I'm the youngest you can be in the class. Most of them are like 20s, mid-20s."
Mum, Anna Tombleson, could not be prouder.
"He actually broke the Australian record for the youngest driver to win a title."
He's just secured his ticket to compete at the World Grand Finals in Portugal this month.
The class he competes in has drawn comparisons from Formula One drivers.
"If you hear some of the Formula One drivers speak, they're like saying what's the closest thing to an F1 car — it is the class I'm driving right now," Tombleson says.
Reaching speeds of up to 152 km/h just centimeters from the ground, Tombleson is clear on what's driven his success. "Just practice," he says.
"Always talking to your dad about what we can do to get better, or your mechanic, whoever runs you."
He has a small, dedicated team behind him. Dad, Nick, is a regular presence at the track, while Matt Kingsman of IKS Karts — New Zealand's distributor for Sodi Karts — handles coaching, engine work and mechanics.
Lachlan does his homework before arriving at a new circuit, using simulation software and video footage to get familiar with a track before he's driven it.
"Every time I'm going on a new track, I make sure I find video and try drive the track on the sim if I can."
He races regularly at the Tokoroa track and recently competed at the North Island Championships in Hawke's Bay.
Tombleson plans to spend one more year in karts before moving into cars — starting with Toyota 86s, with TA2s or the Super 2 series potentially to follow.
Anna Tombleson says the family is now focused on building Lachlan's profile and laying the groundwork for sponsorship.
"He's doing his social media, and it's about now trying to build those relationships with people and get them on the journey now … to hopefully get that support a bit later on in the cars."