Steve Milner with the go-kart he raced to a national title at Phillip Island. 72325 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By Liam Twomey
BY day Steve Milner is the business development manager at Ace Karts in Sunshine.
However, last weekend he hung up his shirt and tie to compete in the Non Gearbox SuperKart Nationals at Phillip Island.
Despite being a relative newcomer to the sport with only five races behind him and P-plates on the back of his car, the 23-year-old drove away with the national title in the Heavy Division.
“To be out of there with the national title was unexpected. It didn’t really settle in too much at the beginning,” Milner said.
“When you first get into racing – especially in Motorsport – you are on probation.
“Generally speaking for a standard racing event I would have to start at the rear of the field no matter where I qualified. It’s just so the officials can keep an eye on you and other drivers know that you’re a bit of a newbie at it.”
As this was a national event Milner was allowed to start in the position he qualified in – which turned out to be at the front of the grid.
Across the four races of the championship he was a picture of consistency collecting one first placing and two seconds from the first three events on the card.
Heading into the final race he knew only a win would see him walk away with the title and he timed his run beautifully as he passed his rivals on the final lap to be first over the line.
“My old man used to race and I’ve always been interested in the Formula 1s. The main reason why I applied for the job here was just so I could get in and get amongst it,” Milner said.
“I’d driven a go-kart once before I started working here and I sort of learnt my way around this track here.
From there I thought I’m not half bad at this. So I had a chat with the guys and they said to come along racing and it all went from there.”
With his rookie status now shaken off, Milner plans on having a full season in the SuperKarts next year to begin working his way up the divisions and hopes to reach the Aussie Race Cars in the future.
“It’s one of those things where you never say never. I’m 23, I’m already too old for most of it. You look at Sebastian Vettel, he won his first world championship at my age. With V8 supercars it’s a little bit different. The one big thing is you need a lot of support financially,” Milner said.
“The guys here at Ace Karts are a big help, they really helped me to get through the national titles there.”
For now, Milner plans to continue making Ace Karts one of the best racing tracks in Australia.
“What we try to do here at our venue is bring that racing aspect feel to the track here. We feel like we are one of the leading Australian cart centres. People can experience that professional level.”
