Motorsport was not on the radar for Paterson as a teenager. Competing in Aussie Rules Football and field hockey at a state level, Paterson suffered consecutive knee injuries that ended any hopes of a playing career.
What followed was a period of surgeries, physical therapy, and confinement to a wheelchair.
Paterson developed complex regional pain syndrome, which still affects him to this day.
He battled depression as a result.
“I didn’t really see a future in anything else,” Paterson told Speedcafe.
”I went through a really rough patch where I was constantly in the hospital, I was constantly at a psychologist and fighting mental battles.”
While recovering from his injuries, a race team owner and family friend Jordan Sturgess suggested that racing a Hyundai Excel could be an opportunity.
At 15 years old, Paterson and his family bought their first Excel, and it was through racing in the Queensland scene that he met Kent Quinn, son of Triple Eight co-owner Tony.
Paterson’s family race team, OTAP Racing, currently runs eight cars for several drivers ranging from teenagers to the more experienced.
As an advocate for mental health, Paterson’s goal for the team is to give people opportunities.
“You never know what someone’s thinking. They might be going through a hard time,” Paterson said, now 21.
“Being able to bring them to the track and have them drive a Hyundai Excel and running that car for them and seeing how much happiness that brings to someone is really important to me and my family.”
Through Quinn, Paterson was given the opportunity to contest the opening Aussie Racing Cars round in Sydney in 2025 and elected to keep the young charger on for the season.
Paterson became the first rookie to win an Aussie Racing Cars round in series history at Sandown last year, beating series juggernauts Joel Heinrich and Kody Garland.
A strong rookie season netted fourth in the championship standings.
Late last year, Paterson made his Monochrome GT4 Australia debut with Quinn. The pair recently announced they will contest the full season together.
The duo will compete in a Silver Am Cup Porsche Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport, a car with which Paterson and Quinn have each had success.
Paterson contested the South Island Endurance Series in New Zealand and won two races on debut last year.
Continuing in New Zealand, the pair combined to take a Silver Am Cup podium on debut in GT4 Australia when the series visited Hampton Downs for the final 2025 round.
“We did Monochrome GT4 in New Zealand, ended up on the podium in class, and we kind of just fell in love with it from there and decided that we wanted to embark on a full season,” Paterson said.
The pair will work closely with fellow Silver Am contenders Ryder Quinn [nephew of Kent] and Steve Jakic, who won outright in Race 2 at The Bend last year.
The Silver Am class continues to be one of the most competitive in the series.
Reigning champions Aaron Seton and Jason Gomersall, and main title rivals Cameron Crick and Dean Campbell are among the returning competitors in 2026.
Paterson is quietly confident that he and Quinn can build on the success shown in their first outing and be a contender in their first season.
“We’ve got very tough competitors in Steve Jakic and Ryder Quinn running out of the same garage as us,” Paterson said.
“So I think if we can bounce back and forwards with those guys and do what we did in New Zealand when we ended up on the podium, I think we got a fair shot of having a really good season.”
The Monochrome GT4 Australia season commences at Phillip Island on March 27-29 as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries.
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