Jett Johnson, Tom Sargent and Kai Allen are all taking part in a young driver evaluation today with the Shell V-Power Racing Team.
Beyond the morning’s scenes of Johnson sharing the track at Queensland Raceway with father Steven and grandfather Dick, the teenager has been granted a broader opportunity in a Ford Mustang Supercar.
It was already known that Sargent would get a Dick Johnson Racing evaluation at some stage as prize for winning the 2021 Australian Formula Ford Championship, and team owner Ryan Story was keen to facilitate an opportunity for Johnson and Allen while they were at it.
“All three of these young kids who have earnt the opportunity to have a steer in one of our cars today, it will give us a good opportunity to evaluate them and a good opportunity for them to interact in a professional way with the engineers and see how a professional team operates,” Story explained.
“That’s really, really important, and that’s an important part of anyone’s progression as they come up through the ranks, is having opportunities such as the one that we’re offering today for these three young kids.
“They need those opportunities to be able to get to that next step and to be able to continue their development.”
Sargent won the Bathurst 6 Hour last month with Cameron Hill and also scored a Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge race win on the weekend. Allen has been a sensation in the Dunlop Super3 Series this year, and Johnson is racing in categories including the Turtle Wax Trans Am Series.
“Jett has got the opportunity today to do a driver evaluation day and that’s something he has earnt, and the way he has earnt that has been through all of the efforts that he’s been doing with his TA2 car,” added Story.
“I mean he’s had many wins and great successes and has come along in leaps and bounds.
“He’s a very mature young man and someone we are very proud of as a team, and I know how much his grandfather and grandmother are proud of him, and Steve is still such an instrumental part in everything we do.”
Johnson, 17, spoke excitedly about the outing.
“I think the biggest thing for me is just going to be not doing anything silly today, just going out and working with the guys on what to do, what to improve on, and just roll around and do some laps and try to learn the car a little bit,” he said.
“Essentially get a feel for it really.”
On how his first taste of a Supercar compared to the more familiar TA2 Mustang: “It’s different in the sense that obviously all of the layout inside the car and right-hand drive.
“The tyre is different, the motor is different, everything is completely different, but at the same time, it feels familiar as well, driving it. It’s a bit of a weird feeling to be honest.”
Also in action at QR today is PremiAir Racing, who have brought a host of drivers slated to cycle through their ZB Commodores including Hill, Broc Feeney, Tyler Everingham and Harri Jones, in addition to regular steerers Chris Pither and Garry Jacobson.
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