From 13 Year old school boy to NZ's next Motorsport Young Gun in 2 weeks!

Liam Lawson, a name that not many have heard, but will be hearing soon! Liam recently won the SpeedSport Scholarship (worth $50,000), which Nick Cassidy, Richie Stanaway and Shane Van Gisbergen all won at the start of there racing careers, so its a big deal! But last weekend he had the chance to prove himself as the next 'Young Gun' in New Zealand Motorsport, and he certainly did that! Just two weeks after winning the scholarship! Track Torque NZ had to opportunity to follow Liam through his first race weekend, read more to see what it took to go from School boy to Winning Race driver in 2 weeks.

Liam arrived at the track with two very noticeable things; Excitement and Focus. So excited that he was always in the car at least 10 minutes before anyone else and spent a lot of the time sitting in the car visualising the track, practising heal-toe and gear changes. The first practice was up, Liam's first drive on "the big track" went perfectly, the practise start was successful and the car was brought back in one piece and his lap times were good. Three more practices and Liam had made good progress and was starting to figure out how to use the slipstream to get a 'tow' down the straights. The fifth and final practise approaches and its raining. Perfect! No seriously, having wet track conditions to experience on your first race weekend was a great experience to have. Liam proving himself again not spinning or going off once in the testing conditions, even though 2014 Scholarship Winner, Brook Reeve, had a spin on his cool down lap. So day one of car racing over for Liam, no spins, no stalls and no damage! Not much more you could ask for! Sunday morning, and I arrive at the track to see Liam sitting in the car again visualising the track and practising heal-toe and gear changes, I thought wow, this guy is keen! Qualifying is up and he is straight into it, setting the 3rd fastest lap early on in the session resulting in him scoring a third place start for race 1 and eventually race 2. This session was not smooth sailing however as Liam was faced with his first 'Accident' not his own however, he had to avoid a car spinning right in front of him, leaving all the crew to watch in disbelief as he somehow avoided smashing straight into him. You can watch Liam's close call below on his Qualifying Video. Its time for his first race and Dennis Martin (team owner) is telling him not to worry if he mucks up the start saying he wouldn't be the first person to muck up there first start. He didn't need to worry, he got a perfect start, didn't even drop a position! After some good battles Liam came home in third just behind Arran Crighton after being caught out by the draft on the final straight and team mate Brook Reeve taking the win. One race down, two togo! Race 2: Again starting on P3 Liam was looking to improve on the previous races already impressive result, although this time he had to remember look at his gauges for his 'homework'. A few small mistakes cost him a shot at P2 however Liam again finished 3rd after passing Liam Foster under brakes on the final corner, team mate Brook Reeve claiming the win again. After the race I had a look at Liam's notes and one thing I noticed was he wanted "more top end speed". I thought "of course, he's not a racing driver is he doesn't want more raw speed from the car!". In fairness however, Liam's car was lacking top end speed on the other cars even his own team mates. So having established that Liam was no slouch and he only wanted more speed, his chances for another podium position looked good for the third and final race, these chances increased when he was confirmed to start on pole! So the weekend isn't even over and this kid had already racked up two podiums, a pole and hasn't put a scratch on the car! No better way to start your car racing career. Race 3: Starting on pole. Liam's Race start was good, but within a few laps, team mate Brook Reeve had caught up and joined the now 3 way fight for the win between Liam, Brook and Arran Crighton. Final lap and Liam is behind Brook on the back straight, getting the draft. Gaining on his team mate. He's got him! He's past him... just! The entire pit wall lights up with cheers and claps for the rookie who is looking likely to win his first race, on his first race weekend! It wasn't over yet however, the drag to the finish had began, Lawson on the inside, Reeve on the outside. The team excited yet nervous, will it be there rookie driver or there slightly more experienced team driver? They cross the line. Its too close to call, everyone turns to Dennis as he awaits the live timing to refresh. "Liam got it... by 0.005s!" he announces. Everyone cheers, claps and celebrates. What an amazing race we just witnessed, 'An Absolute Epic' I thought to myself. Liam enters the pit lane collects his chocolate fish for winning and is flooded with congratulations from crew members from his team and competitors teams. Its the same when he returns to his pit area. "Awesome!" Is all he could say when I got to speak to him. "It was a great experience with the team, getting to learn from Dennis and race Brook was great." Sabre Motorsport team owner, Dennis Martin, summed the result up in one word; "Astonishing". Later adding "I couldn't have asked for a better result from Liam. Once he gets experience in the racing techniques of these cars I'm sure he'll be taking it to the more experienced drivers. With Liam and Brook competing this year, I think we're in for an exciting season ahead,". Through-out the day other competitors and spectators passed by the Sabre pits and chatted to the crew, one thing that was often said was "wow this kid is living the dream!". While Liam is living the dream he has the focus, skill and determination to win and I am sure he will be mixing it up with the front runners in the main Formula First Championship set to kick off later in the year.