The first time George Proudford-Nalder hopped into a go-kart he knew he wanted to race for the rest of his life.
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The 13-year old is the current Junior Light Champion of both Orange and Dubbo Kart Clubs, won the 2022 Karting NSW Southern Stars Series and has joined the Elite Driver Academy based in Sydney.
He is also leading the 2023 event with two rounds remaining.
He said he first discovered the sport four years ago when he started watching Formula One.
"I started go-karting when I was nine," he said.
"I watched F1 races a lot and was really interested in that so we researched how they started and a lot of them did go-karting as kids.
"So we then went to a come and try day in Orange and as soon as I hopped in I loved it.
"My goal is definitely to be an F1 driver or maybe GT3 cars in Europe."
After winning further honours in the 2020 and 2022 South Pacific Titles in Orange and finishing third in the Junior Light and Performance classes at the Australasian Gold Cup, he is keen to enter the Australian Karting Championship in 2024.
With racers reaching speeds of up to 110km/h, Proudford-Nalder said he enjoyed the challenge of constantly improvising on the course.
"You've got to be switched on all the time and always thinking strategy," he said.
"If there's someone behind you you need to think of the best way to defend your kart and vice versa, if you are behind someone you need to figure out how to overtake."
Mother Amy Proudford-Nalder said she was proud of his achievements in such a short space of time.
"I'm so proud of him it's taught me how capable kids really are," she said.
"It's high stakes racing so to be able to get out there and handle that pressure, I'm just in awe really."
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