By Nicole Ashby & Anita McInnes
BARBAGALLO driver Alex Rullo is set to debut as a professional driver in the country’s highest motorsport category, the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.
This year Rullo, who is in his final year at Trinity College, is on schedule to become the youngest driver to compete in the Supercars championship.
Rullo started racing karts at nine-years-old and in June 2015 was the youngest ever V8 touring car round winner and person to win a national CAMS circuit racing event, at the age of 14.
A keen supporter of the Leukaemia Foundation after his mother died from the blood disease in early 2014 Rullo is calm and focused but also ambitious.
Yanchep News Online knows this after going for a hot lap with Rullo in May last year.
That weekend in May on the Sunday Rullo lined up in sixth position at the start of race three at Barbagallo Raceway.
After starting in 13th position in race one on Saturday he had finished the 28-lap race in 15th place.
Then in race two on Sunday he worked his way up to finish in sixth place after starting in 15th position.
But he had just worked his way to fifth place in in the final race he was pushed wide and from then on nothing went to plan.
He finished 19th and the result also put him in 19th place in the 2016 V8 Supercars Dunlop Series drivers championship.
This week Rullo said the opportunity to become the youngest driver in history to contest the Supercars championship was an awesome opportunity that he was very grateful for and ready to give his all for.
He is representing the Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Team, which last year won the Clipsal 500 Adelaide event.
It’s a great fit for Rullo, as Dumbrell is the youngest team owner in Supercars.
“To be competing at this level is something I have been aiming for since I began racing, it’s a very exciting career moment for me,” he said.
“There are a lot more rounds, longer practice sessions and endurance events, which gives me a greater platform to grow as a driver.”
“I’m also honoured to be sharing the stage with some of the best drivers in the most competitive touring car championship in the world.
“I have massive respect for all them and look forward to using them as a benchmark to catch up too.”
The first round of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship kicks off on March 2 in Adelaide with the Clipsal 500.
