By Molly Magennis
At just 11 years old, Aiden Schweikert will be racing against Australia’s best in Karting at the end of the month.
The Altona local will be taking part in the Australian Kart Championship, a national competition consisting of five rounds taking place across the country.
Aiden will be competing in round one in late February at the Go-Kart Club of Victoria in Port Melbourne.
The youngster has always loved motorsport, and started racing when he was 10 years old. He said he looks up to Australian formula 1 star Daniel Ricciardo and up and coming driver Oscar Piastri.
“I’ve watched f1 since I was like, four or five, and also watch the supercars,” he said.
“It’s always been my dream to be in the f1, or any type of [sport] driving a car for a living, that’s definitely my goal.”
Aiden will be competing in the Cadet 12 division at this year’s championship, and says although he’s nervous for the event, he’s also very excited.
While Aiden said he does go into each race with a bit of a plan in mind, it rarely goes how he expects.
“I try and have a plan before I go in but mainly it just gets blown out the window after the start. I basically just have to wing it through the race,” he said.
Aiden’s father Justin Schweikert said watching his son during the first few laps is usually a nerve wracking experience.
“It can be a little bit scary at times…. but quite often, it’s not necessarily the fear of him being hurt, it’s more you know, [getting] through the corner because quite a bit of preparation goes into it and every race has a follow on effect to the next races because it affects his start position.”
For Aiden, his dad has been one of his biggest supporters throughout his racing journey so far.
“From the start he taught me basically everything,” he said.
Mr. Schweikert agrees that the experience is very much a bonding opportunity for the two.
“We spend a lot of time together and there are times where it’s pretty emotionally charged so we have to learn very quickly to control the negative emotions and focus on the positive.”
Most importantly, Aiden and his dad said while the karting community is small, it’s very close knit and supportive.
“Everybody helps everybody out. You know, if there’s anything that you need, and no one’s got it, someone will try and find it for you,” Mr. Schweikert
“I’ve made heaps of friends through karting who I’ve been racing against, so that’s been really great,” Aiden said.
You can follow Aiden’s racing journey on Instagram and Facebook, or through his website aidenschweikert.com.
