Karting Ace Madeline Stewart Behind New Wheels

New Zealand karting ace Madeline Stewart, 18, will race for Australia’s Brad Jones Racing in the Super3 Supercars series this season.

The teenager has spent nine years in karts, most recently competing in KZ2 in Australia and New Zealand as well as overseas trips to the CIK Asia Pacific Championship in Macau and the SuperNationals in Las Vegas.

She’ll now make the transition into cars, and rather than taking a traditional path through junior open-wheelers she’s jumping straight into a BJR Holden Supercar in the third-tier Super3 series.

Stewart has already begun testing the Commodore in anticipation for the first round at Phillip Island next month.

“It’s been a challenging learning curve getting behind the wheel of the Super3 Commodore,” Stewart said.

“It’s a big deal going from karting straight into Super3. Most people will go through Formula Ford or Toyota 86 first, making the transition a little easier.

“I’ve had to learn a lot about how to make these cars work and the way my inputs can make a big difference in how the car handles.”

Stewart attended Queen Margaret College in Wellington.

Original article by Andrew van Leeuwen, Motorsport.com, March 5, 2019.