Kart Racing: Four locals shine in Coast 2 Country race meet at Dubbo

The Tamworth-based 17-year-old was there to compete in the Coast 2 Country series held by Karting NSW, and was struggling to come to grips with the ins and outs of the track the Friday before the competition.

"There was frustration that I hadn't seen in Jake before," his father, Phil Salvestrin said.

"He'd come off the track a couple of times during practice. But like he does, he puts his head down, just tries, and gets it right."

When it came time for qualifying, Jake's determination had paid off. He finished in pole position, and went on to win all four races over the weekend, including the final.

He was closely followed, and almost beaten more than once, by younger brother, Sam, who finished second in all four races of the Tag Restricted Light Class.

The Salvestrins were two of the four members of the Tamworth Kart Racing Club to impress at the event, as Tyler Budden won three of four and placed second in the final, while 12-year-old Angus Maxworthy was second in three of four in his division, including the final.

"He loves a challenge," Angus' father and club secretary, Jason Maxworthy, said.

"We went over there a little bit nervous, being [Angus' first race in the Junior Light Class]. We went there with no expectations, and he really blew us all away."

As teenagers, the Salvestrin brothers were two of the youngest and most inexperienced competitors in their class.

The pair raced against grown men, many of whom had years of experience, but their father believes their friendly sibling rivalry helped spur them to excel.

"They weren't really sure how they would fare, but they were confident by the end that they could at least compete," Phil said.

"We'd looked at previous results ... and we seemed comparable. There was a bit of hope that they would be there or thereabouts."

Angus, meanwhile, was so new to his class that he had only spent as little as two hours in the kart prior to the competition.

But with the help of Brad Cady Engineering on the kart and the tutelage of the NIAS Future Stars program, the youngster was well-prepared and is now filled to the brim with confidence after his string of good performances.

"We've already entered the State Titles in October, which we weren't going to do because we didn't know how he was going to adapt to the new kart," Jason said.

"As soon as we saw that performance, we straight away jumped on the State Titles, and we're headed to Lithgow in a couple of weeks for a big race meet down there."

The Salvestrins will also attend the meet in Lithgow, and if their Dubbo results are anything to go by, the trio's competition should be wary.

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