Anthony Martin leads a 200km/h freight train in his Stealth.
Camera IconAnthony Martin leads a 200km/h freight train in his Stealth. Credit: Supplied/Travis Barnes

Road to success

Bills Buys, Joondalup WeekenderWanneroo Times

The blond 18-year-old is a star at cricket and soccer, but turned down a chance to develop his soccer skills in the US so he could concentrate on the sport he loves best: motor racing.

And it’s turning out better than anyone imagined, with the handsome lad now leading the fiercely-contested WA Formula Ford championship, albeit by the narrowest of margins.

‘It all started when my dad, Mike, did a bit of karting in Kalgoorlie, and my brother and I raced radio-controlled cars at a place adjacent to the kart track,’ he said. ‘Then, when I was 13, I was offered a drive in a kart.

‘It was great and I went racing soon after.’

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In his first race in the Goldfields, he was hit from behind, which sent his kart soaring and literally gave him a flying start in the sport.

By 2009 he was club champion, and in 2011 he was a top contender at both state and national levels in his category.

His prowess was spotted by the Italian Lenzo kart company, which invited Anthony to test and train at its track in Sicily, and in 2012 the Kalgoorlie Kid stunned the karting world by winning the WA Clubman Light karting title and, soon after, the national title.