Teenager Alex Rullo just missed out on the V8 Touring Car Series championship last weekend. A change to regulations in NSW allowed him to race.
Camera IconTeenager Alex Rullo just missed out on the V8 Touring Car Series championship last weekend. A change to regulations in NSW allowed him to race. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Young gun just misses V8 title

Mark DonaldsonHills Avon Valley Gazette

Rullo, whose young age threatened to keep him out of the final round in Sydney because of New South Wales regulations, needed to make up 52 points on series leader Liam McAdam.

But 18-year-old McAdam, of Queensland, won every race of the Motorsport Park meet to claim the title by 70 points. Rullo took two seconds and a third from three races to leave him a clear runner-up in the end-of-year standings.

"This year has been phenomenal," he said.

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Third-placed Steve Briffa was 126 points behind Rullo to finish the season on 379.

Gooseberry Hill resident Rullo was in doubt for the final meet of the year until Confederation of Australian Motorsport (CAMS) chief executive Eugene Arocca pushed for an amendment to NSW motor racing legislation that allowed approved drivers aged under 16 to race.

"We communicated to the NSW Government that age limits are best determined by CAMS as the recognised national sporting organisation for motorsport and we are encouraged that they support that view," he said.

Rullo will look back on a breakout year in Australian motorsport that had him debut in March as the youngest ever to race in the touring car series at age 14.

He then became the youngest to win a touring car round when he was successful at Winton Raceway in June.

The V8 Touring Car Series is the third tier of Australian V8 racing, providing a starting point for young drivers, but retired supercar drivers often race it.