Kart racer Jure Portelli chasing Ferrari Academy seat after dominating Whitsunday Club Championship

From tinkering with her first kart to potentially racing in a Ferrari, a teen’s rise up the ranks has been a blistering start to her racing career.

Clothes covered in grease, sun beating down, Jure Portelli’s hands tinker with an engine capable of travelling more than 100km/h.

Unlike most 13-year-old girls, she aspires to be a professional race car driver.

Earmarked as one of the region’s best karting prospects, the Whitsunday teenager is already tearing up the track, with 17 podiums from 27 races in her debut season in 2021.

Jure said getting a start on the grid was just a matter of time, with her entire family addicted to adrenaline.

“We’ve always done adventurous stuff, my sister and I became Australia’s youngest open-water scuba divers,” she said.

“Getting into karting was because of my dad, he wanted me to know road-safety techniques that would help me when I got my licence.”

With a taste of racing, a competitive nature and the support of her family, Jure thrived on the track, winning the Whitsunday Club Championship in 2021, as well as placing fourth in the North Queensland series and 15th in the state titles.

But Jure’s success is not limited to just herself, with the entire family getting their hands dirty as members of the pit crew.

Jure’s father Justin said his other daughter, Nabi, was the “team mechanic”.

“She’s interested in the sport, she’s keen to come and change tyres, monitor air pressure,” he said.

“Last season we travelled anywhere from Ipswich to Cairns, Nabi comes on most of the race days because she loves to be involved despite not racing herself.”

With an impressive resume heading into her second season, Jure has already garnered the attention of national and international racing academies.

Jure said she had a chance to secure a seat in Ferrari’s junior girl’s program.

“The FIA created a program where you get put into the Ferrari driving Academy, where there are a lot of opportunities to compete,” she said.

“One girl from Australia will be invited to Italy to try out against racers from all around the world, and there’s one seat at Ferrari’s driving Academy.

“So watching a few girls go through that last year, that’s now become our main goal.

“At this stage though, it’s a lot of fun beating the boys.”