Gold Coast Porsche racing driver Jaxon Evans on Europe season

AN aspiring Gold Coast motorsport driver with a gun drive for a top European team talks COVID-19 race rules and missing the Glitter Strip’s charms.

Gold Coast motorsport driver Jaxon Evans at the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, in Budapest this year with his distinct pink Porsche for Lechner Racing. Photo: Porsche AG

THIS week All That Glitters has caught up with Gold Coast based ex Kiwi Jaxon Evans - an aspiring Supercars race driver now in Europe for a season competing in a Formula 1 support category for a respected team.

GC Bulletin: You hit the Gold Coast in 2005 from NZ - was the move driven by pursuit of your racing dreams? A lot of Supercars drivers, motorsport history, training grounds here.

JAXON EVANS: We moved here due to my father’s business, work commitments. I didn’t actually start my motorsport journey until 2010-2012, so I can’t really say the move to the Gold Coast was based around my future career, but it was just a natural progression.

GCB: You’re with Lechner Racing for your second Porsche Mobile Supercup season - it’s a good breeding ground for top pro drivers. You must be happy?

JE: Definitely, Lechner Racing are one of, if not the most successful racing teams in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup. They have managed many past and present professionals. To align myself with such a professional and well-known team, opens many doors. Walter Lechner (team owner) was also a successful driver. He’s worked and helped a lot of big names in the motorsport world – like Toto Wolf, Team Principle and CEO of the Mercedes AMG Formula 1 team.

Kiwi and Gold Coast-based Jaxon Evans is racing in a Formula 1 support category across Europe: “We are not allowed into the circuit without a negative ‘pre event’ COVID-19 test result.” Photo: Porsche AG

GCB: How did you get into the sport?

JE: My mother used to race in NZ before my siblings and I were around. Her side of the family have always been heavily involved. I caught the bug from a young age, travelling with my Pop from track to track watching my cousin. We started a lot later than (most). I was 11 or 12, one day after school, my old man picked me up with a go-kart in the back of the ute and we haven’t looked back.

GCB: What’s been the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the European swing?

JE: It’s been pretty crazy, being a support category to Formula 1, means we have to follow all the guidelines and rules they have put in place. We are not allowed into the circuit without a negative ‘pre event’ COVID-19 test result – followed by being tested two more times during the weekend. If we return a positive test, we are forced into a 10-day quarantine and not allowed to race. Face masks and social distancing is enforced and you can even face a fine, if you’re seen not wearing the mask correctly.

Jaxon Evans spends almost half the year racing in Europe and says he misses plenty about the Gold Coast including its perfect weather and coffee. Photo: Porsche AG

GCB: How long are you away for and any time for play over there or is it all business?

JE: I’m based here from February till late September-early October depending on the calendar. In a normal season we have some time during the ‘summer break’ to travel around – however with the current situation, things are a lot more chaotic and the race season has been squeezed into the second half of the year. So with the season being so tight and intense, it’s basically all work and training – but, who can complain about driving a race car every weekend?!

GCB: Favourite things about the Gold Coast?

JE: My favourite thing about the Gold Coast is the weather. You can’t beat a perfect winters day where temperatures are still around low to mid 20s. I miss my family and friends, with Europe being so far away it makes life a little more challenging for them to visit or vice versa. I miss being out on the jet ski, the fresh sea breeze and Australian coffee.

GCB: Ultimate goal? Supercars, Formula 1?

JE: Continue up the Porsche Pyramid and become a fulltime ‘Works-Factory’ driver. I was lucky enough to win the Australian Porsche Carrera Cup in 2018 – followed by being selected as one of two, Porsche Junior Drivers. So, to continue with Porsche which has always been a dream, is the ultimate goal. If something in Supercars ever popped up, at some stage of my career I’d love to come back and give it a shot.