Rhys is on the rise

Rhys Kemp, number 97, leads great mate Bailey Collins, 95, out of a corner at Morwell's Gippsland Go Kart Club. 101358 Picture: SUPPLIED

By RUSSELL BENNETT

IT’S hard to figure out what’s more impressive about Pakenham’s 10-year-old Rhys Kemp’s start to his motor-racing career.
Is it the fact that, in his first year racing go-karts, he has already recorded a podium finish? Or is it that he values practice and safety behind the wheel so highly?
Not many Grade 5 students get the opportunity to fly around a racetrack at 80km/h, and Rhys and his dad Adam know the importance of being able to safely handle a car at such a speed.
“Safety is the biggest thing,” Adam said.
“It has already taught Rhys responsible driving – what to do and what not to.
“He needs to know responsibility behind the wheel and this is a good learning curve.”
Adam has travelled far and wide and heard his fair share of driving horror stories.
He, like many other local residents involved in motorsport, hopes that a Pakenham motor racing facility soon becomes a reality.
He thinks “it would be a wonderful thing for the local community and local sport”, but stressed the safety message, adding: “Anything with power is just not a toy”.
Rhys races once per month on his home track at the Gippsland Go Kart Club in Morwell and Adam hopes to one day not have to travel as far to watch his son race.
Rhys, who has taken to go-karting like a duck to water, recently raced in the Bairnsdale Open where he finished fifth. His favourite part of racing is forming new friendships.
The youngster is backed by Beaconsfield’s Chris Collins, a well-known motorsport identity, whose son competes alongside Rhys.
The Kemps know motor-racing isn’t the cheapest of sports, but Adam said: “It’s not a bad sport to get started in”.
Rhys dreams of ultimately racing in the V8 Supercars championship and idolises V8 star Mark Winterbottom “because he drives a Ford”.
But the Kemps also have a younger son “with absolutely no interest in racing”, according to Adam.
“But it’s really important to encourage them with all their sport,” he said.
“It’s a great outlet for meeting new people.”
In August, Rhys will race in the Australasian C and D Grade Go Kart Titles.
The youngster, who has his C Grade licence, will line up against more than 20 other racers on the grid.
But the student at Narre Warren South’s Trinity Catholic College can’t wait.
Some of his school mates love his racing, “but some think it’s dangerous too!” Rhys said.
His advice? “You just have to practise”.