Teen racer shines in 2K Cup

Whangarei racer Oscar Drummond leads the field in one of the 2K Cup motorsport races, and with his trophy for coming fifth.

Young Whangarei driver Oscar Drummond would love to follow some of his motorsport idols and race around the globe, but he knows the costs of competing in the expensive sport could be a roadblock.

Oscar Drummond.

Oscar, a 17-year-old Whangarei Boys' High School Year 12 student, has just finished fifth in one of the country's most competitive motorsports events - the 2K Cup - and he hopes his exploits will eventually lead to a sponsor picking him up to help him go on to bigger and better things.

The 2K Cup is an entry-level motorsport and Oscar said it was great fun.

The rules are explained in the name - drivers cannot pay more than $2000 for a race car, it cannot be more than 2000cc, and each race is 2000 seconds, or 33 minutes, long.

Oscar has been competing for the past three seasons, but this is the first time he's completed all six races in the series - including Hampton Downs, Manfeild, Taupo and Pukekohe tracks - in his 1994 Toyota MR2 as Team DPR.

He lists his motorsport heroes as V8 driver Scott McLaughlin and rally driver Haydon Paddon and he will always be impressed by the skills of Greg Murphy and hopes one day to emulate some of their success.

Oscar said he first got interested in motorsport as a 4-year-old, when he said he wanted to be a V8 Supercar driver, then aged 8 he got into go-karting.

"I did okay at that, but all my mates moved on to bigger stuff like speedway. But it's expensive and we couldn't really afford to go on to anything like that and the 2K Cup came along and was perfect for us," he said.

"It's quite a cheap motorsport to get into and very competitive. But it's also a lot of fun with the other racers basically like a big family, they are all so good to each other and friendly."

Oscar would still be keen for a spot in V8s, but realises that as he gets older if he does not get a sponsor it's an unrealistic dream.

So the youngster hopes his efforts in the 2K Cup will put him in the shop window.

"For me it's about getting as much racing experience as I can and if I can get some more success then hopefully somebody will see something in me and give me a go," Oscar said.

"We can't really afford for me to step up unless I get a serious sponsor so it's about me putting in the hard yards and hopefully I get noticed."