A Castlemaine-born motorsport racer has been given the opportunity of a lifetime with the Paul Morris Racing Academy.
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Declan Fraser, 18, who is now based at Mackay is a recipient of a scholarship that will help develop his skills as a racing driver.
Fraser, who competes in the Toyota 86 Racing Series, is honoured to be able to learn from Australian motorsport royalty that is Paul Morris.
"To now be part of the Paul Morris Motorsports outfit and an official driver for the academy is really cool," Fraser said.
"All the skills and everything I will learn from Paul and the team are really going to help with my future.
"After learning the ropes last season, I'm really looking forward to challenging for the Toyota 86 Racing Series title this year.
"It's basically a grassroots category for racing - the exposure has been fantastic with a very diverse range of drivers," Fraser said.
At the weekend Fraser impressed with a strong performance at the 86 Series opener at Phillip Island.
Over the three-round event he finished in sixth position in race one, fourth position in race two and was crowned as the winner of race three.
Fraser first made a name for himself in the second half of the 2018 series, with a pole position at the Newcastle 500 and winning the first race with a solid margin of 4.496 seconds ahead of Supercar driver Luke Youlden.
Keep scrolling to hear from Fraser after his standout performance at Newcastle last year.
"I just love the track at Newcastle," Fraser said.
But like all professional sportswomen and men, success doesn't happen over night - it takes years in the making.
"My dad bought me my first kart when I was 7-years-old," he said.
And after taking a liking to kart racing, Fraser climbed through the ranks from junior into elite categories.
"The fundamental years of karting are so important, especially for race craft," Fraser said.
"Everything you learn while karting carries through to car racing - how to pass, various strategies and especially during qualifying."
To put it simply, Fraser is a born and bred racer who plans to drive at the limit for many years to come.
"I just want to keep my butt on the seat for as long as I can," Fraser laughed.
Fraser's next race in the 86 Series will be at the Townsville 400 in July.
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