DRAG TEEN
Alex Rullo, 17, is on P-plates after twice failing his driver’s test. Today he’ll burn up the streets of Surfers Paradise at over 260km/h
MEET the Perth schoolboy who will this weekend tackle the Gold Coast streets in a Supercar despite only getting his P-plates this year after twice failing driving tests.
In March, Alex Rullo became the youngest ever driver to debut in Supercars at just 16 years of age. At the time he could only drive a road car with parental supervision on a learner’s licence.
Now 17 and speaking ahead of the Gold Coast 600 – the sport’s party event – he is not old enough to hit the city’s renowned nightclubs.
“This year and the past few years have just been full of me staying in my hotel room on a Sunday night,” Rullo said with a laugh.
The well-spoken rising star is living his dream, racing in Australia’s premier motorsport series against childhood idols such as Craig Lowndes.
Rullo said racing on track, where he reached speeds of nearly 300km/h, is a different to getting from A to B on public roads.
“I was actually nervous for my driving test and failed the first two times,” he admitted.
“Sticking to the speed limit, it sucks. That’s hard … it is different.”
Speeding wasn’t the reason it took him three attempts to be given the green light to begin driving on red P plates in July. The first fail was for almost pulling into a no-entry zone; the second because the instructor “thought that I didn’t look but I reckon I did,” he smiles.
While his rivals own Mustangs and Chevrolets, Rullo’s driver profile lists his personal vehicle as a “school bus”.
He doesn’t have a permanent vehicle and instead drives whatever second-hand car is available at the dealership his father Peter owns.
Results have been hard to come by in his rookie year for minnow team Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport – 15th at Bathurst two weeks ago marked his career best finish.
Regardless, Rullo is “pretty sure” he will be on the grid next year, hopefully in a faster car that will allow him to show off his true talent.