Dubbo racer eyes off Super2 series championship
SINCE he was a young lad, Dubbo’s Tyler Everingham has been enamoured by cars.
The 21-year-old supercar driver was first introduced to the world of racing by his father, and after a family friend introduced him to go-karts at the Dubbo track when he was 10 and he was quickly sold on a life in the fast lane.
“It stuck from there...i haven’t stopped since,” he said.
“I started going to state and national events in go karts and at 15 I jumped up into a new category, Formula 4. That was my first taste of a real race car.
“I’ve gradually gone up in the ranks and ended up in Super2.”
After watching “one of the biggest sports in Australia”, the Bathurst 1000 as a kid, Everingham had a goal of one day competing nationally.
In 2017, he competed in the Australian Production Car Series.
He followed this up in 2018 when he competed in the Bathurst 12-hour and the Kuhmo Tyre Australian V8 Touring Car National Series, where he was crowned the overall champion.
“I won the state title... when I was fairly new into it in the junior category, and I’ve been in quite a few national events,” he said.
“I’ve never won any but I’ve been close a couple of times... I’ve raced across Australia in go-karts and travelled across with my old man.”
In 2019 he made his debut in the competitive Dunlop Super2 Series, and after an impressive first year he finished the season with an overall sixth place in the championship.
In September, Everingham was also awarded one of Australia’s most prestigious honours in sport – The Mike Kable Young Gun Award at the 2019 Supercars Gala Dinner.
After just a year of full-time
racing, however, the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 put Everingham on the sidelines.
“It was quite difficult... I pretty much sat out on the full season,” he said.
“(However, in 2020), I got the opportunity to race in the (Supercheap Auto) Bathurst 1000 with Gary Rogers Motorsport as a wildcard. That was a pretty cool opportunity.”
Last year, Everingham continued his rise to the top of the country’s supercar ranks, with race wins, round wins and track records.
“This is my third full time year racing in the Super2. It’s good to get back into it,” he said.
However, the first race of the season dealt Everingham with a
blow after a mechanical failure put him out of the first race of the Bathurst 500 event.
The following day, he returned to the track, determined, and went on to claim the win.
At the fourth event of the series at the Sydney Motorsport Park, Everingham started the race in fifth position and despite a challenge in the final stages of the race, he came away with another win.
He now has his sights set on the 2022 Dunlop Super2 Series championship, with dreams of one day competing in the V8s.
Round 1 of the Super2 will be in in Sydney from March 5-6, round two in Perth from April 30 to May 1, round three in Townsville from July 8-10, round four in Sandown from August 19-21, round five in
Bathurst from October 6-9, and round six in Newcastle at an unconfirmed date.
“(I’ll be keeping an eye) on the guys at Triple Eight. They were quite quick last year,” Everingham said.
“Broc Feeney graduated into the main game, and won last year’s championship. There will be some strong contenders.”
For young starters wanting to pursue a career in supercars, Everingham has some words of advice.
“They have some pretty good programs in go karts at the moment. Have a look into them,” he said.
“Have a look at Karting Australia. Don’t give up – that’s the main thing.”