QUT business student and professional Porsche racer Lachlan Bloxsom will slide into the driver's seat this week for the biggest event yet of his young racing career – the Porsche Carrera Cup round at the Australian Grand Prix festival in Melbourne.
Lockie, as he is known, is in his second year of a Bachelor of Business (Management) at QUT and combines his studies with driving for McElrea Racing – a Queensland-based team that competes in Porsche racing in Australia and North America.
It's his first season driving in the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship, but his third season with McElrea.
The Australian Grand Prix festival takes over the streets surrounding Albert Park in Melbourne's CBD every year and attracts an estimated one million fans over four days, starting today.
"Our schedule will involve a practice, qualifying and our first race on Thursday (today), a second race on Friday afternoon and our final race on Saturday afternoon," Lockie said.
"Between our on-track sessions and data debriefs, we drivers will have time to meet and greet fans, sign autographs, take photos and interact with fans floating around the Porsche Pavilion and our pit area."
The talented 19-year-old has made the step up to the Carrera Cup (the leading support category for Australia's top tier Supercars Championship) after two strong learning seasons with McElrea in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Series.
Prior to driving Porsche 911s, he competed in Hyundai Excels (Queensland Excel Cup) and Toyota 86s (Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series). This included driving in support categories at multiple Bathurst 1000 events and winning the Bathurst 6 Hour in class.
Lockie, who has received a $5000 QUT Rising Sports Scholarship from QUT Sport to help with his sport and studies, said competing in Melbourne in his #23 car would be the highlight of his career so far.
"To say that I'm excited to be racing at the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix is an understatement," he said.
"It's an event I have dreamed of since I was a young kid, idolising all of the drivers that race on such a famous track. To be racing in the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup this year at the event truly is a dream come true.
"As a kid, my dad [Jonathan Bloxsom, a former driver] and I used to go to the Melbourne Grand Prix every year as part of a father/son weekend away.
"From the age of eight I've been watching the racing around Albert Park from the spectators' point of view. I can't express how excited I am to be racing there this year, 10 years on from attending my first grand prix, and to be experiencing the weekend from the other side of the fence."
Lockie said his ultimate dream was to become a factory driver in Europe for a company like Porsche.
"Competing in a series like the World Endurance Championship and at events like the Le Mans 24HR under the Porsche logo as one of their select drivers is the goal," he said.
"I want to have a career overseas, travel the world and race all sorts of GT Cars and Hypercars."
But he said he had also enrolled in a business degree at QUT to give him options later in life.
"If I do get to become a full-time driver living out my dream overseas, eventually that opportunity will dissolve once my ability slows down with age … then what do you do for the next 50 years?" he said.
"That's why I'm studying business management with an emphasis on the property sector. The degree will always be there for me when I need it and will be important in the latter half of my life."
Lockie tried many other sports as a child and teenager, but racing is where his heart lies.
"I have rowed, played football, played basketball, done motocross, jet skiing, fishing, scuba diving, surfing and much more," he said.
"As a kid, I used to watch Dad race in the Aussie Racing Car Series for a bit of fun – but then the Covid-19 pandemic kicked in and all motorsport in Australia was on hold.
"But after I turned 15 and became eligible to race, I began practicing in a Hyundai Excel Racecar towards the latter half of the pandemic and entered my first ever race.
"What I love about racing is the adrenaline kick that it gives you. There's no feeling like pushing a vehicle to its absolute limit, hearing the tyres screaming, the engine roaring and floating the car across a stretch of road at speeds that were once unheard of.
"Racing provides a level of competition so competitive that margins of less than 0.001 seconds can be the difference between winning and losing.
"The level of perfection required to manoeuvre a vehicle around a tight circuit at the absolute limit, with consequences of mistakes so severe, means putting the perfect lap together is as satisfying as it gets."
Lockie said he was grateful for the support of his sponsors, the team at McElrea Racing and his family.
"Without them, I wouldn't be on the grid this year," he said.
"I'd also like to thank QUT for supporting me and providing myself with resources to compete at my highest possible level whilst continuing on my academic journey with my business degree."
Main photo at top: Close-up of Lachlan in his car. Credit: Ben Roehlen, Pace Images (supplied by McElrea Racing).
