Albion Park boy Karmichael Fosteris got to meet his favourite race car driver, Chaz Mostert, after he won a national competition. Photo: Supplied by WAU and Optus.
When 11-year-old Albion Park boy Karmichael Fosteris went to a go-kart track with a friend in November 2023, he was hooked immediately.
Less than a year later he got to take to the track with professional racing driver Chaz Mostert – and get some tips from the Australian motorsports star.
Karmichael’s dad Chris originally took some convincing to let him buy a kart of his own, but when Chris saw Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU) and Optus were running a national competition to find Chaz Mostert’s biggest fan he knew Karmichael had to be in it.
The competition, which attracted over 200 entries, asked participants to explain why they were Chaz Mostert’s biggest fan.
Karmichael’s entry stood out with a narrative about his dream to kit out his go-kart to look like the Mobil 1 Racing Car #25, driven by Optus Ambassador Chaz Mostert.
“My young fella absolutely adores Chaz because of the campaigning he promotes on his social media and the respect he has for everyone,” Chris said.
Karmichael didn’t expect to make the finals, but didn’t mind heading down to the Wollongong Kart Raceway for an interview about the competition.
“Chaz just popped out of nowhere and told me I’d won,” Karmichael said.
“I was so happy; I didn’t know what to say or feel; it was pretty surreal.”
Luckily Karmichael was dressed for the occasion, in a Chaz Mostert shirt, hat, and sunglasses.
Chaz went for some runs around the track with Karmichael and taught him new approaches to taking corners and finding a line.
“He was in a hire kart to start with and I overtook him,” Karmichael said.
“Then he got a faster kart and I drove behind him trying to find his line. He said I needed a rabbit to chase!”
On top of the experience at the go-kart track, Karmichael won a behind-the-scenes invitation to the Supercars 2024 Sydney SuperNight on Saturday 20 July at Sydney Motorsport Park.
He got to go out on the grid, sit in Chaz’s car, go in the garage and watch pit-stops up close.
They say you should never meet your heroes, but Karmichael said Chaz was just as kind in real life as he was on social media.
“Chaz is my favourite driver because he has such a good personality, he cheers up his team in the good and bad and he’s a skillful driver on the track,” Karmichael said.
“He has a #NoSocialHate campaign, sticking up for people who are bullied online.
“It was really cool to meet him. My favourite part of the night was going in the garage, sitting in the car and listening to the team radio.
“I got to meet the team and the owner, all the people who work together to make a big impact on the team.
“He won races back-to-back – I was called a good luck charm.”
Karmichael also won $2500 to kit out his go-kart, which he plans to customise to look like Chaz’s Mustang.
He hopes one day he’ll drive in the Supercars too.
“It’s a fun sport because you’re going so fast, and the community around it is really nice too,” Karmichael said.
“I want to drive for WAU one day and rise up the ranks and make it to Supercars.
“I still can’t believe this whole experience – they could have just told me I won and given me some stickers, but I got prize money.
“More importantly than that I got experiences money can’t buy. It’s been really crazy, in a good way!”
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