Mount Gambier teenage racer Jobe Stewart completed an unforgettable year after the chequered flag waved on the Repco Supercars Pro Eseries last week.
After six rounds of intense action on the iRacing platform, Stewart finished 17th in the championship against the best online drivers in the country.
The 16-year-old represented notable Supercars team Erebus Motorsport in the sim racing championship, which raced on some of the most celebrated tracks in the world such as Silverstone, Bathurst and Monza.
Stewart was the youngest driver in the competitive 26-driver field and loved every moment of it despite falling short of his goal to finish in the top 10. “It was good fun and a great experience,” he said.
Stewart entered the last two rounds in 14th position in the overall standings and within reach of the top 10.
However, luck was not on the Penrite Racing driver’s side across the six races held at Charlotte, SpaFrancorchamps, Phillip Island and Interlagos.
“Coming into the last two rounds we were looking good in the championship, but they did not go to plan,” Stewart said.
Stewart was racing amongst the leading pack in the opening race at Charlotte, but a penalty after exiting pit lane incorrectly pushed him down the order.
The youngster appeared in the box seat for a great result in the next race after he qualified in second place and was lucky to miss a huge pile up at the front of the field.
But Stewart slipped back to 19th after he did not pit during the safety car, while he enjoyed a close battle in the mid pack at Spa before coming home in 18th.
The final round at Interlagos and Phillip Island also proved to be a battle and Stewart said he knew the cards were not falling his way after an incident in the penultimate race of the season.
“In one of the races at Brazil I got into the top five and had a bit of a battle with Harley Haber, but he gave me a shove off the track and it just went downhill from there. “We came back and finished 13th.”
Stewart endured a tough time at Phillip Island during a dramatic finale when Dayne Warren stole the Eseries crown from pacesetter Josh Rogers.
Despite the difficult conclusion to the campaign, Stewart said many within the Erebus setup were impressed by his efforts including CEO Barry Ryan.
“Barry was very happy after the podium at Michigan,” he said. “Barry said I did a pretty good job throughout considering I was racing in a professional series.”
Going door to door with Australia’s best sim racers has been a learning experience.
“Even though it was iRacing, I learnt heaps of things that can help me racing on the track,” he said. “It taught me a lot about racecraft and strategy, which will help me in the future.”
An off-track highlight of the series was Stewart’s effort to raise money towards breast cancer research. The youngster enjoyed the challenge and raised $1500 for Breast Cancer Trials.
“It was nice to not only look at the racing side of things, but also the fundraising side,” Stewart said. “We tried to get as many locals support it as possible and it felt pretty good to raise that amount of money.”
The Supercars Pro Eseries marked the final chapter of Stewart’s unforgettable year.
The Erebus Academy driver’s highlights included representing Penrite Racing and making his car-racing debut at the greatest circuit in the country.
With all of these experiences under his belt, Stewart hopes to progress further.
“Considering what happened this year due to COVID-19, I feel like I have been able to squeeze out as much as I could,” he said.
“Everything I have done has helped me as a driver. “Next year the first round of the Toyota 86 series is at Bathurst in February, which will be big and I am looking forward to that.”
