The car that kick-started Hazelwood's karting career
Todd Hazelwood has shared the moment that kick-started his karting career, posting a photo of his mum’s Mini in 2002.
Uploading the memorable throwback to his social media accounts overnight, the photo shows a seven-year-old Hazelwood standing next to the car with his sister Loren.
Sharing the story behind the snap with fans, the BJR driver said his parents sold the family car to help fund the purchase of his first go kart.
“The Mini was my grandmother’s and my Mum kept it in the family for a long time,” Hazelwood told Supercars.com.
“We regrettably sold it to buy my first go kart, so that Mini helped to kick start my career."
The South Australian began his career in dirt and sprint karting before stints in the junior-open wheel classes of Formula Ford and Formula 3.
In 2006, just four years after they sold the beloved Mini, Hazelwood won his first Dirt Kart State title in the Northern Territory.
Asking fans whether they had a car they wish they never sold, the 25-year-old admitted he has tried to locate the lost Mini.
“I looked up the registration and it was last painted pink and it’s unregistered at the moment,” Hazelwood said.
“It makes me a little bit sad knowing that.
“Knowing it's not on the road and painted pink, it’s likely had an interesting life I would say."
Stories of the Hazelwood family's efforts to make Todd's racing dream a reality have been well chronicled, including countless fundraising sausage sizzles.
Supported by his parents, Hazelwood ran a whopping 64 sausage sizzles in 2014 to help fund his maiden Super2 campaign.
Reflecting on the sale that started his journey to the Repco Supercars Championship, Hazelwood admitted the Mini was a catalyst for bigger sacrifices to keep his dream alive.
“I’m sure it wasn’t easy at the time, we loved the Mini,” the 2017 Super2 champion said.
“We used to go to school in it and my dad would go ripping around the hills in it when he could.
“It’s just one of the many sacrifices required to get started in motorsport because it costs a lot of money.
“We would have loved to have kept it, but you can’t keep everything in life, as everything costs money.
“In some ways it’s probably a small sacrifice in comparison to what we have done over the years, not to forget the time and commitment my family has put into my racing career.
“The Mini is probably what started it, and it grew from there I suppose as far as sacrifices are concerned.”
The BJR driver celebrated his season-best result at the WD-40 Townsville SuperSprint, with a fourth-place finish in the finale.
Hazelwood finished in the top 10 in every race at the second event at the Reid Park Street Circuit.
It followed recording his best qualifying result of third, one week earlier, for Race 16 at the NTI Townsville 500.
Hazelwood will return to Victoria for when the Supercars championship resumes at Winton Motor Raceway across October 2-3.
