About Nathan

 

   

 

 

AT A GLANCE ...

 

Date of Birth:	April 5, 1992
Hometown:	Abbotsbury (western Sydney, New South Wales)
Nationality:	Australian
Occupation:	Racing car driver
Other interests:	Golf & mountain bike riding
Started racing:	2003
Career goal:	Formula 1 or IndyCars
Current category:	F2000
Career highlight:	1st, 2011 F2000 Championship Series (USA) round 1 - Virginia International Raceway

 

Click here to see details of Nathan's motorsport career.

 

 

 

PROFILE

Nathan Morcom was introduced to motorsport almost from the day he was born. As a young child he watched his father, Barry, compete in a variety of Australian touring car categories  including production cars and V8 Supercars.  By the time Nathan was 10, he was raring to have ago.

Go-kart racing was the obvious starting point, so Nathan starting in the Midget category. After learning the basics he stepped up to the Junior ranks in 2005, competing in Junior National Light and Junior National Heavy races as well as the high-performance Junior Clubman and Junior Rotax classes.

Nathan 's most significant karting victory came at the 2008 Australian Championships, where he took out the Junior National Heavy title. He was also successful in the New South Wales Premier State Cup Series, winning races in several classes. He also won class titles at the Tasmanian and South Australian State Championships.

The same year, aged just 16, Nathan graduated to car racing.  He began in Formula Ford, the world's longest-running 'entry' level car racing category that has been a career stepping stone for countless champions from Formula 1, Indy Cars, Le Mans sports cars, V8 Supercars and other high-profile categories. His debut season was spent contesting the New South Wales Formula Ford Championship, in which he finished a creditable fifth with several top-three placings.

In 2009 Nathan climbed another step up the motor racing ladder to the Australian Formula Ford Championship. Selected into the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport's elite 'Rising Star' program, he was coached in all aspects of professional race driving. This included physical and psychological training at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, as well as preparation for media interviews, and working with a professional racing team. Nathan gained valuable experience in the highly competitive series, finishing 13th in the final pointscore.

2010 was very much a 'try it and see' year for Nathan, who competed in no fewer than four different racing categories during the year! He began by contesting the first half of the New Zealand Toyota Racing Series during January, that country's premier openwheel championship with cars comparable to European Formula 3 and GP3, and American Star Mazda. He scored several solid placings in his first experience of the 'wings and slicks' category.

 

A second season in the Australian Formula Ford Championship yielded 10th in the pointscore, but the highlight of Nathan's year was his one-off appearance in Formula 3 car in the Australian Drivers' Championship round at Sydney's Eastern Creek Raceway. After familiarising himself with the potent machine during practice and qualifying, he scored impressive 8th, 6th and 4th placings in the three races.

 

The final stop in Nathan's season was in December at the same Sydney circuit, where he co-drove a BMW 335i to second outright in the eight-hour production touring car endurance race.

 

On reflection, driving the Toyota Racing Series and Formula 3 cars was a turning point in the 18 year-old Sydney driver's career. "In the Toyota Racing Series I found that my driving style was more suited to a 'wings and slicks' car than a Formula Ford.  That was confirmed when I drove the Formula 3 car at Eastern Creek. My lack of experience held me back in qualifying, but my improvement in each race was very encouraging.

 

“The Eastern Creek Eight-Hour race was a great way to end the year. Our Class B BMW beat four of the five Class A  all-wheel-drive turbos – that was very satisfying!”

 

In 2011 Nathan embarked on the biggest challenge of his short motor racing career. The American F2000 Championship Series pitched him against a full field of other ambitious young racers, as well as some very fast and experienced older drivers. It was a tough first full international championship for the Australian teenager, but he made a big first impression by winning the first race on a rain-soaked Virginia International Raceway!

 

Unfortunately a succession of car problems during subsequent rounds prevented Nathan from finishing higher than eighth in the final pointscore, but he closed the year on a winning note in the final round of the Australian Production Car Endurance Championship at Eastern Creek, NSW, in December. He and fellow Aussie young gun Chas Mostert drove their Direct Plasterboard Outlet-Rondo Class B BMW 335i to an upset win over several Class A all-wheel drives in the six-hour enduro.

 

In 2012 Nathan returns to America for a second tilt at the F2000 Championshgip Series. With a season's experience under his belt, he's aiming to make every lap a winner!

 

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