South West racer Sebastian Fiorenza signed with Arise Racing

Sebastian Fiorenza, a kart racer with the Bunbury City Kart Club, is one of the first racers from the region to be signed with Perth-based, Arise Racing.

The contract means 18-year-old Fiorenza will receive driver development training for 12-months while racing in Radicals - purpose-built race cars.

Out of hundreds of applicants, Fiorenza said just himself and two other Perth-based racers were selected in December last year to head to the Barbagallo Raceway in Wanneroo as part of the selection process.

"We were supervised on the track by a coach for 60 laps in one of the radicals, which gave them the chance to assess us on how we drove and our mannerisms during racing," Fiorenza said.

"Then we completed 10 or so laps by ourselves, just to show how capable we were of driving.

"It was intense because Arise are probably one of the premier racing teams in the country - but I ended up being selected which is so exciting."

When the Mail last spoke to Fiorenza in May, he had just taken out second place in the Bunbury Coastal Classic, having raced karts for four years.

Since then, Fiorenza spent 2021 racing all over Western Australia, preparing for 2022, and training his 11-year-old brother, Josh, who has recently taken up the sport.

Sadly, 2022 marked the loss of Fiorenza's dad, Joe, who lost a six-year battle with cancer in early January.

Fiorenza said his passing was particularly difficult in that the pair had a "shared passion" for racing.

"Dad was the reason I got into racing in the first place," he said.

"Obviously him passing has been really hard, but we now have to carry on his legacy, because that's all he really ever wanted for us was to continue racing - he said as long as we were out their racing, he was happy."

"The hard thing now is just adjusting, because the four of us were a good team and because I personally relied on him a lot for feedback and he was the mechanic for my karts.

"It's nerve-wracking to be signed because it's a new form of racing for me, but I'm definitely up for the challenge and am keen to continue living Dad's dream."

Fiorenza is now looking for sponsorship as he continues his racing career.

Interested parties can contact Tracy Fiorenza on 0414 456 398.

Fiorenza will take on round one of the Future Star Racing WA Championships on Sunday, February 27.