Whittlesea’s Ashton Cattach considered giving motorsport a number of times over the years but a love of the sport kept him going.
That decision has paid off with Cattach to race in the 2026 Toyota GR Cup series this year.
Cattach said he could have never imagined this happening a couple of years ago.
“It’s very exciting and it’s something that I’ve been working towards for a long time,” he said.
“Three years ago I never thought about racing a car, let alone at this level.
“Motorsport is a really tough sport and is really expensive.
“A lot of guys had a good backing behind them. I’ve got a really supportive family but we didn’t have a lot of money.
“I’m excited to put it together for this year and have a go.”
Cattach started racing in karts before stepping into cars.
He said going through the ranks was tough especially in the early days when kids would say all sorts of stuff due to racing on a budget.
Cattach said it was the love of the sport that kept him going each year.
He said the original plans for this year were to stay in the same competition for another season.
Then the idea about going up a category became reality
He said it’s the right step for him going forward.
The GR Cup category is one of the top in the country. The VS Supercars is top followed by the second tier series.
Cattach said the GR Cup sits under those two.
“I would say it’s the third or fourth tier.” he said. “Some of the top drivers like Broc Feeney, Will Brown and Cameron Hill have come straight out of this series.
“It’s a pretty big step for sure.”
Cattach said while he would love to have careers like Feeney and Brown, who came second and third in the Supercars championship last year, he knows that’s on his own journey.
The Cattach name isn’t new to motorsport.
His uncle, Wayne Cattach, is the former chief executive of Supercars and a Supercars Hall of Fame inductee.
Ashton said his uncle, who passed away two years ago, was his biggest supporter.
“He was the CEO of Dick Johnson Racing for many years and then worked at Supercars,” he said.
“Having that connection has helped me. He always gave me advice.
“He was the one that got me into it, but he didn’t mean to. He was always sending merchandise and model cars.
“I’m grateful for it. He would be happy as he knows how tough it was for me and knows how hard the sport is.
“I hope he would be proud.”
Cattach will kick off his racing season in late February.
He said he was putting too many expectations on himself.
“I know I what I can I do,” he said.
“I want to do everything to put in the work.If I do everything right and results will come.”
