News
Webster on international chance: ‘S5000 has been amazing’
S5000 star Cooper Webster has hailed his time in S5000 as being ideal to prepare him to make the big step into International competition in 2023.
The Victorian teen will compete in the GB4 championship next year, having been signed with Evans GP this week.
Webster made his S5000 debut in 2021, essentially fresh out of karting, and was instantly impressive – going on to claim race and round victories and finish on the podium in both the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship and S5000 Tasman Series this year, with VERSA Motorsport.
He will move to the UK to be within constant contact with his new team next year and also undertake eSports racing commitments as a member of Red Bull’s virtual team.
“It was a big decision for me to commit full time to the UK GB4 opportunity and not pursue the opportunities locally but I think it provides the best foundation for my career keeping all offshore and local opportunities on the table for the future,” Webster said.
“S5000 has been amazing, they are extremely fast and difficult cars to drive so to be able to develop those skills at my age has put me in a really good position for the future. The exposure I have received an interest from Europe, the US Indy Car pathway and locally with Supercars has been a real shock.”
VERSA Motorsport team owner Toby Pope said he was proud of his young charge’s performances in S5000.
“In 2022, VERSA Motorsport has outperformed all expectations in our first year with Cooper in S5000 against extremely strong established teams and world class drivers finishing 2nd in the TASMAN championship and 3rd in the Australian Drivers Championship,” He said.
“Cooper has continually over-delivered and as much as we didn’t want to loose him, I think Evans GP have been very clever in identifying him and I am confident they will perform really well next year together.
“We are currently committed to running 2-4 cars in the2023 S5000 championship next season with discussions currently happening with a number of drivers which will be announced shortly.”
Evans GP owner Josh Evans said he was confident Webster would be an instant performer in the competitive GB4 title race next year.
“We are really looking forward to working with Cooper for the upcoming season. He has been performing well in Australia, with a strong karting background and his transition to cars has been a real standout. He’s already achieved several wins in the S5000 this year, so he’s in good form heading into the GB4 season.
“It’s great to see Cooper join the growing list of young Aussies making the step-up to racing in the UK, following in the footsteps of the likes of Mark Webber, Will Power, Daniel Ricciardo, James Courtney, Marcos Ambrose, Russell Ingall, Scott Pye, Will Davison, Thomas Randle, Jack Doohan and Australia’s newest addition to the F1 grid, Oscar Piastri.”