Carter Lundy’s dream to run with the fastest got a turbo-charge boost recently after winning a go-kart race in Osoyoos.
During the three-day event at the Area 27 Motorsports Park in late June, Lundy shaved some time off his laps and won the event on the last day, setting a lap record — which led to a nice prize.
Winning that event has meant that Lundy, 17, has a full-ride scholarship the first week of August to the Jacques Villeneuve FEED F4 Driving Academy in Magny-Cours, France, south of Paris, and the location of the Nevers Magny-Cours racetrack.
Formula 4 racing is for junior drivers. It involves open-wheel cars and is an upward step after racing go-karts. Engine sizes are limited to 1.6 litres and maximum horsepower output of 160 bhp.
Once there, during a week of intense racing, Lundy has a chance to win a full season driving a Formula 4 car in 2025.
F4 is a major step up from go karts and the next step towards possibly becoming a F1 driver and joining guys like Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton on the track, though he’s realistic about that, says his dad, Craig.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to go to France and drive an F4 car in this contest. And he is very quick. He’s going with the intention of winning the whole thing,” said Craig.
Regardless of how he does, he’ll always be racing something, he added.
“He’s young and he’s got some skill and he’s dedicated … and a lot of passion … kind of like, see where it goes, but it’s not like F1 or bust,” he added.
Carter has been driving karts since he was four-years-old and racing competitively since he was 12.
He began racing in Tsawwassen at the old F440 track, then moved to Chilliwack to compete on the Greg Moore race track. He won the Tag senior championship in 2023 and was also named rookie of the year at the West Coast Kart Club in Chilliwack.
“I'm excited and very grateful for this amazing opportunity to represent Canada on an international level. I think getting into an F4 car is the next step for me,” Carter said.
He added that it's awesome to have the opportunity after winning the Osoyoos event.
“But I came to win. That's always Plan A,” Carter said.
In addition to the real world of rubber and asphalt, Carter’s involved with the virtual world of iRacing, one of the platforms for online racing.
Carter has raced online with the likes of Verstappen and another F1 driver, Fernando Alonso, his dad points out, noting that some of the techniques of racing online are like racing on the track.
Carter was progressing with iRacing, but came to the point where, to advance, would require pursuing it full time. Instead, he wanted to get back on the track.
He could always return to e sports, Craig said.
The guy who can put in 40 to 60 hours a week practising online is going to be the best, Craig added.
But real-world motorsport racing is a pricey venture. A season of racing go karts can add up to $100,000. Carter is training hard but also raising money through sponsorships to cover travel costs and new racing gear.
He promises to represent the community with the goal of winning and bringing home a Formula 4 championship trophy to Tsawwassen, said his mother, Nicole.
Despite the cost, “It’s a good family sport,” said Craig.
“Wherever he goes, (in future years) we can all end up back at the track, racing together.”
