Erebus Motorsport’s Wayne Mackie understands what it takes for young drivers to progress in the competitive world of motorsport. 

The engineer, who has been a driving force in cultivating young talent, grew up in the industry and has worked across the globe in categories such as GT’s, Formula Ford, Formula 3 and A1GP.

Having worked for Erebus Motorsport since the end of 2017, Mackie has been an integral part of the engineering team for not only Erebus but their Academy’s Super2 affiliate, Image Racing. 

“It’s great seeing young drivers progress and helping them get to a point where they are going to be really good,” Mackie said.

“I enjoy working with the young drivers because they know they haven’t made it and they want to keep listening and working to get better.

“If you can instil in them from the start that even if they make it, they still have to keep working then that’s when you’ll get a champion.”

For Mackie, his passion for the development of young drivers has seen him take on the role of race engineer for Image Racing’s Super2 drivers and more recently their wildcard entry with Jordan Boys.

“The partnership between Erebus and Image started off pretty successfully and has continued to grow,” Mackie said.

“My first weekend with the team was engineering Jordan Boys at the 2019 Sandown event and he ended up winning!

“It’s great to see Jordan progressing as he is with this year’s wildcard. Over his time he’s had some setbacks but he works hard and keeps coming back from them so it’s great to see him getting these chances and progressing.”

Mackie will also engineer the wildcard of Greg Murphy and Richie Stanaway who both make their return to racing for this year’s Bathurst 1000. 

“The main thing with Greg and Richie is that they’re coming back to the sport and they’re going to have a lot to learn as they come into a car that is different from what they’ve driven before,” Mackie said.

“I’ve never worked with either of them before so it’s similar to working with young drivers in the sense that you need to build that relationship and learn each other’s language.”

For Mackie, his advice to drivers looking to progress their careers is simple. 

“Starting out as a young driver, you need to take every opportunity that you can and drive as much as you can,” he said.

“The biggest thing is having a specific goal that is more than just hoping for a paid drive.

“I was lucky enough to be running Formula Renaults when Lewis Hamilton was running them and from a young age if you asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he would ambitiously say ‘I’m going to win Formula 1 championships.’”

Mackie will be at Winton Motor Raceway on Tuesday for Murphy and Stanaway’s long-awaited first test in their #51 wildcard, alongside the young drivers participating in the Academy’s ‘Who’s Next’ program.