Tasracing

Two-time leading Tasmanian junior driver Conor Crook is preparing to represent his adopted home state at the 2019 Hanley Formula Australasian Young Drivers Championship in New Zealand.

The eight-race series kicks off at Addington Raceway in Christchurch on Saturday night before the action moves on to the grass track at Methven on Sunday.

Competitors will then venture to the north island where they will take part in heats at Manawatu on Tuesday afternoon and again on Thursday night before the final heat on Inter Dominion eve at Auckland’s Alexandra Park on 12 December, and Crook can’t wait for the series.

“I’m really looking forward to it, I went to the New Zealand Cup and had a ball so to go back and drive and represent my new home state is an honour,” said the 23-year-old.

Like most young people in the industry, Crook became involved through family involvement. “My father (Peter) and brother (Luke Hooper) have always had a couple of horses in work back home and my brother was getting most of the drives so I thought I would go out on a limb and come down here to Tasmania halfway through 2017,” said Crook.

Crook had only a handful of drives when based at Cowra in central New South Wales where he had spent time helping his family’s small team of horses around full-time employment with the local Coles supermarket, before taking on a position with the state’s leading trainer Ben Yole.

“I had been looking for a junior driver job for a while at the time and the Yole’s advertised a job down here and I was able to get it,” Crook explained

“The plan was to come down here for a month and see how I enjoyed it,” he laughed.

Crook still picks up several drives for the Yole stable, but he has since taken up a position with well-respected trainer-driver Rohan Hillier, and the duo has built up a great combination, in particular with talented gelding Awayandrideyourself who Crook has driven to seven of his eight wins since the pacer arrived in the state.

“He is one of my favourites to drive as he gives you 110%, plus he helped me win the junior driver premiership last season when we won the Jubilee Bakery Stakes at the last meeting of the season,” explained the talented young driver.

There is no doubt that many in the industry would agree when Crook arrived in the state he had a lot to learn in the sulky, and he has certainly improved out of sight, with many trainers and owners using his services, sometimes without his five-point concession claim.

“Mark (Yole) was a very big help early on but there were many senior drivers that stopped and gave advice,” said Crook who is currently equal fourth on this season’s overall drivers title.

“Rohan and Troy (Hillier) have been terrific in recent times and they are terrific people to learn off, plus Troy brings good coffee and pies from his bakery when he arrives at the stables,” laughed the winning driver of 65 races.

Crook will be out to continue the success of many Tasmanians that have won the series including Gareth Rattray who won the series in 2003 that was held in New Zealand before winning the series later on in 2010, James Austin (2007), Adrian Duggan (1997) and Ricky Duggan (Dead Heat in 1993).

Before 1993 the series was for Australian drivers only where there was also success with; Rohan Hadley (1990), Leigh Dornauf (1980) and Don McVilly (1978).

There is a bonus to winning this year’s 2019 Hanley Formula Australasian Young Drivers Championship with the winning driver to be invited to drive in the famed Swedish Guldklockan (Gold Watch) series, held at Sovalla, Stockholm in December next year.

Taking on Crook for that opportunity are; Cameron Hart (NSW), Matt Elkins (QLD), Brodie Webster (SA) Zac Phillips (VIC), Corey Peterson (WA) Sheree Tomlinson (Defending Champion, NZ), Sarah O’Reilly (NZ), John Morrison (South Island, NZ) and Benjamin Butcher (North Island, NZ).

Watch Awayandrideyourself win in Launceston on 25 August which helped Crook secure last season junior drivers title: