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For such a small country, Australia has a generous heritage in motorsports. The likes of Sir Jack Brabham, Alan Jones, Mark Webber, Will Power, and Daniel Riccardo have all burst out of our island to compete overseas.
With the motorsport scene always on the hunt for new talent, Melbourne teenager Bradley Majman has made a name for himself in Australia before being picked up by international talents such as Fernando Alonso to enrich his career further.
Not being the son of a millionaire or coming from generational wealth, Majman has proved himself through dedication to the sport and immense discipline that few teenagers would have.
Bradley started karting in Australia at age five, and he has stuck with it for the past decade, being fortunate enough to compete in Italy, the United States, and Malaysia.
Quickly moving up the ranks, the teenager found himself in the seat of a Ligier JS F4 Series car – winning three races in 2024 and an additional podium finish in the US before making the rare leap straight into a USF2000 car as he paths full steam ahead to Indy.
Now being backed as one of only 12 drivers by A14 Management, founded by Fernando Alonso, his career is being accelerated.
I had the opportunity to sit down with him, his mother, Tracy and his father, Stephane, to talk about all things racing and how he will achieve his goal of racing in the Indy Car Championship.
How can someone from Australia start racing internationally?
Bradley started like most kids, spending some time with his father in go-karts before his parents realised he had some serious natural talent.
"I think for us it was probably more like, this might be a bit of a weekend thing, a bit of a hobby, a bit of fun. And then my husband saw that he had talent. And we kept waiting for the next roadblock in terms of going 'he's not good enough, we better stop', but that never happened and hasn't happened yet," said Tracy
Fast-track a couple of years, and it's now 2019. A man named Dave Sera saw some promise in Bradley. Sera supported him through his Kart Class, Sera Driver Development, and ended up sending Bradley to Las Vegas in 2019 where he became the first and only Australian to win the SuperNationals.
After establishing his name on the international karting scene, he gained the interest of Shane Wharton, whose son James currently races in Formula 3 and earned the opportunity to race in Italy.
"While Covid was sort of passing over in Italy and we were in the thick of our lockdowns here, he was sitting in his room homeschooling, not doing very much, and missing out on what was making him happy. So, we decided to give him the opportunity to go to Italy and keep karting," said Tracy.
"A big reason that Bradley got to race in Italy was through Shane Wharton, whose son James currently races in Formula 3. Shane started a kart team in Italy and asked Bradley if he'd like to come over and race."
"He was only 12, so just finishing off grade six and he went by himself. He flew with somebody from the team, but the rest of the family stayed behind. It was also a very big maturing opportunity for him in terms of being able to be away from home for longer periods, travelling overseas by himself. He had supervision all the time but was also very independent."
Bradley said it was an invaluable experience.
"It was definitely an eye-opener. I mean, just the way it all works in Europe is a lot different. The level was a lot higher," said Bradley.
"As a driver, it really just accelerated me. I did a round of the national karting here before I went to Europe, and I had just moved up a class, and I was pretty much last. Then I went to Europe for three months and the next round later I was top five."
Being spotted by some big names
Although he is still in the early years of his career, Bradley has some big names backing him already. Nick Percat, who has been there throughout most of his career, is one of them, as well as Fernando Alonso.
Percat is a successful V8 Supercars and Carrera Cup driver, scoring a win at Bathurst in his debut season.
"We partnered together for one of my races. Then, through the years, the involvement got bigger. Pretty much Nick's been in my corner for eight years now," said Bradley
"I'm with A14 Management now. [Nick] helped a lot with that because his kart team is affiliated with it.
"The advice that he can give and the expertise that he has is great because not every second person is willing to do what he does – starting a karting team and helping out all these young kids. My last year of karting, we were down at the track every weekend together, really just going above and beyond and doing stuff that no one else has done."
The A14 Management that Bradley mentioned is part of two-time Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso's portfolio as a way to raise the profile of young drivers.
"A14 approached us early last year or toward the first half of last year and expressed an interest in meeting with us and having a chat about Bradley joining," said mum Tracy.
"That introduction came through Nick Percat when he was running the Fernando Alonso karts. Bradley was at that stage racing in pretty much the equivalent of Formula 4 in the US. And after he'd won quite a few rounds, we met with A14 on Zoom, and the people there were really keen to have him."
Bradley is looked after by an American manager who goes with him to the race meets, testing, and team sessions to ensure that he's getting the best car he can and that the team is on top of what it should be doing.
Not only is A14 providing the support for Bradley Majman, but it's also giving him the chance to mingle with drivers who can provide further experience for him.
"There's not many better people to be around when these guys; they've already made themselves a career or they're like three or four years ahead of me," said Bradley.
Where Majman's career is heading
Bradley recently stepped up to USF2000, an open-wheeler series in the US, after skipping the natural progression from the Ligier JS F4 series. This means he's one of the youngest in the current field, which gives him a good chance on his road to Indy Car.
"It was really difficult going from a go-kart to a car. I probably had six months to really figure out what I'd got myself into before the first test, and then now, I have six months before the race, before my first race," said Bradley.
"And it was really just a massive learning curve, understanding the platform of a car, what it's like to drive a car compared to a go-kart."
Racing in Indy has been on his radar since 2019, when he partnered with Australia's most successful Indy driver, Will Power, at the Vegas karting event, which put him on the map.
"That was a big inspiration for me. But then, when you look into it more, it is just the fact of how versatile it is. For example, we raced on a street track last weekend in St. Petersburg, and then they do ovals super speedways at Indianapolis, and then there are your normal conventional tracks. I can't name a series that races at three completely different types of tracks," said Bradley.
Perhaps one of the biggest things that is swept under the rug of any successful racer is just how much the family has to sacrifice for their child's career.
Being a successful athlete means you essentially devote your entire life to being the best you possibly can be at your sport. That means missing out on the average social life of a teenager, parents being away from your siblings, and even just missing the social aspect that comes with school, as most professional athletes are homeschooled like Bradley.
"It's a big sacrifice for the family. There's been many weekends where Stephane and Bradley have been away and missed out on important family events, and a lot of time, money and resources go into supporting Bradley and his career path – that takes sacrifice," said Tracy.
Bradley's drive to excellence
Talking with Bradley's father, it's clear just how dedicated the whole family is to the sport.
"Passionate is one word, but he's also intense. Not only does he want the best out of himself, but he pushes the team that is with us as well. When he wants data or when he wants to review, he's always pushing for more, pushing to review – he's the first to the track and last to leave type of guy," said dad Stephane.
"The thing I'm most impressed with is his ability. For example, in the last USF2000 round, he raced and he had one 20-minute session to learn the track. That's it. He's ended up qualifying fifth, which was great. And then in the first race, he was taken out in the very first corner.
"He started the second with less experience of the track, whereas everyone else would've had that because they finished the first race. Yet, Brad ended up still finishing fifth the second time, even without the knowledge from the first."
It's clear that he is certainly one to watch coming up through the race, and with backing from someone as well-known as Fernando Alonso and Nick Percat, I don't doubt he'll be another face for Australian motorsport in a few years.
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
