The 2025 Novice Driver Series will conclude this Saturday night at Northam, wrapping up a highly successful initiative that has provided invaluable race-day experience for Western Australia’s emerging driving talent, with the program set to continue again in 2026 following its strong first year.
Launched in January, the Novice Driver Series was designed to give young concession drivers the opportunity to compete against their peers in a structured, competitive environment while gaining exposure to different horses, trainers and racing conditions across the State.
A total of 20 races have been conducted throughout 2025, staged at a variety of venues, ensuring drivers gained experience on multiple tracks and under differing race-day circumstances. The final event at Northam will mark the culmination of a tightly contested series where results have consistently gone down to the wire.
(Image: Abbey Vidovich)
One of the key strengths of the series has been its rating-free format, allowing trainers to support the concept without concern for ratings impact. Racing WA extends a sincere thank you to the many trainers who embraced the initiative and made horses available, playing a crucial role in the success of the program.
To further enhance learning opportunities and ensure fairness, drives in each race were allocated via ballot, meaning drivers were randomly assigned to horses. This format has encouraged adaptability, versatility and strong racecraft, while also exposing young drivers to different trainers.
(Image: Liam Elliott)
A total of 18 drivers competed in the series during 2025, with the structure specifically designed to maximise participation and ensure drivers were rotated through the system so everyone had regular opportunities to race, subject to availability. This approach, combined with consistently even fields, has resulted in an exceptionally close competition where a number of drivers remain capable of winning the overall series heading into the final round.
(Image: Tom Nally)
Racing WA Head of Harness Racing & Special Projects Cameron Brown said the series had delivered outstanding outcomes for the next generation of drivers.
“It’s been a terrific year for our young drivers, and the Novice Driver Series has played a key role in that,” Brown said.
“We have a clear strategy around incentivising and developing young harness racing driving talent into the future, both on and off the track. This series has given drivers genuine race-day experience in a competitive but supportive environment, while also exposing them to different horses, trainers and tracks right across the State.
“Initiatives like the Novice Driver Series, alongside the Driving Forward program led by Aldo Cortopossi, are central to how we continue to build confidence, skills and long-term pathways for our emerging drivers.”
With the final round approaching, the points standings remain extremely competitive, with 17 points to the winner, 12 for second, 9 for third and points down to last place and points leader Liam Elliott not participating in the final race by ballot:
Novice Driver Series – 2025 Points Standings
- Liam Elliott – 123 points (15 drives)
- Abbey Vidovich – 114 points (12 drives)
- Tom Nally – 112 points (12 drives)
- Kylah Madden – 111 points (16 drives)
- Briana Edman – 106 points (14 drives)
- Joseph Suvaljko – 99 points (14 drives)
- Aaron Suvaljko – 86 points (14 drives)
- Lachlan Kennelly – 77 points (13 drives)
- Toby Lynn – 60 points (10 drives)
- Ajay Markham – 56 points (11 drives)
- Darcy Kulcsar – 50 points (13 drives)
- Ashley Shepherd – 33 points (7 drives)
- Sara Grout – 22 points (6 drives)
- Tom Bryant – 18 points (4 drives)
- Anna Hiltunen – 18 points (5 drives)
- Mikayla Jones – 15 points (3 drives)
- Ryan Eyre – 14 points (1 drive)
- Daniel Suvaljko – 4 points (2 drives)
With strong engagement from drivers and trainers alike, Racing WA looks forward to building on the success of the Novice Driver Series in 2026 as part of its ongoing commitment to developing the next generation of harness racing drivers in Western Australia.
