Passion behind wheel

Sitting down to chat with Will White, there is no indication you are talking to one of WA’s fastest tarmac rally drivers.

Will grew up in Bunbury, and his parents were the proud owners of several successful businesses before he moved away in his early 20s.

“I came back home and started a business some 25 years ago,” he said.

“That business is Dardanup Removals.”

With business booming and having settled back in Dardanup, Will set about indulging in his passion for motorsport — a passion that has consumed him since he was young.

“I raced karts when I was younger for a little bit here in Bunbury and got a love for racing — I just wanted to go fast,” he said.

“Me and my best mate tried to enter classic rally 20-odd years ago, closer to 30 years ago now, and got knocked back.”

In the years following, Will met his wife Jasmine and settled down on a block in Dardanup he bought from Bunbury Tyrepower owner Murray Harris, laying the groundwork for what would eventually become a prosperous sponsorship deal as he edged back into motorsport about 10 years ago.

“He (Murray Harris) cut me a deal on the block but said ‘you never buy tyres anywhere else’ ... they still sponsor us some tyres each year,” he said.

As he became more of a familiar face on the rally circuit, Will cultivated more friendships and built rapport with some of the sport’s heavy hitters, including multiple-time Targa West winner Steve Jones.

“The car I have now was actually Steve’s,” he said.

The car in question is a Mitsubishi Evo IX which has been tweaked and tailored to suit Will’s smooth but lightning-fast driving style.

“I’ve had two Targa Cup wins and a second place, two second places and a third place at Targa West, and a win at Targa South West,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter what you’ve got, we’ve all got different cars and different stages that suit different cars.

“I just love it, it’s such a great group of people who do it.”

Tarmac rallies pit a driver and co-driver against the clock over a series of timed stages, with the winner being the pair with the lowest accumulated time across all stages.

Will’s most recent success was at the GT Fabrication Targa Bunbury Sprint last weekend, finishing third in the single-day day, eight-stage event through the Halifax light industrial area.

Outside of his business and racing, the community is front and centre of Will’s spare time, having coached local hockey for nine years and being involved with his wife in the City of Bunbury Surf Life Saving Club.

“I just mull around and help out, whatever needs doing,” he said.