Michael Caruso

Michael Caruso (born 25 May 1983) is an Australian professional motor racing driver. Caruso competes in the Pirtek Enduro Cup, co-driving a Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 for Team 18 alongside Mark Winterbottom.

Early career Caruso began his career in go-karts at age 12, before graduating to Formula Ford in 2001. He moved to Formula 3 in 2002 and won the Australian Formula 3 Championship in 2003. Despite offers to move to FIA Formula 3000 in Europe, he chose to join the Holden Young Lions team in the V8 Supercars Development Series for 2004.

Garry Rogers Motorsport In 2008, Caruso was signed to compete in his first full season in V8 Supercars, driving a Holden Commodore (VE) for Garry Rogers Motorsport, where he replaced Dean Canto. In 2009, Caruso won his first championship race at the Skycity Triple Crown at Hidden Valley Raceway. He also finished on the podium at the 2009 Bathurst 1000, co-driving with Lee Holdsworth, and in the second race of the Sydney 500. Caruso stayed at the team until 2012, only scoring one further podium in this period.

Nissan Motorsport In 2013, Caruso moved to Nissan Motorsport, a four-car team running the Nissan Altima L33. The team was the first to introduce a new manufacturer to the category under the New Generation V8 Supercar (then known as Car of the Future) regulations in 2013. The team largely struggled with the new package and Caruso finished 23rd in the championship. The highlight of the year for Caruso was at the Winton 360, where he finished second in the opening race. Caruso had been leading the race at the conclusion of the first half of the split race; however was beaten by teammate James Moffat to victory in the second half.

In 2014, Caruso finished a career-high tenth in the championship, despite only scoring one podium, in the second race of the Gold Coast 600. Caruso also took pole at the non-championship V8 Supercars Challenge race, a support event to the Australian Grand Prix. Having featured Norton 360 sponsorship in 2013 and 2014, from 2015 onwards, Caruso sported a corporate Nissan and Nismo livery. After another lean year in 2015, Caruso began 2016 strongly at the season-opening Adelaide 500. Caruso finished second in the Sunday race and led the championship following the event. At the 2016 CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown, Caruso won his second career championship race, seven years after his first and coincidentally once again at Hidden Valley Raceway. On 30 January 2019 it was announced that Caruso would lose his drive with Nissan Motorsport. He will not compete full-time in 2019 and has yet to announce an ENDURO drive.

Career results Karting career summary SeasonSeriesPosition 1997 Queensland Junior Kart Championship 1st Victorian Junior Kart Championship 1st Australian Junior Intercontinental A Title 1st North American Junior Intercontinental A Title 1st 1998 Queensland Intercontinental A Title 1st 2000 Victorian Formula A Kart Title 1st

Racing career summary

Super2 Series results (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Supercars Championship results (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Bathurst 1000 results Year Team Car Co-driver Position Laps 2006 Brad Jones Racing Ford Falcon BA Dale Brede Mark Porter† DNF 59 2007 WPS Racing Ford Falcon BF Grant Denyer 15th 159 2008 Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore VE Lee Holdsworth DNF 139 2009 Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore VE Lee Holdsworth 3rd 161 2010 Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore VE Greg Ritter 10th 161 2011 Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore VE Marcus Marshall 10th 161 2012 Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden Commodore VE Greg Ritter 5th 161 2013 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33 Daniel Gaunt 25th 147 2014 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33 Dean Fiore 15th 158 2015 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33 Dean Fiore 13th 161 2016 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33 Dean Fiore 8th 161 2017 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33 Dean Fiore 6th 161 2018 Nissan Motorsport Nissan Altima L33 Dean Fiore DNF 69 2019 Tickford Racing Ford Mustang S550 Cam Waters 20th 148 2020 Tickford Racing Ford Mustang S550 Lee Holdsworth 7th 161 2021 Team 18 Holden Commodore ZB Mark Winterbottom 16th 161 2022 Team 18 Holden Commodore ZB Mark Winterbottom 15th 161 2023 Team 18 Chevrolet Camaro Mk.6 Mark Winterbottom 160 2024 18th 161

† Porter was the entered driver but was killed in a support race. Caruso would replace him.

TCR Australia results TCR Australia results Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Position Points 2021 GRM Team Valvoline Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR SYMR1 SYMR2 SYMR3 PHIR4 PHIR5 PHIR6 BATR7 BATR8 BATR9 SMPR10 SMPR11 SMPR12 BATR13 BATR14 BATR15 11th 326 2022 Ashley Seward Motorsport Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR SYMR1 SYMR2 SYMR3 PHIR4 PHIR5 PHIR6 BATR7 BATR8 BATR9 SMPR10 SMPR11 SMPR12 QLDR13 QLDR14 QLDR15 SANR16 SANR17 SANR18 BATR19 BATR20 BATR21 12th 520