ABOUT 18 months ago, Jarrod Dwyer jumped off his motorbike and went straight into a go kart.And he has not looked back since.This weekend the 11-year-old will be heading out to the Ballarat Kart Club at Haddon for the first monthly meet of the year, held this Sunday.Once a month there is a meeting at Haddon, and Dwyer can be found there racing in the midget class _ for 7-11 year-olds _ at speeds of up to 85kmh.Last year he finished second in the club championship for midgets, after he won the 65cc club championship for the Ballarat Rovers Motorcycle Club.But he has given up the bikes for the karts."Since I was little I used to race motorbikes and I was really into them," Dwyer said."I just like speed, so I had a try of the go karts. "I had a try of my mate's go kart and I liked it. "After I gave up the motorbikes I went to go karts."He felt the karts were a safer option."Four wheels is a bit better because motorbikes are a bit dangerous."But the Lumen Christi Primary School Year 5 pupil also loves the fact he is just above track level. "It's fun because you're so close to the ground _ about an inch or something like that."He dreams of one day racing Formula One but will be happy in "something that makes money in cars".It is hard to imagine the bubbly young man getting nervous, but his stomach starts to churn just before a race."When I'm on the grid I get a bit sick," he admits.Dwyer also loves the social side of the sport and sees it as an opportunity to make new friends.He singled his main rivals at the BKC as Tyler Harrison and Blake Graham.Australian kart champion David Sera is his hero, and one of Dwyer's goals is to race all over the world as Sera does.Last month Dwyer earned his first podium finish in a big Melbourne race - the 2009 Junior Top Guns at Oakleigh Kart Raceway - where he finished second in one of the finals and placed in the top-five overall, which was calculated from results over the two Friday nights of the meet.But it is not just winning that is important to Dwyer, sportsmanship is also a must. "There's some kids who get off their go karts and cry because they don't win but I just get off and say, `Well done'."And whether he wins or loses, he will be at Haddon this Sunday saying "Well done" to his fellow karters.