Caruso’s competitive racing career though began at the age of 11 in karting with achievements in state and national championships, including the Toyota Premier State Cup Series Junior Championship, the Australian Junior Intercontinental ‘A’ Championship and the North American Junior Championship in Charlotte USA.
Winning the 2000 Ford Max Challenge (the Formula Ford Scholarship Series) gave Caruso the much sort after step up to the national Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2001, then Formula Three in 2002 before winning the F3 title the following year with seven podium finishes.
Despite offers to move to Europe in 2004, Caruso still ventured there temporarily for three months, working with the Astromega F3000 Team and the MRD Motorsport Formula Renault Team. Such vital experience was brought back to Australia when in 2004 he began his Supercar career in the development series.
With engineering prowess and gifted driving ability, Caruso earned a runner-up placing in the 2007 “feeder” series, which was enough to earn a berth in the Supercar main game with Garry Rogers Motorsport in 2008. The first two years at GRM were instrumental to Michaels Supercar career, where he worked as an apprentice in the team along with driving. It only took one year to take his first race win which came in 2009 in Darwin. That same year he would go on and finish 3rd at Australia’s great race, the Bathurst 1000. After 5 years at GRM with a win and 4 podiums, he chose to start a new chapter.
Factory In 2013 Caruso recited the call to drive in the Factory backed Nissan, Michael Caruso was to see success in 2013 finishing 2nd at Winton and in 2014 achieving Pole Position and 3rd in the Supercars Challenge at the prestigious Australian Grand Prix. 2015 and Michael bought home Nissans only podium of the year at Winton finishing 3rd. 2016 and Caruso continues to fire, with a second place at the Adelaide 500 and the Championship lead. He would go on the win in Darwin that year and finish the championship in 10th, the highest from a Nissan since its return into the series. In 2017 Caruso would lead the Nissan drivers finishing 13th in the championship. 2018 would bring more success with another podium at the all new race track in South Australia, Tailem Bend finishing 3rd. At the seasons end Caruso would complete 328 competition starts and is one of only 27 other drivers to do so.
In 2019 and 2020 Michael Caruso drove for Tickford Racing in the Endurance Cup. Along with a competitive racing campaign this year, Michael has landed a role as an expert panelist and colour reporter on Network 10’s motorsport magazine show RPM. The Supercars driver has been snapped up by the free-to-air broadcaster to join the RPM panel as a regular on the show alongside host Matt White and Kate Peck.
2021…