21/01/2011
NEWS STORY
The FIA Institute has chosen the 19 drivers who will take part in a three-day shootout to decide who will make it onto its inaugural Young Driver Excellence Academy.
The shortlist is made up of young drivers from all over the world, including competitors from Bahrain, France, Spain, Israel, UK, Estonia, Norway, USA and New Zealand.
They are also some of the most talented young drivers in motor racing and rallying, with the shortlist featuring a number of current series champions, including the titleholders from Formula BMW Europe, the F4 Eurocup series and ADAC Formel Masters. They are joined by event winners from the Super 2000 and Junior World Rally Championships and a number of drivers with Formula One testing experience.
Only 10 of the shortlisted drivers will be chosen to join the Academy programme. To succeed they will have to demonstrate their ability over three days of driving and non-driving assessments. Of the final list of drivers chosen to take part, at least one driver will be selected from each of the FIA Institute's five funding regions: North, Central and South America; Western and Northern Europe; Central and Eastern Europe; Middle East and Africa; and Asia and Oceania.
The FIA Institute has teamed up with former Formula One star and two-time Le Mans winner Alex Wurz and former World Rally Champion co-driver Robert Reid to lead the Academy selection process and training programme. At the Selection Event in Melk, Austria, they will lead exercises designed to evaluate fitness and performance, media techniques, teamwork and psychology.
The primary goals of the Academy are to prepare young drivers to compete at the pinnacle of the sport; to increase skills in the area of driver and road safety; and to actively promote the principles of safety, fairness and responsibility both on and off the track. The Academy programme is fully funded by the FIA Foundation, and managed by the FIA Institute, as part of the Motor Sport Safety Development Fund's Young Driver Safety Programme.
Alex Wurz said: "I am delighted that so many young talented drivers have applied to participate in the first ever FIA Institute Academy. It demonstrates that this type of training, focussing as much on the classroom as on the track, is highly desirable for young competitors looking to develop and progress their careers in motor sport."
Robert Reid said: "It is great to see so many applications from such a diverse background all over the world. We're really looking forward to meeting those selected for the shoot-out in Austria and putting them through their paces."
Prof. Sid Watkins, FIA Institute President, said: "The Academy programme aims to ensure that our future stars are not just quick but also have the education and attitude that you need to succeed at the very top level. Alex and Robert have done just that and their contribution is invaluable to this important project."
Richard Woods, FIA Institute Director General, said: "This is a trial year for the Academy programme but we are already thrilled by the positive response we've received so far. We are pleased to be able to help young competitors at this important stage of their development and to do so in a way that ensures that safety is always at the forefront throughout their careers."
The drivers are: Kevin Abbring (21) Netherlands, Hamad Ahmed Al Fardan (23) Bahrain, Paul-Loup Chatin (19) France, Albert Costa (20) Spain, Alon Day (19) Israel, Philipp Eng (20) Austria, Robin Frijns (19) Netherlands, Adam Gould (23) UK, Timmy Hansen (18) Sweden, Egon Kaur (23) Estonia, Andreas Mikkelsen, (21) Norway, Josef Newgarden (20) USA, Norman Nato (18) France, Alexander Rossi (19) USA, Jan Skala (19) Czech Republic, Richie Stanaway (19) New Zealand, Molly Taylor (22) Australia, Stoffel Vandoorne (18) Belgium and Joni Wiman (17) Finland.
The selection event will take place on 6-8 February at the Test & Training centre in Melk, Austria. Following three days of driving and non-driving assessments, only 10 of these will be chosen to join the Academy programme.
Participants will be split into groups and taken through a timetable of driving and non-driving assessments by Academy examiners. Driving assessments include several sophisticated driving skill tests and competition sections. Off-track assessments include fitness, media techniques, teamwork and psychology.
The successful participants will be notified at the end of the third day.