Ben Hunt in action at Rally Hawkes Bay. Photo Lance Hastie
Three young rally drivers will come out of this weekend’s Rally New Zealand Rising Stars shootout with professional mentoring, support and funding to help take the next step in their competitive careers.
The Rising Stars driver development programme comprises three elements: a Scholarship and the Development and International Awards, says Rally New Zealand chairman Chris Carr.
Carr is joined by expert judges to assess the entrants in all three categories during a two-day shootout in the Maramarua Forest over the weekend of 20 and 21 November.
“On Sunday afternoon we look forward to announcing the three winners who will each receive prize packages worth at least $50,000 towards their 2010 rally campaigns,” says Carr.
The Scholarship is contested by young drivers who have not yet competed in New Zealand’s national rally series.
“The Scholarship winner earns the right to use a professionally-prepared two-wheel-drive production car (a Group N 2WD Ford Fiesta) in the 2010 New Zealand Rally Championship.
“We are selecting our second Scholarship winner during this weekend’s shootout and couldn’t be more pleased with how the inaugural Scholarship recipient, Nelsonian Ben Hunt, has made progress in his competitive rallying this year.”
A quality field of potential Scholarship recipients from all around the country have taken up the challenge for the 2010 Scholarship title. The young drivers: Stephen Barker, 21 years of age from Hamilton; Jordan Burley, 21, Hamilton; Phillip Campbell, 23, Tauranga; David Holder, 20, Invercargill; Tom Hulbert, 24, Kaukapakapa; Jamie Kitzen, 23, Papakura; Kevin Laird, 24, Gore; Scott Rutherford, 16, Te Atatu South; and Philip Terry, 23, Invercargill.
The second tier of the Rising Stars driver development programme, the Development Award, has seen drivers contesting this year’s NZRC Group N 2WD class gain points from nominated rounds.
“The top two drivers plus a wildcard candidate are competing in the shootout with the winner receiving professional support, mentoring and $50,000 funding to assist their move into the higher powered, four-wheel-drive production car (Group N 4WD) category in next year’s NZRC,” explains Carr.
Whangarei’s Ben Jagger, 20, and Ben Hunt, 21, of Nelson, the 2009 Scholarship winner, qualified for the Development Award shootout on points, with 25-year-old South Aucklander Patrick Malley was named as the wildcard entry.
Rising Star’s top tier, the International Award, is open to those running Group N 4WD cars during this year’s NZRC. Like the Development Award, points were collected from nominated events and the top two points’ scorers, plus a wildcard applicant about to front up to the shootout judges.
“To add to his successes this season, 21-year-old Hayden Paddon from Geraldine earned enough points to compete for the International Award along with Nelson’s Kieran Hall, 25, while Christchurch’s Josh Marston, 25, grabbed the wildcard spot.”
The International Award winner receives financial assistance to the tune of $50,000, plus professional mentoring and support to invest in competing in a top-level international event during the 2010 season.
“The three parts of the Rising Stars programme offer many opportunities to the three winners, and just taking part in the shootout is a fantastic learning experience for each competitors. They have the chance to talk to many of New Zealand’s most experienced rally drivers and organisers and to challenge themselves with the multiple components of the shootout programme,” says Carr. “Looking at the quality of all competitors, I can tell now that each recipient will have overcome plenty of stiff opposition to earn their title.”
The Rising Stars shootout weekend commences with a meet-and-greet for contestants and officials on Friday 20 November. Contestants are then put through a rigorous series of challenges to test their fitness, media interview skills, ability to lure a sponsor and driving capabilities. The three winners are announced late in the afternoon of Sunday 22 November.
ends
Background information
How the Rally New Zealand Rising Stars driver development programme works:
Drivers must be under 26 years of age on 1 January 2010, a member of a MotorSport New Zealand-affiliated car club and a New Zealand resident.
Applicants for the Scholarship must not ever have registered as a competitor in the New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) in a Group N car.
To enter the 2009 Development Award, drivers must have competed in the Group N N3 (front-wheel-drive production car) class in the 2009 New Zealand Rally Championship.
To enter the 2009 International Award, drivers must have competed in the Group N N4 (four-wheel-drive production car) class in the 2009 New Zealand Rally Championship.
In 2009 drivers nominated two NZRC events in addition to two compulsory events in which to collect points towards either the Development or the International Award. The two compulsory events were June’s NAC Insurance International Rally of Whangarei and August’s Possum Bourne Memorial Rally.
In 2010, the Scholarship winner will have the use of the fully-prepared Ford Fiesta for all rounds of the New Zealand Rally Championship, including Rally New Zealand.
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Photo: 2009 Rising Stars Scholarship winner Ben Hunt in action at Rally Hawkes Bay. Free to use. Please credit Lance Hastie.
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