Photo: Andre HeimgartnerNine young motorsport athletes have been selected for the 2011 MotorSport Elite Academy, to be run in Dunedin early July – among them three rally co-drivers and, for the first time, a kartsport competitor.
The Elite Academy, established in 2004 by the MotorSport Scholarship Trust, has proved successful in preparing New Zealand’s top race and rally talent for domestic and international championship competition.
Physical fitness, nutrition, promotional abilities, media skills, psychometric and mental performance are all developed at the Academy, run by NZ Academy of Sport South and the Physical Education School at Otago University
The inclusion of a kartsport racer for the first time is in recognition of “the important role that kartsport plays in introducing youngsters to the thrills and skills of motorsport”, said MotorSport New Zealand president Shayne Harris. “It felt appropriate that we should be encouraging its top youngsters to apply for the Academy and we hope that one competitor this year may lead to others in the future.”
Kartsport New Zealand President, Lance Hickey is excited by the development. “We already run our own KartSport Academy Stage One and Two driver training, with some off-track content, and the Elite Academy provides Stage Three for kartsport,” he said.
“This is a great opportunity for the two codes to work closely together. Most of today’s successful young race drivers have a kartsport background and no doubt there will continue to be competitors moving across from karts to cars, but there are also many kartsport competitors who will look to pursue their careers both nationally and internationally in karts. The Elite Academy will benefit them all.”
Shayne Harris said the inclusion of three rally co-drivers is “recognition of the close team relationship required in rallying; interestingly, all three sit alongside drivers who are Elite Academy graduates.
“I am sure the nine selected for this year’s class will hugely benefit from the experience, both in their competition and in their personal development,” he said.
The MotorSport Elite Academy class of 2011 comprises:
Sarah Coatsworth 33 Co-driver Inglewood
Christopher Cox 18 Suzuki Swift/TRS Lites Rangiora
Tarryn Cox 21 Co-diver Rotorua
Jason Farmer 30 Co-driver Huntly
Kyle George 19 Formula First Hamilton
Andre Heimgartner 16 Formula Ford Auckland
Daniel Kinsman 18 KartSport Auckland
Hayden Pedersen 16 Formula First Rotorua
Matthew Summerfield 19 Rally driver Rangiora
