Fifth Elite MotorSport Academy a Great Success

The 2008 Formula Ford champion John Whelan topped the Elite MotorSport Academy which has run in Dunedin over the past week.

“This was the fifth year we have held the Academy and each year the achievement levels get higher and higher,” MotorSport New Zealand president Steven Kennedy said.

“They were an outstanding group of nine young race and rally drivers and while John won, followed by rally driver Patrick Malley and Toyota Racing Series rookie of the year Michael Burdett, the competition was fierce.

“Throughout the Academy the young drivers are required to undertake a variety of individual and team activities all designed to test and upskill them in the many disciplines required of top level athletes.

“A bonus for this year’s graduates is that the MotorSport NZ Scholarship Trust with assistance from SPARC now has funding to provide ongoing mentoring support through the next 24 months. They will be brought together in Wellington next year by which stage another nine graduates will join the follow up programme.

“We are seeing the huge benefits young drivers gain from the grounding they receive from the Academy and must give credit to the work of the specialists at the Academy of Sport South Island and Otago University who have designed and refined a unique programme for these young achievers,” Mr Kennedy said.