This week’s Driver Development Roundup is packed with new race driver scholarships you can apply for as well as a healthy dose of race driver development news.
I also have news about the Spec MX-5 class, why driving different types of race cars will help in your driver development growth and whether you’ve got what it takes to be an F1 driver.
All this and more in this week’s Driver Development Roundup on Motorsport Prospects. Its news for new and aspiring race drivers from around the world.
The official 2024 BRSCC Fiesta Junior Scholarship will offer a talented young driver the fantastic opportunity to win a valuable and comprehensive junior circuit racing prize in the UK.
For the first time ever, the BRSCC supported by selected partners is delivering an official Fiesta Junior Scholarship program, this aimed at further developing the new-generation Mk7 Fiesta category.
To take place at Blyton Park Driving Centre Race Circuit in February 2024, the inaugural FJC Scholarship will see one talented young driver winning a massive prize package, this including use of a stunning new Mk7 Fiesta race car provided by the Pro Alloys Racing team.
They’ll also walk away with full pre-event and event support from Pro Alloys Racing, their 2024 race entries, championship registration and Club membership fees taken care of, 24 Dunlop Direzza race tyres, a comprehensive pre-event testing programme, all race fuel and consumables catered for, and a SIM Motorsport development programme as well.
Additionally they’ll have BTCC racer Josh Cook on hand as a personal mentor, as well as highly respected motorsport presenter Richard John Neil to offer media advice and support.
Full details of the BRSCC Fiesta Junior Scholarship program can be found by clicking on the link below. Scholarship entrant numbers are limited so don’t delay in securing your slot.
MORE INFO & TO BOOK – https://brscc.co.uk/…/brscc-fiesta-junior-scholarship…/
About the Series
The BRSCC Fiesta Junior Championship is the fastest growing UK junior racing series and is the ideal cost-effective platform for any aspiring young driver to begin their circuit racing career. Further to that, the FJC forms part of the support program for the rapidly expanding TCR UK touring car championship and delivers maximum exposure for drivers and their sponsors.
https://brscc.co.uk/events/brscc-fiesta-junior-scholarship-2024/
One lucky person will win the chance to compete in the 2024 Vertu Motors Mini Challenge after series organizers have announced the launch of a new Scholarship program with a top prize worth in excess of £50,000.
The overall winner will secure a package that includes an entry, car hire, fuel and tyres in order to compete in an all-new class being introduced into the Mini Challenge next season.
That new class, further details of which will be revealed in the coming months, will feature cars producing around 225hp and will run alongside the headline JCW category at seven rounds of the prestigious British Touring Car Championship.
To enter, and for full terms and conditions, click HERE.
CCM Racing has announced a driver training program designed to enable racers currently competing in karting, dirt track, or road racing to prepare to move into the Arca Racing Series.
CCM Racing is positioned to lease racetracks in various locations and has built four more test cars throughout 2023. Their fleet now includes a number of non-ARCA and ARCA-legal cars that can be cost effectively utilized to drivers advance into ARCA.
This is not a set program with pre-determined, published prices. Detailed information of costs and schedule for your specific situation can be provided after discussion of your racing experience, location, and goals.
Corporate outing “Driving Experience” programs are also available for group events.
Anyone interested should message them on social media. All their channels are moderated, so your message will be received, responded to, and then you will be put into contact with the right person. The CCM Racing Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077712460696.
The four finalists have been revealed for the 2023 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award.
Formula 3 race winner Taylor Barnard, GB3 championship protagonists Callum Voisin and Joseph Loake, and Italian F4 points leader Arvid Lindblad will battle it out for prizes that include a test in Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One® Team machinery. None of the four have been finalists before.
The Award, which aims to find and assist the best junior British racing drivers, will include fitness and simulator elements before a two-day test at the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in MotorSport Vision Formula 2, United Autosports-run Ligier LMP3 and Beechdean Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 cars.
As the 2024 edition of the Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy edge ever closer, both the Tram Canada and Team USA Scholarship programs have announced who they will be sending to represent their respective countries in the UK.
Team Canada has named Alex Berg and Logan Pacza, both 16, as the two winners who will be contesting the end-of-year FF1600 events with Graham Brunton Racing. It is the second time that the scholarship has partnered with the Scottish single-seater team.
Meanwhile, Team USA has named Ayrton Houk and Jack Sullivan as the drivers who will be racing the distinctive and patriotic red-white-and-blue Team USA Scholarship colors in the two races. Houk and Sullivan headed off to England last week to begin on extensive testing program with Ammonite Motorsport in readiness for the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch on October 21/22 and the Walter Hayes Trophy event at Silverstone on November 4/5.
American driver Ayrton Houk calls this the trip of a lifetime.
The Ferrari Driver Academy has revealed the four drivers who are taking part in its second scouting camp of 2023. Making his second appearances at an FDA camp is Tomass Stolcermanis, while Dutchman Rene Lammers and Italians Emanuele Olivieri and Mattia Colnaghi are first-time attendees.
You can find out more about the Ferrari Driver Academy here.
Team Porsche New Zealand (TPNZ) scholarship recipient Callum Hedge has been announced as Australia’s nominee for the annual global Porsche Junior Shootout in Europe later this year. “Hedge earned the nomination after going head-to-head with nearest rival contestant Jackson Walls at the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia in Melbourne at Sandown Raceway. This round marked the cut-off for the championship nomination and the title was up for contention as just 32 points separated the pair in the Junior standings following four intense rounds previously.”
Motorsport UK’s Revolution magazine has an informative feature on Katie Baldwin, the Competitors Pathway Manager at Motorsport UK who discusses her role and what makes race drivers and co-drivers so unique as athletes..
Enzo Mucci asks a very simple question, have you got what it takes to be an F1 driver? “Watching Liam Lawson at his best in the Singapore GP was a real pleasure. He has earned his right to be and stay at this level. Here are the two main things I took from this weekend. Take these on to improve your chances of success.”
Spec MX-5 Challenge, LLC. has announced that the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) has adopted Spec MX-5 (SMX) to become a national class within the United States’ largest club racing organization from 2024 onwards. “Founded by Tom Martin at the end of 2017, Spec MX-5 Challenge presented by Toyo Tires has prided itself as THE Driver Development Series, seeing numerous drivers climb up the club racing ladder to become paid professional racers.”
Feeder Series have put together a comprehensive guide to the various single-seater development series on the FIA global pathway to F1. “Drivers in the junior motorsport ranks will encounter increasingly powerful, higher-downforce machines to test their abilities as they move up the ladder. Understanding the differences between the different junior series cars can be difficult, so Feeder Series is here to break them down.”
New Chip Ganassi Racing IndyCar signing Kyffin Simpson says his experience of racing sportscars in LMP2 will ease the Indy NXT graduate’s adaption to US open wheel’s top tier.
“I think it’s helped me in a lot of ways doing all these different series,” Simpson said. “Racing sportscars has helped a lot with my fuel saving and pit stops. Obviously, we don’t do that in Indy NXT, you’re just pushing flat out for 35 laps or however long the race is. I think doing all that this year was very helpful, but also just general racecraft, being in close races with other drivers has been very helpful, just doing lots of racing this year.”
Last week on Motorsport Prospects, Tommy Schröter, CEO of Baseline Driver Training discussed the importance of taking responsibility for your own learning. “The only one who can influence how you learn and how fast you can achieve the results you dream about is you.” You can read his post, Taking Responsibility for My Own Learning here.
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.