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The route to the top in motor sport is clearly signposted for 16 young drivers assembling in the UAE capital tomorrow for an important stepping stone in their careers.
The UAE’s Mansour Al Helei is among the group taking part in the Middle East and Mediterranean regional selection event at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit to decide who wins a place at the FIA Institute’s 2013/14 Young Driver Excellence Academy.
The stakes are high, as emphasised by the achievements of several previous participants in the Academy who have gone onto great things.
Last year, three of the Academy’s alumni dominated the World Series by Renault, winning the top three categories in the series.
Spain’s Albert Costa won the Eurocup Mégane Trophy, Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne - now on the McLaren young driver programme - took the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 title, and Robin Frijns secured victory in the top Formula Renault 3.5 championship.
Frijns’ title win earned him a test with both the Sauber and Red Bull Racing F1 teams and he was later announced as Sauber’s test driver this season. He joined fellow Academy graduate Alexander Rossi, now an official test driver for the Caterham F1 team.
Also last year, Norwegian rally driver Andreas Mikkelsen won his second Intercontinental Rally Challenge title and was rewarded with a place in the Volkswagen works team for this year’s World Rally Championship.
Organised by the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE on behalf of the FIA Institute, the regional selection event at Yas Marina Circuit is one of five being staged globally to deliver eight of the best young drivers into the Academy.
The winners from each event receive a place on the Academy’s fully-funded training programme, which aims to help drivers develop their motor sport careers, whilst increasing safety skills and actively promoting the principles of safety, fairness and responsibility on and off the track.
A further three drivers will be selected from across the five selection events using a wildcard system, but there are no losers.“Even those not chosen to go forward will benefit from three days of training, learning and assessment that will benefit them in their careers,” said ATCUAE PresidentDr. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the FIA Vice President for Sport.
“They will also face exercises designed to evaluate fitness and driving performance, media techniques, teamwork and psychology. It’s a great opportunity for them all. The objective is not just to find a winner, but for it to be like a mini-Academy in itself.”
Featuring a series of tests on the track and in the classroom at Yas Marina Circuit, the three-day programme begins on Monday morning following formalities when the drivers arrive in Abu Dhabi tomorrow.
German driver Marvin Kirchhoefer, who missed the European event due to competition commitments in the US, has been given special dispensation to join this qualifier. He is not eligible to win the event, but could be considered for one of the wildcard places.
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