Race and Rally Drivers win President’s Scholarship

Media Release
Wednesday 4 February 2009

Race and Rally Drivers win President’s Scholarships

Two leading drivers have won MotorSport New Zealand’s President’s Scholarships for 2009 providing specialist support to help develop their careers.

Announcing the awards, the sport’s president, Steven Kennedy said that race driver Earl Bamber from Wanganui and rally driver Mark Tapper from Auckland, would receive special assistance funded by the MotorSport New Zealand Scholarship Trust to help them develop their careers.

“Both have shown outstanding form in the past year and have the opportunity to make significant progress on the international stage. Bamber has done particularly well in single seater categories from A1GP to various Asian series while Tapper has won a Pirelli Scholarship giving him a fully supported production car drive in six rounds of the World Rally Championship,” he said.

“The Scholarship Trust’s role is to foster young New Zealand talent and we believe we are achieving that. Both these young competitors have been through the sport’s Elite Motorsport Academy programme and are now ready to take on the international scene.

Earl Bamber, who is currently based in London will receive one on one mentoring with UK-based New Zealander, Dr Kerry Spackman, one of the world’s leading neuroscientists.

“This is the fourth year The MotorSport New Zealand Scholarship Trust have sought Dr Spackman’s services with the aim of providing the very best support for the country’s leading or up-and-coming drivers,” Mr Kennedy said. “Everyone who has worked with him has reported significant benefits from his advice and guidance.”

Dr Spackman has worked with elite sportsmen and women in a range of disciplines, including Formula One.

To help prepare Mark for the demands of the WRC, the Trust is funding a special programme at the Academy of Sport SI, prior to the start of his competition calendar which starts in with the Rally of Portugal in April. The Academy of Sport SI also runs the Elite MotorSport Academy on behalf of the Scholarship Trust.

“In past years we have been able to support three or four young drivers but, like Trusts everywhere, funding is becoming an increasing issue and we continue to seek funds,” Mr Kennedy said.

“Despite producing an array of top competitors carrying the New Zealand flag overseas, we are unable to attract high performance athlete funding from SPARC so the sport set up the Trust to develop our own talent.

“With the huge TV audiences available to motorsport, Scott Dixon’s feats in winning Indycar twice and the Indy 500 event and the performance of Brendon Hartley in Europe, show how easily a profile can be built for New Zealand by a winner,” Mr Kennedy said.

“We hope SPARC may reconsider its policy on support for high performance athletes and look at some top drivers. Their physical fitness and acuity levels are rated by fitness scientists among the very top echelon of athletes, but because they drive machines, they are discounted as elite performers. ”

ENDS

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