Suzuki driver graduates elite academy

18 July 2011

Suzuki driver graduates elite academy

Suzuki Swift Sport Cup debutant Chris Cox from Rangiora has recently graduated with flying colours from the week-long Elite Motorsport Academy held at Dunedin’s Academy of Sport South Island and the Physical Education School of Otago University.

The Academy, a week-long intensive training course funded by the MotorSport New Zealand Scholarship Trust, is designed to up-skill and further develop the ten annual participants to better endure the gruelling physical and mental challenges of competition.

Finishing fifth in his rookie Suzuki Swift Sport Cup season, 18-year-old Cox was drafted to join nine other race and rally competitors for the Dunedin course, which includes an extensive follow-up programme. Selected from a large list of applicants, recruits need to pass rigorous fitness tests and are finally selected by an experienced judging panel including factors of performance and potential.

Putting attendees through a range of physical tasks during the week, they also cover a wide variety of classroom topics such as nutrition and psychology. They were later tested for a variety of skills including physical and mental reactions to the race driver simulator in climate conditions of 60% humidity at a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius. In the WOMBAT psycho-motor testing simulator used for pilot training, Cox recorded the highest ever score set by an Academy attendee.

Its news like that Suzuki New Zealand’s motorsport manager Darren Stevens says will be a real boost to their series.

“Chris was one of our star performers last season, doing exceptionally well for his age and experience. So to be an elite academy recruit was a great reward for his on-track efforts. Not only will it enrich his learning but we know he will be an even better competitor capable of doing even more, said Stevens.

“Chris is the second Suzuki Swift Sport Cup driver to have graduated from the Academy in the past two years, which helps others in the series as they learn by osmosis by having better skilled drivers around them. It’s the skills aside from being a good driver they also pick up on: like better managing their time, eating and drinking the right things at the right times, being better communicators – especially when it comes to getting a return on a sponsor’s investment.”

The week concluded with the group splitting in to three teams, working together to run up Dunedin’s Baldwin Street in the fastest time possible. At only 350 metres long its incline of 19° or 35% makes it the steepest street in the world.

Suzuki’s most popular selling new car, the Swift, will again be a dominating feature of the summer motor racing season, which begins on 5 November for the first of six rounds on the 2011/2012 calendar.

ENDS

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