Rally NZ Rising Stars driver development program

Media statement from Rally New Zealand

Rally New Zealand Rising Stars driver development programme

11 August 2009

Rally's Rising Stars Scholarship ready for 2010 applicants

Young rally drivers from around New Zealand can start getting their
applications ready for the 2010 Rising Stars Scholarship programme run by
Rally New Zealand.

The driver development programme - which includes the entry level
Scholarship and two tiers for more experienced drivers, the Development
Award and the International Award - ran for the first time in 2009 and has
proved to be a great success in terms of the learning opportunities afforded
to the young drivers involved, says Chris Carr, chairman of Rally New
Zealand.

"It's a pretty straightforward concept - we want to help young New Zealand
rally drivers develop a whole range of skills that could see them secure an
internationally-successful career as a professional rally driver," says
Carr.

Nelson's Ben Hunt, winner of the inaugural Scholarship, says he's been blown
away by the chance to work with so many well-known and highly experienced
rally competitors during his Scholarship season.

"Not many people can enjoy the constructive feedback of Kiwi rally stars
like Neil Allport in their first full season of rallying, or a
fully-prepared Ford Fiesta from acknowledged Fiesta expert Kayne Barrie. And
those are just two things that the Rally New Zealand Rising Stars
Scholarship has provided me," says the now 21-year-old. "It's an absolutely
fantastic experience, to have the support of so many people at Rally New
Zealand. This Scholarship has opened more doors than you could possibly
imagine when you first apply. I can only recommend others who are serious
about building a career in rallying to try out for this Scholarship."

Applications for the 2010 Rising Stars Scholarship are now open with the
deadline for completed application forms to be at the Rally New Zealand
office set for 2 November 2009.

To be eligible, applicants must be less than 26 years of age on 1 January
2010, a member of a MotorSport New Zealand-affiliated car club, and not
previously have registered as an entrant in the New Zealand Rally
Championship (NZRC) in a Group N car.

"The Rally New Zealand Rising Stars Scholarship provides the winner with a
support package worth over $50,000, including use of a vehicle to contest
the two-wheel-drive production category, or N3 class, of the 2010 New
Zealand Rally Championship, including Rally New Zealand which takes place 6
to 8 May 2010," says Carr. "The package also includes professional
mentoring, and as the Rally New Zealand Scholarship holder, the winner can
expect to enjoy an enhanced profile during Rally New Zealand next May in
front of the world's elite World Rally Championship teams.

"As Ben says, there are many positive elements of winning this Scholarship.
At the shootout weekend in March this year, the twelve applicants had the
chance to talk to several people working in a range of rallying roles -
everything from how timecards work to preparing for a media interview, as
well as driving rally cars on the popular roads of the Maramarua Forest -
thus fast-tracking a lot of learning for a young driver in a short space of
time.

"This year we will run the Scholarship shootout programme from 20 to 22
November, the same weekend our expert team is assessing the top points'
scoring entrants in the 2009 Rising Stars Development Award and
International Award.

"This provides the opportunity to rub shoulders with New Zealand's top
drivers who have scored the most points in the Development and International
Awards - the exact drivers attending the shootout weekend to decide who wins
these awards for the first time will be known after the last qualifying
event, Rally Nelson, in September. We also have even more structured
opportunities for learning planned which the applicants will do between
their individual assessment challenges, which include fitness tests, media
and sponsor interviews, panel interviews and driving assessments."

With applications for the 2010 Rising Stars Scholarship closing on 2
November, applicants will be advised whether they've made it to the shootout
weekend by 9 November.

"This gives our selected Scholarship candidates one week to finish their
sponsorship proposal for assessment, and then prepare for the shootout
weekend which starts on Friday 20 November and continues in the Maramarua
Forest over the weekend," says Carr.

"We look forward to meeting the 2010 Scholarship applicants. It's an
exciting time for us, as the organisers of Rally New Zealand, to see the
potential among our young drivers and to know that our Rising Stars driver
development programme has a valid and worthwhile role to play in fostering
careers in rallying."

The three elements of the Rally New Zealand Rising Stars programme include:

1. Rally New Zealand Rising Stars Scholarship is for drivers new to
NZRC Group N and provides the winner with a $50,000 support package,
including professional mentoring and the use of a fully-prepared vehicle to
contest the N3 class of the New Zealand Rally Championship and Rally New
Zealand in 2010.

2. Rally New Zealand Rising Stars Development Award (N3) provides the
winner with a $50,000 support package to contest the Group N 4WD or N4 class
of the 2011 New Zealand Rally Championship. The Development Award is open to
entrants competing in the Group N two-wheel-drive class, or N3, during
specified qualifying events of the 2010 New Zealand Rally Championship.
Entrants simply need to register with Rally New Zealand before the first
qualifying event.

3. Rally New Zealand Rising Stars International Award (N4) provides
the winner with $50,000 package to contest an overseas WRC, APRC or Pirelli
Star Driver final event in 2011. The International Award is open to entrants
competing in the Group N four-wheel-drive class, or N4, during specified
qualifying events of the 2010 New Zealand Rally Championship. Entrants
simply need to register with Rally New Zealand before the first qualifying
event.

ENDS/

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