Dunlop Race Academy Goes to the Maxx
02 March 2007
Dunlop Race Academy is pulling up to the starting grid for the fourth
time in 2007 and this season is set to be even bigger and more challenging.
In
2007, the Dunlop Race Academy will be part of the inaugural Dunlop
Sport Maxx Cup and British Touring Car Championship winner Matt Neal
will be joining the training team and panel of judges to find a racing
star of the future.
Matt Neal said: "Dunlop Race Academy will
offer a schedule of training to budding BTCC drivers and then the
chance to race on track with experienced drivers in the BARC/Dunlop
Sport Maxx Cup for one winner"
The competition stages have also
been widened to encompass three regional semi-finals with 21 finalists
taking part from across the UK. The chosen entrants will undergo
training with experts such as Le Mans 24-hour racing driver, Calum
Lockie. The winner gets to race in the final round at Brands Hatch
on October 7th in the 200bhp Dunlop SEAT Leon FR."
The top three
will then be invited back for the final and further training with
2006 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship winner Matt Neal.
Matt will also sit on the judging panel as the finalists go head
to head in an on-track shoot out to find the winner.
James Bailey
of Dunlop said: “The Dunlop Race Academy is an opportunity
for people who love driving to experience the real life of a racing
driver as they compete to race in a televised Dunlop Sport Maxx race
before jetting off to Monaco for all the celebrity trappings.
"This
year’s link with the BARC/Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup will provide
a genuine opportunity for talent to be displayed in our BTCC feeder
series. We’re also delighted to have Matt Neal join us as a
judge and trainer at the final stage.
"The winner will race
against some of the UK’s top drivers in the BARC/Dunlop Sport
Maxx Cup during the Dunlop Great and British Championship finals.
The Dunlop Sport Maxx is a genuine stepping stone to the Dunlop MSA
British Touring Car Championship. We aim to entertain spectators
with a wide range of cars from superminis such as Fiestas, Minis,
Citroen Saxos and C2s doing battle with bigger coupes and hot hatches.
We look forward to it becoming a popular attraction at Great and
British Festivals.”
Over the last three years, over 15,000 people have applied to enter
the Dunlop Race Academy. In 2005, Simon Shaw from Warrington, won the
Dunlop Race Academy and, in his first race at Silverstone, qualified
an astonishing sixth on the grid in the Ginetta G20.
Simon has been
a regular top eight runner, finishing fifth in monsoon conditions at
Donington in May. Simon has just announced his next step in his fledgling
driving career with plans to move into the 2007 BARC/Dunlop Sport Maxx
Cup and will announce details of his team soon.
For a chance to make
it into the Dunlop Race Academy this summer, simply visit www.driversknow.co.uk and apply online.
Dunlop
See 2006 series calendar for Great
and British Festivals
Related Story 11.10.2006 - Great and British at Donington
