The competition to win a place in the FIA Institute\u2019s 2013\/14 Young Driver Excellence Academy reaches its climax in Abu Dhabi tomorrow at the end of three days of rigorous testing and evaluation for some of the rising stars of regional motor sport.<\/p>\n
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The 15 drivers who have been taking part in the Middle East and Mediterranean selection event will be reduced to five for an afternoon on-track shoot-out at the home of November\u2019s F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix prior to the winner being announced.<\/p>\n
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The driver who secures a place on the Academy’s fully-funded training programme will earn the distinction based not only on driving skills, but also on physical fitness, mental sharpness, and ability to deal with the pressures and responsibility brought by a top level career in motor sport.<\/p>\n
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Organised by the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE on behalf of the FIA Institute, the selection event is one of five being staged worldwide to deliver eight of the best young talents into the Academy, which aims to help drivers develop their motor sport careers, with a focus on safety throughout.<\/p>\n
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Among those hoping to be confirmed as the winner tomorrow by ATCUAE President Dr. Mohammed Ben Sulayem were the UAE\u2019s Mansour Al Helei, Bahrain\u2019s Abdulla Althawadi, Kuwait\u2019s Zaid Ashkanani, Saudi Arabia\u2019s Abdullah Bamogaddam, Oman\u2019s Mannan Al Rawahi and Jordan\u2019s Izz Bustami.<\/p>\n
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Also taking part in a second day of tests on the track, in the gym and in the classroom today at Yas Marina Circuit were drivers nominated by the national motor sport authorities in Cyprus, Egypt, Georgia, Iran, Morocco, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Germany. The Palestinian nominee, Noor Daoud, was a late withdrawal.<\/p>\n
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The need for drivers to achieve very high fitness levels, and understand the effects of motor sport on their bodies, was underlined by Dr Tony Turner, a sports scientist at the University of Edinburgh who is one of the selection event\u2019s expert instructors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always think of motor sport at the top level of being very skill-based, and obviously you have to be a very good driver to succeed,\u201d said Dr Turner. \u201cBut for anyone competing at the top level, their body is subjected to a lot of stress, and so there are a lot of other considerations.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFor instance, are they fit enough from a cardio-vascular point of view to cope with competing all around the world? Are they able to cope with their heart rate being very high when they\u2019re driving? Can they cope with the gravitational forces when they\u2019re cornering and braking, or when facing impacts in a rally? All these things play a big part in motor sport, so physiology is very important.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Added Dr Turner: \u201cAs part of the selection process, we\u2019re teaching the drivers more about fitness, and their bodies. We\u2019re looking at which parts of the body come under most stress in motor sport.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re not just looking at who is the fittest. We\u2019re interested in the potential of the drivers, so we\u2019re assessing how well they learn from our instruction, do they try really hard, do they contribute as a member of group to each other? These are the kind of all-round skills we\u2018ll be looking at to help select the driver who will benefit most from the Academy programme.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The selection process continues tomorrow morning, with each of the drivers being interviewed by a judging panel consisting of ATCUAE Motorsport Director Ronan Morgan, senior driving instructor Norbert Filipits and the FIA Institute\u2019s Kate Robson.<\/p>\n
The top five chosen will then tackle a timed lap of the Yas Marina Circuit prior to the winner being announced. The one driver who cannot win selection to the Academy tomorrow is German Marvin Kirchhoefer, who missed the European event due to competition commitments in the US and was given special dispensation to join this qualifier. But he could be considered for one of three wild card places to be awarded after all five regional qualifiers have been held.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The competition to win a place in the FIA Institute\u2019s 2013\/14 Young Driver Excellence Academy reaches its climax in Abu Dhabi tomorrow at the end of three days of rigorous testing and evaluation for some of the rising stars of regional motor sport. The 15 drivers who have been taking part in the Middle …<\/p>\n