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Entries about to close for Rally's Rising Stars Scholarship

Potential entrants wishing to compete for the richest prize in New Zealand Rallying now have less than a week to get their entries in for the 2010 Rally New Zealand Rising Stars Scholarship.

Once entries close on November 2nd, a pre-selection panel will choose the top 12 entries who will get the opportunity to contest the final ‘shootout’ in Maramarua forest on November 20-22. The shootout will test the finalists on their abilities both inside and outside the rally car, with tests including sponsorship proposals, fitness, media evaluation as well as driving.

At the end of the weekend a winner will be announced, who will receive the opportunity of a lifetime. The winners package includes the use of a Ford Fiesta ST rally car to contest the Group N3 category of the 2010 New Zealand Rally Championship, which includes the prestigious Rally New Zealand, and mentoring from some of New Zealand’s top rallying personalities, worth in excess of $50,000.

Earlier this year, Nelsonian Ben Hunt won the inaugural Rising Stars scholarship and received the same package, claiming “Winning this scholarship has given me a good grounding for the years of rallying to come and will hopefully lead into bigger and better things.”

Hunt also says that even making the final shootout is a great experience. “Even if you don’t win the scholarship, just attending the shootout weekend will teach you a huge amount about rallying and you will meet some amazing people with a lot of knowledge. The $600 to enter really is worth every cent and then some.”

“Rally New Zealand is  very proud to offer this fantastic opportunity to an up and coming young New Zealand driver. The head start that it gives a deserving young driver in building their rallying career is just fantastic.” says Rally New Zealand chairman Chris Carr.

“We have seen what a great difference the scholarship has made for Ben Hunt’s career in 2009 and are very excited to be able to offer this fantastic opportunity to another young rising star for the 2010 New Zealand Rally Championship.” comments Rally New Zealand General Manager Paul Mallard.

To apply, contestants must be under 26 years of age on 1 January 2010, a New Zealand resident and a member of a MotorSport New Zealand-affiliated car club and must not have contested the  Group N class in the New Zealand Rally Championship previously.

Potential applicants interested in contesting the shootout can gain more information including entry forms from the Rally New Zealand website, www.rallynz.org.nz, or by emailing info@rallynz.org.nz.

How the Rally New Zealand Rising Stars driver development programme works:

• Drivers must be under 26 years of age on 1 January 2010, a member of a MotorSport New Zealand-affiliated car club and a New Zealand resident.
• Applicants for the Scholarship must not have ever registered as a competitor in the New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC) in a Group N car.
• To enter the 2009 Development Award, drivers must have competed in the Group N N3 (front-wheel-drive production car) class in the 2009 New Zealand Rally Championship.
• To enter the 2009 International Award, drivers must have competed in the Group N N4 (four-wheel-drive production car) class in the 2009 New Zealand Rally Championship.
• In 2009 drivers have nominated two NZRC events in addition to two compulsory events in which to collect points towards either the Development or the International Award. The two compulsory events were June’s NAC Insurance International Rally of Whangarei and August’s Possum Bourne Memorial Rally.
• In 2010, the Scholarship winner will have the use of the fully-prepared Ford Fiesta for all rounds of the New Zealand Rally Championship, including Rally New Zealand.