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Hunt recommends Rising Stars Scholarship to youngsters

Winner of the inaugural Rising Stars Scholarship, Nelsonian Ben Hunt, is encouraging all young and aspiring drivers who want to receive the opportunity of a lifetime to apply for the 2010 Rally New Zealand Rising Stars Scholarship, for which entries close on November 2.

Hunt was the first ever recipient of the Rising Stars Scholarship, an award that gave him the opportunity to contest the Vantage New Zealand Rally Championship in a professionally prepared Ford Fiesta ST and finished his debut season in the championship with a well deserved second place in his class, an impressive feat considering the 21-year old had only contested two rallies before winning the scholarship.

“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.” says Hunt. “It has leapt me a few years ahead in my driving experience.”

“Ben has done a fantastic job in 2009. He has shown that the faith installed in him by the judging panel at the start of the year is justified and has improved with every performance.” comments Rally New Zealand chairman Chris Carr.

Hunt now has the opportunity to further develop his career by having qualified for the Rising Stars Development final, but recommends that any young driver starting in the sport takes the opportunity to contest the Rising Stars Scholarship weekend.

“For any of those young rally drivers throughout New Zealand I feel that this is an opportunity not to be missed. 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.” says Hunt. “The $600 to enter is really worth every cent and then some.”

Any driver under 26 years of age can apply for the scholarship providing they have not ever registered for the New Zealand Rally Championship in a Group N car, and are a member of a MotorSport New Zealand-affiliated car club and a resident of New Zealand. A pre-selection panel will select the top 12 entries who will get the chance to contest the final ‘shootout’ for the prestigious scholarship worth over $50,000 on November 20-22.

Each finalist will be tested on every aspect of their rallying, from driving to their abilities to lure sponsors, work with the media as well as various other tests including fitness as well as getting a chance to learn from the cream of New Zealand Rallying who are involved in the weekend to pass their knowledge and experience on. At the end of an exhaustive weekend, the winner will be named, who will receive use of a professionally prepared Ford Fiesta ST to run in the Group N3 class of the 2010 New Zealand Rally Championship and professional mentoring.

“Rally New Zealand is very proud to offer this fantastic opportunity to an up-and-coming young driver. We have seen what a difference it has made to Ben Hunt’s career in 2009 and we are looking forward to seeing another of New Zealand’s young and talented rally drivers getting the same opportunity for 2010.” says Rally New Zealand general Manager Paul Mallard.

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).
• 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.
• The Development and International Awards will continue in 2010 in a similar fashion to 2009.