infonews.co.nz
INDEX
MOTORSPORT

Kirsty Nelson impressed by Elite Motorsport Academy

Monday 21 July 2008, 12:33PM

By Little Devil Entertainment

2041 views

Kirsty Nelson
Kirsty Nelson Credit: Little Devil Entertainment

DUNEDIN

Recently returned from the Elite Motorsport Academy rally driver Kirsty Nelson says she was impressed by her week long stay at the Dunedin based training camp.

Part of a nine student team accepted for the fifth running of the seven day programme which ended on the fifth July, Nelson adds her name to a graduation list which includes New Zealand's most promising young motorsport talent. Each year more up and coming drivers are taking advantage of the popular programme where the students are made aware of the abilities needed to be a successful driver in the modern world of motorsport.

This latest group of young rising drivers came from both rally and circuit backgrounds and are quickly making inroads into the New Zealand motorsport culture and looking to the international scene for their future. The oldest driver in the group was 24 year old John Whelan, who won the MTA Formula Ford Championship earlier this year, and the youngest was Sloan Cox who at just 16 is currently competing in the Vantage Aluminium NZ Rally Championship.

Kirsty Nelson returned from the Dunedin based programme very happy with the experience.

"I had a very good week actually. It was interesting because the rally guys knew nothing about the circuit side of things and the circuit drivers knew nothing about what we rally people do!" said 18 year old Nelson.

"One of the aspects of motorsport that was covered at the academy was how the actual driving accounted for only around 40 percent of it all. There is also the nutrition, fitness, team management, mental skills and even the media side of things to consider." she said.

The Elite Motorsport Academy is run by the New Zealand Academy of Sport (South Island) and the programme was initialised in June 2004 when the first ten students were selected to pioneer the scheme.

Since that original pilot a total of five groups have completed the selective programme which has many applications but only room for nine students per year. It has given new and useable skills to a number of New Zealand's young motorsport talent including another northlander Caine Lobb who drives in the V8 Ute Series. Additionally, the 'other woman' in the national rally scene Emma Gilmour has also graduated from the course.

Other drivers of note to complete the academy training include V8 Supercar's Shane Van Gisbergen, British Formula 3's Brendon Hartley and from the New Zealand Rally Championship, where Nelson competes, Mark Tapper, Haydon Paddon and Sara Randall (now Sara Mason) make up the list of past graduates.

Kirsty Nelson is currently competing her second season in the Vantage Aluminium NZ Rally Championship in a Richard Mason Motorsport Subaru WRX and is currently preparing for the Rally of Hawkes Bay on July 26-27th.

Nelson has even more recently returned from Masterton where she and her co-driver Michelle Brunt have received one on one tuition from Richard and Sara Mason on working with pace notes. This all in preparation for the Rally of Malaysia in September where she the pair hope to qualify for the Pirelli Star Driver Scheme. The scheme is offered to junior rally drivers and the qualifying top five from around the world are awarded with a drive in the World Rally Championship in either a Group N or Super 2000 rally car.