Jagger Ready To Unleash The Power

After seven days training at the Elite Motorsport Academy in Dunedin last week, Whangarei driver Ben Jagger can't wait to put his new skills and knowledge to the test this weekend at the Rally of Wairarapa.

"I think it's really good for us rally drivers who have a round this weekend and can put what we learned into action straight away - for the others they have quite a while to wait until their season gets underway." he said.

Jagger returned home last weekend filled with praise of the Elite Motorsport Academy which is run by the Academy of Sport South at the Otago University for The Motorsport New Zealand Scholarship Trust, an organisation for the advancement of up and coming drivers and headed by Ian Snellgrove.

The academy runs just once every year and is attended by only nine drivers each time who are selected by the trust upon their merits as they progress within the sport.

At the academy, drivers are put through an intensive one week of training covering every facet of motorsport imaginable including physical fitness, nutrition, mental awareness, legal issues, driving under simulated conditions, public speaking and dealing with the media.

A modern dance class was apparently also part of the week's regimen but was confirmed by just one of the attending members.

All the knowledge and skills taught to the young drivers over the course of the week are instilled for the purpose of improving their chances of success on a national and hopefully international level in motorsport.

Of course the drivers will have to put their new skills into practise something Ben Jagger will be able to do when he defends his Group N 2WD lead at round four of the New Zealand Rally Championship this weekend in the Wairarapa.

Currently he holds a lead of 64 point over second placed driver Ben Hunt after winning both the Rally of Otago and his home event the Rally of Whangarei at the start of last month.

Defending 2008 champion Patrick Malley is currently placed third with 135 points to Hunt's 137 and Jagger's healthy 201.

For this weekend's rally Jagger will be looking at a good recce of the roads before the competition starts on Saturday after last year's struggle with notes and an early DNF there last year.

"The rally is held a bit later this year so it shouldn't be so dusty this time - last year we had a hard time doing the notes because of the dust and we should be able to do a better job this time." he said.

"The academy was pretty awesome, I went down there not knowing what to expect and a little worried about what I was about to go through." said Jagger.

"This weekend I can get straight into using what I learnt." he said.

Ben Jagger could be deemed a little old fashioned where the 18 year old is most certainly 'old school' taking his first ever look at driving on a simulator last week when the nine academy pupils were tested on a simulation of the Ruapuna circuit driving Porsche GT3 cars.

"I would say driving on the simulator was my highlight of the week - I have never done that before not even on a Playstation game." he said.

"It took me a while to get used to it and of course being a rally driver I have never driven at Ruapuna before but my times were coming down towards the end." he said.

At this year's academy there were again nine attendees making up three teams of three, Jagger was placed with two Formula Ford drivers Jamie McNee and Martin Short.

NZ Herald motorsport-journo Eric Thompson also attended to see what the academy was all about and came away very impressed.

"For me, it's slowed down my descent into early senility and I can't wait to put it into practice in the wider world." he said.

Thomson was perhaps even more impressed by the nine young attendees of the week long course who ranged from 14 years old to early 20s.

"I didn't think there were any teenagers left in the country that had the manners, decorum, bearing, articulation and sensibilities these nine fine young men have all displayed at all times - these blokes put just about every other sportsman I've ever met in a myriad of different codes, in New Zealand, to shame." said Thomson.

Also attending were young up and coming drivers Joshua Marston, Nick Cassidy, Damon Leitch, Jamie McNee, Mathew Penrose, Martin Short and the talented Evans brothers Simon and Mitch.

Some of those drivers who have attended the Elite Motorsport Academy over the six years it has been in operation include Richard Mason, Emma Gilmour and Shane van Gisbergen.

Jagger follows in the footsteps of fellow Northland drivers Caine Lobb and Kirsty Nelson who have also attended the programme.