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Castrol Suzuki race car scholarship goes to accounting student

Friday 23 September 2011, 8:32AM

By Suzuki New Zealand

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Auckland accounting student Kent Yarrall won the 2011/2012 Castrol Suzuki Swift Sport Cup scholarship to drive in this coming summer's national race series
Auckland accounting student Kent Yarrall won the 2011/2012 Castrol Suzuki Swift Sport Cup scholarship to drive in this coming summer's national race series Credit: Lance Hastie
Suzuki NZ
Suzuki NZ Credit: Lance Hastie

TAUPO

Accounting student Kent Yarrall beat out seven other contenders to claim the coveted Castrol Suzuki Swift Sport Cup scholarship to race a professionally prepared car in the 2011/2012 summer race championship.

Originally from Nelson, 23-year-old Yarrall now lives in Parnell, Auckland, where he’s completing a Bachelor of Business ahead of professional race driver ambitions. It was his application and experience the seven person judging panel believe edged him ahead of the other applicants to win the season opportunity valued at $35,000. Tested from fitness to their driving prowess at Manfeild in a race specification Suzuki Swift, the announcement was made at the evening dinner.

Yarrall will get the use of a Suzuki Swift to contest the Sport Cup series and engineer to prepare and run the car for the season. Backed by premium oil brand Castrol, the package allows Yarrall to compete at the highest level, needing to just concentrate on his own performance.

Runner-up was Dominic Lakeman-Pettit, who flew in from his home near Cambridge, England just for the scholarship opportunity.

“It was quite a simple decision in the end really,” said Suzuki Swift Sport Cup series co-ordinator Paul Burborough. “Initially scores showed applicants having equal strengths to make judging difficult to separate. But in the end it was a simple point score that saw Kent Yarrall a narrow but clear leader.

“He’s got a great attitude and fresh perspective we look forward to having as part of the Suzuki Swift Sport Cup series. As well as his judged driving ability he offers a strong return for our business partners, which is crucial at keeping and improving the funding to provide scholarship opportunities like this.

“We’re also trying to help as many of the other applicants as possible enter the championship. They are all bright and capable, keen to continue their dream of racing the most popular small-car series in Australasia.”

Castrol national marketing manager Jayne McEwan says Yarrall offered strongest potential as brand ambassador for their lubricant range: “Kent impressed with his focus and determination, eagerness to learn about our product range and how he could become part of the Castrol team. I believe those traits will extend his ability to race and cope with the pressure environments that are part of contesting a championship. He comes across as a team player who will carry our name at the premium end of the market.”

For Yarrall, it was the perfect start to his planned season objective: be awarded the Castrol Suzuki Swift Sport scholarship for 2011/2012.

“I was quite blown away at the start; I was hoping for it but wasn’t expecting to be named. I’ve been trying to crack the opportunity for a while and it feels like I’ve got the nous to now do it,” said Yarrall after the announcement.

“Looking ahead to the season we’ve got testing mid-October and a lot of sponsor recruiting to try take some of the financial burden off my parents. But I’m looking forward to getting back in to competitive racing and also the media side of it. I like being thrown in the deep-end so the whole experience will be pretty exciting.”

With an illustrious karting background, Yarrall also has speedway and Mini 7 racing experience, including the New Zealand title in 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 seasons.

The package also includes a race wear and protective clothing package from Chicane and Alpine stars. 3M with support from Computaleta and Stripes and Signs from Hamilton will provide a custom vinyl car wrap package while Winger Suzuki will oversee the car’s ownership and management in conjunction with Suzuki New Zealand.

Suzuki New Zealand motorsport manager Darren Stevens says the scholarship selection day showcased there is plenty of championship contenders for the coming season: “It’s always a close decision but this year we had one of the best driver talent line-ups. Kent showed he had the edge over the others with what it takes to be a championship contender and ambassador which are important to our brand. While we welcome Kent to the series we hope some of the other contenders manage to cross the line and join him for the season. Mixing the new talent with the existing has been a big part of our series and brand success – one we strive to foster through the likes of the scholarship, backed by Castrol, Chicane, Alpine stars, 3M, Computaleta, Signs and Stripes and Winger Suzuki.”

Based on New Zealand’s most popular selling new car, the Suzuki Swift Sport Cup series uses identical specification road legal cars. They are fitted with additional safety equipment (roll-cage, seats, belts, and fire extinguisher), performance suspension, brake pads and front differential. Utilising the standard engine computer, they produce 92kW power at 6800rpm with 148Nm torque at 4800rpm from the 1600cc engine (1586cc).

The Suzuki Swift Sport Cup series begins its fifth season at Pukekohe near Auckland on 5 November 2011. Contested over six rounds covering five months, the final will be held at Taupo 10-11 March 2012.