Dunlop Race Academy on New Track

Launched in 2004, the Dunlop Race Academy has processed over 17,000 hopefuls to produce five competition winners, each of them with no previous motorsport experience. The 2005 winner, Simon Shaw, has gone on to make a professional career in motorsport. In 2009 the Academy is set to return, albeit with some significant changes to its format. The competition will switch its focus from attracting talented drivers and newcomers into the sport to developing drivers who have already made a start in their racing career.

The search for entrants for the 2009 competition began in the summer of 2008, with Dunlop talent spotters scouring racetracks across the UK for drivers with promise and talent. The search will continue into the 2009 season to identify drivers who have that extra something that could ultimately win them a drive in the 2010 British Touring Car Championship. Details of the Dunlop Race Academy 2009 format, including how drivers can compete, will be revealed at the Autosport Show in Birmingham on January 8.

“The Dunlop Race Academy was launched to create ‘money can’t buy’ opportunities in motorsport, and the 2009 competition is no exception,” said Goodyear Dunlop corporate communications manager James Bailey. “The difference is that this time we will be focusing on drivers who already hold a race licence and have spent some time on a track. In the UK, more people race on Dunlop tyres than on any other brand and at race tracks right across the UK you will find drivers in all types of cars wining on Dunlop tyres. This competition aims to find drivers with potential for the podium and give them the opportunity to take their racing career to the next level.”