Class of 2021 set for Elite Motorsport Academy ‘camp week’

Eight young up-and-coming motorsport competitors will head to Dunedin this Saturday for the 2021 Elite Motorsport Academy of New Zealand camp week.

Attending this year’s camp will be circuit racers Brock Gilchrist, Flynn Mullany, Jack Noble-Adams, James Penrose and Matthew McCutcheon who will be joined by rally drivers Jack Hawkeswood and Jordan Grant. Liam Sceats will also join the fold, replacing the injured Marco Giltrap.

The camp, held at the University of Otago and run by the Otago Academy of Sport, headlines the academy program and will be the first experience participants will have of their 12-months elite training.

Soon after arrival at the camp, participants will be assessed on components of their physical fitness relevant to being an elite driver. The participants will also be split into teams to improve their teamwork skills and will complete further classes and challenges together as a team.

Workshops covering sport psychology, nutrition, data analysis, public speaking/media skills, motorsport regulations and procedures as well as daily physical training routines will provide an all-encompassing week of learning designed to test and sometimes stretch attendees’ mental and physical limits.

During the week, all attendees will develop a sponsorship proposal, which they will have five minutes to present verbally to a panel of judges on the last day of the academy.

Following the camp, graduates will receive a tailored twelve-month follow-up package to ensure they retain and further develop the training regimes and educational opportunities demonstrated at the camp.

The academy has fostered young talent who are regularly make headlines around the world for their achievements. Current Bathurst 1000 winner Shane van Gisbergen, 2020 Le Mans 24 winner Brendon Hartley, rally star Hayden Paddon, Formula E winner Mitch Evans, and more recently Marcus Armstrong and Ronan Murphy have all graduated from the academy.