The prestigious British Racing Drivers' Club based at Silverstone have announced this week the new BRDC Superstars, which is a scheme to help the careers of the younger rising star generation of British racing drivers. And as one of the precious few selections, Jon fully deserves his place as one of the chosen drivers for this important new scheme.
The new BRDC Superstars scheme will allow the Club to support a small number of drivers throughout 2008 and into their later years, as they hopefully progress through the sport. The chosen drivers will come from the exciting Rising Stars Scheme, which means the BRDC Superstars will therefore pave the way for a new breed of racing drivers, who are able to reap the full benefits of what the BRDC have to offer.
The former British Touring Car driver, Tim Harvey, will direct the Superstar programme, who said at the launch: 'Developing the cream of young British talent is a cornerstone of the BRDC, and I look forward to working with our twelve Superstars during 2008. The future 'Lewis Hamiltons' are out there and it would be remiss of the BRDC if we did not do our utmost to find them.'
BRDC president Damon Hill also commented: 'There is a strong desire among our members for the BRDC to be actively involved in progressing the most promising fledgling professional racing drivers' careers. The problem has always been that simply providing funds does not prepare a driver for the many extremely demanding and complex challenges that he will face throughout his career, and often renders that investment wasted. We felt that the first step has to be to provide sound and reliable experience and un-biased advice as to the way forward for each individual. Providing advice is the first base for what we hope will grow into a thoroughly complete service for the serious minded driver who has his sights set on the summit of his chosen discipline, be that F1, Champ Cars, Indy cars, Touring Cars, sports cars or whatever.'
And for Jon the news comes just days after two successful tests of his ART Grand Prix Formula 3 car at Valencia and Estoril, as he gears up for his maiden outing in the F3 Euro Series.
More news to follow...
