The British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) has announced that cousins Adam and Riki Christodoulou, Andy Meyrick and Dean Stoneman will take the final four places in its 2009 Superstars young driver programme.
This makes a total of 13 drivers who will be supported by the Superstars programme for 2009, as opposed to the previously announced total of 12. “It was simply impossible to settle on just 12 drivers for 2009”, commented Tim Harvey, Director of the BRDC Superstars initiative. “There is such a wealth of British talent out there at the moment, we could not leave any of our chosen drivers off the programme, besides, I have never been superstitious so 13 will present no problem for me!”
The initiative, now in its second year, will support young drivers from a cross-section of motor racing disciplines and championships, ranging from single-seater racing in Formula 2, Formula 3 and Formula Renault to British Touring Cars, Le Mans and GT series drivers. Adam Christodoulou joins the celebrated Superstars programme following his Formula Renault UK championship win in 2008. Adam has commenced his 2009 season with confidence as winner of Round One of the 2009 Star Mazda Championship at Sebring, Florida on 20th March.
Cousin Riki set the fastest time at Snetterton during the first official test session of the 2009 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series last month. He enjoyed the first taste of Fortec’s Dallara F309 chassis and was just over a second quicker than the Norfolk circuit’s official lap record. His final programme will be confirmed shortly as he continues to evaluate opportunities for 2009. Formula 3 National Class race winner Andy Meyrick will step up to the highly competitive Le Mans Series this year, following a successful test for the Kolles LMP squad. The 23-year-old racer, who was looking likely to win the British F3 National Class last year before being forced to pull out with a serious illness, will contest the five-race series.
The first race of the season will kick off in Barcelona on 3rd April. Andy will be racing in the pioneering diesel-powered Audi R10 TDi, the same car that not only won Le Mans, but also secured the LMS, ALMS and Petit Le Mans titles in 2008. Alpine Motorsport’s Dean Stoneman, from Southampton, set the early pace by going quickest in all four sessions of the first official Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship pre-season test at Rockingham Motor Speedway on 24th and 25th February. Now in his second season after winning the Graduate Cup last year, the 18-year-old single-seater racer claimed the fastest time of the two-day session, and is joint title favourite with Fortec Motorsport’s and fellow BRDC Superstar, James Calado.
The complete line up for the 2009 BRDC Superstars programme is:
JONATHAN ADAM - British Touring Car Championship
WAYNE BOYD - British Formula 3 International Series
JAMES CALADO - Formula Renault UK Championship
ADAM CHRISTODOULOU - Star Mazda Championship
RIKI CHRISTODOULOU – To be confirmed
SEAN EDWARDS - Porsche Supercup
STUART HALL - Le Mans Series
ANDREW JORDAN - British Touring Car Championship
ANDY MEYRICK – Le Mans Series
JASON MOORE - Formula 2
ALEXANDER SIMS - Formula 3 Euro Series
DEAN STONEMAN – Formula Renault UK Championship
OLIVER TURVEY - Formula Renault 3.5 Series
BRDC Superstars Director, Tim Harvey, concludes: “It is my pleasure to confirm the four drivers who are completing the 2009 Superstars programme team. I am very much looking forward to commencing our second year of support for young British drivers and to developing the initiative even further. “
As announced previously, each of the Superstars will continue to receive direct assistance in all aspects of professional motor sport. This includes help with physical and mental training, career guidance, team building skills, marketing advice, access to industry seminars and workshops with BRDC Members and other influential people within motor sport.”
