Welcome to the first of what will become a regular monthly MSABritish Rally Elite newsletter.
This exciting scheme was launched last May with the specific aim ofdeveloping the next generation of top class British rally driversand co-drivers – a need that has become all the more poignantfollowing Michael Park’s tragic death last September followedby Richard Burns’ sad passing little more than a month later.
Looking towards the future, six promising young candidateswere chosen for MSA British Rally Elite status by an independent selectioncommittee that included Robbie Head, David Lapworth, and Phil Mills. Much has already beenachieved on many of the core elements of the programme – Sports Psychology, Fitness andPhysiology, Media and Marketing, Sponsorship and specific Driver and Co-driver Training – and, as you’ll read in forthcoming newsletters, some exciting new plans for 2006.
Robert Reid - Performance Director - MOTOR SPORTS ASSOCIATION
DANIEL BARRITTAfter three seasons co-driving for the experienced David Higgins,Daniel Barritt is broadening his experience with an excitingprogramme of international and national events in 2006 – aseason that has already got off to a flying start in Monte Carlo.Burnley’s best has teamed up with Japanese driver FumioNutahara in a latest-spec Mitsubishi Lancer and the new pairingmade an instant impact by winning the opening round of theProduction Car World Rally Championship on their debut. Theirachievement was all the more remarkable not only as it was thefirst time they’d worked together but also as they struggled toconverse in the cockpit. “Out of the car it was quite tricky as we don’t speak the same language but we found a way of communicating on the stages.” Dan, 25, is combining his PCWRC programme with a British Rally Championship campaign alongside fellow MSA British Rally Elite member Phillip Morrow.
STUART JONESAt 21, Jones is already being tipped for the top. The whiz-kid fromWelshpool underlined his potential by winning five of the eightrounds that counted towards last year’s hugely-competitiveMitsubishi Evo Challenge. While that wasn’t quite enough tocapture the title, Jones’ performance was nonetheless impressive.He produced an equally meritorious showing within the Group Ncategory on Wales Rally GB. Jones regularly matched stagetimes set by some of the far more experienced PCWRC regularson his way to the coveted top GpN Amateur award. For 2006,Jones is lining up alongside rally legend Gwyndaf Evans in a twocarMSA British Rally Championship attack being organized by the ambitious Hankook MotorsportTeam.
SCOTT MARTINCo-driving for Matthew Wilson, Martin experienced the highs andlows of top class rallying in 2005 suffering serious injuries in whatwas a massive accident in Wales. But, like Wilson, he recoveredwith considerable physical and psychological assistance from theMSA British Rally Elite experts to win the Trackrod Rally late inthe year. Although Wilson has now teamed up with theinternationally experienced Michael Orr, 24-year old Martin is alsolooking to widen his horizons. He’s joined forces with Barry Clarkto contest the MSA British Rally Championship in a Stobart VKFiesta Super 1600. The pair are also planning to tackle the FiestaSporting Trophy – an exciting new one-make series that runs alongside six selected rounds of the WRC.
PHILLIP MORROWAlong with fellow MSA British Rally Elite member Stuart Jones, Morrow was one ofthe major protagonists in last year’s Mitsubishi Evo Challenge. Although the 22-year old from Northern Ireland only scored one win, he showed spectacular speedin an aging Evo 6 and would have won more often but for mechanical problems. Inan effort to put those frustrations behind him, Morrow is now switched to an up-todateEvo 9 and is targeting success in this year’s MSA British Rally Championship.His hopes of contesting the BRC and, perhaps, the Irish Tarmac Championshipwere given a massive boost when a fund-raising evening organised by his localBallynahinch Motor Club raised around £40,000 to go towards his season. He hasa new co-driver, too – Daniel Barritt who he met via MSA British Rally Elite.
MATTHEW WILSONAs Britain’s only full-time driver in the WRC and lead driver for theStobart-VK-M-Sport Ford Rally Team, Wilson is the mostprominent member of the MSA British Rally Elite scheme. The 19-year old prodigy from Cumbria has stepped up to the sport’spremier league after very mixed fortunes in 2005. He suffered amassive accident on the opening round of the MSA British RallyChampionship in Wales but, with considerable help from theEdinburgh University experts, he bounced back to become theBRC’s youngest-ever winner with a comeback victory on theTrackrod Rally.
Matthew’s 2006 WRC season kicked off with a remarkably mature debut performance on the recent Monte Carlo Rally. Setting out to gain as much practice as possible in what were typically tricky conditions high up in the icy Alps, he survived the treacherous mountain stages to finish in a commendable 15th place. "It's a hugely difficult event but I can come back next year with a lot more experience,” reported Wilson.
JAMES WOZENCROFTLast year young Wozencroft underlined his potential by totally dominating the aptlynamed BRC Stars of the Future series. The 21-year old Shropshire lad won all fiverounds in a Suzuki Ignis to justify his membership of the exclusive MSA British RallyElite scheme. Maximising these highly-promising achievements and gaining valuableexperience for the future, ‘Wozie’ used his alliance with Suzuki to great effect bycontesting the final round of the BRC in one of the company’s more powerful Super1600 cars. With an eye on the future, he also took part in the recce for Wales RallyGB. James is now gearing up for a full BRC programme from behind the wheel of aSuper 1600 Suzuki Ignis.
SKILLS ASSESSMENT AND TRAINING PROGRAMMEAs one of their first assignments, the experts at Edinburgh University gave all sixmembers of the MSA British Rally Elite scheme a physical fitness and mental skillsassessment. They were then all given an individual training schedule to follow duringthe year as well as some sports psychology exercises to complete before and aftereach competitive event. Specialist advice was also given on hydration and nutritionwith advice on what they should be eating and drinking before and during events. Atthe end of the year candidates were re-appraised to monitor their progress. All sixhad a session with both the University’s sports psychologist and physical fitnessexperts. The results indicated that they had all made significant progress and werebenefiting immensely.
BEHIND-THE-SCEENS AT THE WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIPTo give the six MSA British Rally Elite members an insight into the FIA World Rally Championship they’ve been taken to various WRC tests during the past months and also to Prodrive, home of the Subaru World Rally Team. At Prodrive the participants were given a great idea as to what personal skills and attributes are expected at the top level as well as a rare behind-the-scenes look into the state-ofthe- art of technology now found in the WRC.
MEDIA TRAININGAt the end of last year, all members of the MSA British Rally Elite scheme participated in a special Sponsorship and Marketing workshop – a timely exercise with many competitors seeking drives and financial support for their 2006 campaigns. Areas covered included: press releases and their distribution and sponsorship proposals as well as how best to nurture prospective and current sponsors. The workshop also covered all-important media and interview skills.
EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY INSIGHT
The Edinburgh University input consists of three key elements,Sport Psychology, Sport Physiology and Sport Conditioning. The Sport Psychology support programme is attempting to develop a programme for each participant which has been uniquely tailored to meet their needs and reflect the differences that exist between them with regard to their performance environment and current skills andcompetencies. To achieve this, the initial part of the programme has involved several phases of collecting information from different sources.
It has been extremely important to develop a good understanding of both the individuals and the sport. There are many examples from other sports where support programmes have failed to produce significant change. One of the primary reasons for this is that the programmes have been generic and have not been tailored to suit individual needsnor delivered to integrate with the performers’ current behaviour. In contrast The MSA British Rally Elite programme has considered both these issues in providing a high standard of support for this specific group.
Hugh Richards - Edinburgh University
