With many rally championships still to start, the big news over the pastfour weeks is the introduction of the new MSA British Rally Academy. This Academy hasbeen established not only to compliment the existing Eliteprogramme but also to build on its success.

We learnt from the first year of MSA British Rally Elite that there were a lot of drivers and codrivers out there who didn't necessarily have the experience to be part of the scheme, but nevertheless wanted to be part of a structured scheme to develop their rallying. TheAcademy has been established to fulfil this role perfectly and, along with the continuingdevelopment of the Elite scheme, there is now a perfect structure for drivers and codriversto get to the very pinnacle of the sport.

Robert ReidPerformance DirectorMOTOR SPORTS ASSOCIATION

DANIEL BARRITTDaniel Barritt is currently in Mexico making final preparations forthe second round of the 2006 Production Car World RallyChampionship. Co-driving for Japanese driver Fumio Nutahara ina latest-spec Mitsubishi Lancer, Barritt currently leads the seriesafter victory in Monte Carlo. Closer to home, the 25-year-old iscombining his globe-trotting PCWRC activities with MSA BritishRally Championship and Irish Tarmac Championship campaignsalongside fellow MSA British Rally Elite member Phillip Morrow

STUART JONESRising star Stuart Jones has wasted no time marking his 2006 card.The 21-year-old from Welshpool further underlined his potential byovercoming many more experienced rivals in more powerful WRCcars to win the Telford Winter Stages on 18 February. The eventdeveloped a duel between Jones in his Group N Mitsubishi Evo8and Marcus Dodd in his Hyundai Accent WRC. Co-driven byMotorsport News’s national rallying editor James Attwood, theformer scored an impressive victory on his debut for the HankookMotorsport team. Jones is now looking forward to the start of theMSA British Rally Championship when he will be joined by teammateGwyndaf Evans in the Hankook outfit. Looking further afield and ahead, he has also confirmedplans to contest the Group N category in Rally Catalunya at the end of March.

SCOTT MARTINHaving co-driven for Matthew Wilson in 2005, Scott Martin has abusy programme both abroad and at home lined up for 2006. He’sjoined forces with Barry Clark to contest the Junior WRC, the FiestaSporting Trophy and the MSA British Rally Championship in aStobart VK Fiesta Super 1600. As part of his preparations, Scott hasbeen involved with a fair amount of testing duties for Pirelli andwarmed up by co-driving for Hugh Hunter on the recent WyedeanRally. He is now looking forward to the first Junior WRC round ofthe year in Catalunya later this month.

PHILLIP MORROWPhillip Morrow was one of the first Elite members to get their 2006campaigns underway. Backed by £40,000 raised by his localBallynahinch Motor Club, the 22-year-old kicked off his season inearly February on the Galway International Rally, the opening roundof this year’s Irish Tarmac Championship. Now armed with a stateof-the-art Mitsubishi Evo9, much was expected of the youngUlsterman… and he didn’t disappoint. Morrow displayed a great turnof speed and led the Group N category for much of the event beforebeing forced into retirement. Phillip is looking forward to teaming upwith fellow Elite member Daniel Barritt for the remaining Irish rounds and also the MSA British Rally Championship.

MATTHEW WILSONMatthew Wilson is Britain’s only full-time driver in the WRC and leaddriver for the Stobart-VK-M-Sport Ford Rally Team – as such the 19-year-old is the most prominent member of the MSA British RallyElite scheme. However, this season isn’t about winning at thehighest level, it’s all about learning. Back in January Matthewtackled the notoriously tricky Monte Carlo Rally and survived the iceand slush to finish 15th on his debut. Last month the WRC calendartook Matthew on another new adventure – this time into the snowclad forests of Sweden. Once again the young Cumbrian achievedhis major objective by completing the event and gaining as much invaluable experience as possible.This time he finished 13th overall. Since then he’s been taking part in some important testing and is gearing up for the season’s first gravel test, the Corona Rally Mexico on 3-5 March.

JAMES WOZENCROFTHaving won last year’s BRC Stars of Future series, JamesWozencroft is now gearing up for a full MSA British RallyChampionship campaign with Suzuki in 2006. As part of hispreparations the 21-year-old from Shropshire has been honing hisdriving skills with a visit to a renowned ice driving school in Sweden.Wozencroft is also hoping to further his WRC experience byattending the Rally Catalunya in late March.

MSA BRITISH RALLY ACADEMY LAUNCHED

A new entry-level rally training scheme has been launched with theformation of the MSA British Rally Academy which has its aim oftaking British National B and single make rally participants to BritishRally Championship level competition.

The Academy – open to six drivers or co-drivers in 2006 – featuresa workshop based learning structure where the six selectedparticipants undertake training in physiology, conditioning,psychology and driver and co-driver development. Successfulparticipants in the Academy will be given the opportunity to progress to the Elite scheme which builds on the training by focusing on one-to-one development sessions and specific development needs of the Elite scheme participants.

"We have been delighted with the Elite programme since it was established last year," says Colin Hilton, MSA Chief Executive. "Matthew Wilson's arrival on the WRC scene may have stolen the headlines, but each of the six Elite students has made significant progress both in and out of the car and we have seen the credibility of the scheme continue to grow. The Academy is a natural extension of the programme and helps to establish a genuine staircase for the development of the best young talent in this country."

Applications for the MSA British Rally Academy close on Friday 10 March. Applicants need to hold a British passport and an MSA Competition licence, and be aged between 17-25 on 1 January 2006.

Application and further information can be found online at www.msabritishrallyacademy.co.uk.