Benji Hetherington and Kieran Vernon have been announced as the winners of the 2011 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme.
The two winners of the coveted scholarship were announced on Friday 29 October at Silverstone and each driver will receive £50,000 to use as a significant element of their budget for the 2011 Carrera Cup GB season.
A panel of expert judges selected Hetherington and Vernon after a demanding two-day evaluation process at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone. Both drivers impressed the judges in and out of the car against very strong opposition from the other four finalists; Leyton Clarke, Michael Lyons, Adam Morgan and Sam Tordoff.
"Once again, we have been hugely impressed with the quality of drivers in the Scholarship Final. It was a very tough choice to select only two from six very good candidates," said Marion Barnaby, Carrera Cup GB championship manager. "I look forward to working with Benji and Kieran over the 2011 season and seeing them compete strongly in the Carrera Cup GB."
Benji Hetherington; aged 18 from Hulme Walfield, Cheshire
Career to date: Raced karts from 2003 to 2008 before moving into FF1600 late in 2008. Continued in FF1600 in 2009 and also raced in various sports car categories before graduating to the Ginetta G50 Cup for 2010 and winning races.
"I'm almost at a loss for words. Winning the Scholarship is absolutely fantastic. I'm going to be smiling all the way until the start of next season. You never know how well you did against the other people. To see my name up there was just amazing."
Kieran Vernon; aged 20 from West Chiltington, West Sussex
Career to date: Raced karts from 2004 to 2007, winning a number of championships. He finished runner-up in the 2007 Ginetta Junior Championship and finished second in the 2008 Ginetta G20 Championship. Raced to second place in the Scholarship Cup of the British Formula Ford Championship in 2009 and was a race winner in Formula Palmer Audi in 2010.
"Winning the Carrera Cup Scholarship is a huge boost to my career. I can't say how happy I am now. It's a fantastic opportunity and I want to say a big thank you to everyone at Porsche for making this happen. I'm so keen to get out on track. I'm so excited and I can't wait for the start of next season."
