1. Hawksworth among finalist for McLaren Autosport BRDC Award
2. Golf outing supports INDYCAR Ministry
3. Sato to compete in Japan rounds of WEC1. Hawksworth among finalist for McLaren Autosport BRDC Award: Jack Hawksworth, who clinched the 2012 Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear championship, is among the six finalists for the 2012 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.The award, established in 1989 to reward and recognize young racing drivers from the United Kingdom, is supported by McLaren, motorsports magazine Autosport and the British Racing Drivers' Club. Previous winners include Dario Franchitti (1992), Alex Lloyd (2003) and Stefan Wilson (2007).The winner, who will be announced at the Autosport Awards in December in London, will receive a cash award of 100,000 British pound sterling (about $162,000), a McLaren F1 test drive, full BRDC membership and a TW Steel watch.Hawksworth, who clinched the Star Mazda title Sept. 8 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, closes out the season next month at Road Atlanta. He also is expected to participate in the Road to Indy Open Test Oct. 10-11 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. "As INDYCAR's official driver development program, the Mazda Road to Indy aims to attract the best young driving talent from around the world," said Jason Penix, director of INDYCAR grassroots initiatives. "We congratulate one of our elite drivers, Jack Hawksworth, on his McLaren Autosport BRDC finalist nomination.
"We are excited to see what Jack can do as he moves on to Firestone Indy Lights in 2013 and look forward to watching him progress to the IZOD IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 in the years to come."Hawksworth's record-setting run to the Star Mazda title includes a Star Mazda record for most wins (eight) and poles (11) in a season. His title-clinching victory comes with scholarship funding from the Mazda Road to Indy worth more than $600,000 to move up to compete in Firestone Indy Lights -- the series where last year's Star Mazda champion, Tristan Vautier, claimed the championship Sept. 15."Great honor, massively looking forward to it," Hawksworth wrote on Twitter "Thank you to everyone who has been supporting me. Very grateful for this amazing opportunity."Also among the finalists are Formula Renault NEC front-runners Jake Dennis, Josh Hill (the son of former F1 champ Damon Hill and grandson of Indy 500 winner and F1 champ Graham Hill) and Jordan King, Formula Renault Eurocup podium finisher Melville McKee and Formula Renault BARC title contender Josh Webster.All six will be assessed in a test at Silverstone in November by a panel of judges that includes ex-Formula 1 racer and BRDC president Derek Warwick, two-time BTCC champion Jason Plato, DTM driver Jamie Green, McLaren head of vehicle engineering Mark Williams, circuit commentator Ian Titchmarsh, and Autosport's Kevin Turner and Marcus Pye.2. Golf outing supports INDYCAR Ministry: While professional golf's best were kicking off their bi-annual showdown for international supremacy on Sept. 28 near Chicago, a few hours down I-65, the INDYCAR community with having a golfing showdown of its own - albeit in the form of a scramble format.Thirty-five groups teed off on the course, which has four holes inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with not as much on the line as the Ryder Cup aside from bragging rights.An awards luncheon and silent auction followed the tournament that benefits INDYCAR Ministry, a 501c3 not-for-profit, non-denominational organization that was developed to aid the racing community."Ever since I quit driving, golf is kind of my new challenge as far as doing my own sport," said A.J. Foyt Racing team director Larry Foyt, who joined Graham Rahal (right) and Jay Howard among the celebrities to participate. "I'm not where I want to be yet, but I'm trying. INDYCAR Ministry has helped so many in the series over the years, and any time we can do something for INDYCAR Ministry I'm all for it."3. Sato to compete in Japan rounds of WEC: Takuma Sato, who last week competed in a Formula Nippon race, has signed with OAK Racing for the Asian rounds of the World Endurance Championship in October.Sato, who drove for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing this season, will co-drive the LMP1 car with former Conquest Racing driver Bertrand Baguette and Dominik Kraihamer. The races are at Fuji (Oct. 14) and Shanghai (Oct. 29).The LMP1 car is powered by a Honda Performance Development V8 engine."I've spent my entire career racing single-seaters and obviously the LMP1 feels different to those, but my initial impressions are very good and I am thrilled by this whole new experience," said Sato, who drove the car for the first time Sept. 27.
