As he revs up towards what will be his maiden campaign of Formula 3 action this year, Jordan Kings status as one of the most promising competitors of his generation has been confirmed by promotion within the ranks of the venerable British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC).
King will make his debut in 2013 in both the FIA Formula 3 European Championship and British F3 International Series, after agreeing terms to race a Volkswagen-powered Dallara single-seater for the ultra-successful Carlin outfit.
Having established himself as a regular front-runner and title contender during a brace of seasons at Formula Renault level on home turf and abroad, the gifted Warwickshire ace is confident that he is perfectly primed for the challenge that lies ahead as he plots a path towards his ultimate career goal of F1. That conviction, moreover, is palpably shared by the BRDC, which has seen fit to elevate King from his erstwhile role of Rising Star to the distinguished standing of one of the clubs SuperStars.
I was made a Rising Star two years ago, which is the first phase of the BRDCs young driver programme, revealed the 19-year-old Stoneleigh-based speed demon, who is similarly a member of the MSA Academy and a brand ambassador for Hugo Boss and who in 2012 made the final top six showdown in the prestigious McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year assessment. Being appointed a SuperStar is the next step up the ladder towards becoming a fully-fledged BRDC member.
Not many people are made SuperStars, so its quite an honour and can only really be positive for my reputation both inside and beyond the sport and its fantastic that Ill now have even greater access to senior BRDC members wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise.
To be truthful, youre always so focussed on doing your own thing that you never really have the opportunity to pause and take stock of how other people regard you, so to get this kind of recognition is really rewarding and it shows that I cant have been doing too bad a job!
That much is a considerable understatement, and whats more, with members of the ilk of former F1 World Champions Sir Jackie Stewart, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, John Surtees and Damon Hill as well as fellow British motor racing legends like Sir Stirling Moss, King is well aware of the esteem in which the BRDC is held within the sport not to mention the substantial influence that the club yields.
Just 15 drivers are eligible for the blue riband SuperStars development scheme each year with only seven of them new intakes for 2013 and all are entitled to 24-hour support and tuition from the BRDCs established members.
With a stated objective of nurturing and getting the very best out of Britains future motorsport heroes, the SuperStars structure offers invaluable assistance in terms of physical training and preparation, mental coaching, career guidance workshops and media and sponsorship advice not to mention state-of-the-art resources and money-cant-buy networking opportunities.
The benefits of the SuperStars initiative are clearly not lost on young drivers, as every year there are simply not enough places for everyone who would like to be involved, remarked BRDC SuperStars director, 1992 British Touring Car Champion Tim Harvey. In the five years SuperStars has been operating, I can honestly say it has made a difference in some way to each and every member.
"I am delighted to welcome Jordan to the BRDC SuperStars programme for 2013. He has all the attributes of a professional driver, and I am sure his prodigious talent will take him to the top of the single-seater ladder.
