The Motor Sports Association (MSA) is pleased to announce that single-seater racer Sennan Fielding has won the 2013 RSF MSA Young Driver of the Year award.
The prize – kindly supported by the Racing Steps Foundation (RSF) – is awarded annually to a student enrolled on the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE) in Motor Sport programme, which forms part of the MSA Academy.
The five apprentices short-listed for this year’s award were: Fielding, 18 from Chesterfield; Douglas Hayford, 18 from High Wycombe; Jack McConnell, 18 from Belfast; Seb Morris, 17 from Wrexham; and Kasia Nicklin, 17 from Bury St Edmonds.
All five took part in a day-long event at iZone Driver Performance in the Silverstone Technology Park, during which they were assessed by a judging panel comprising: Robert Reid, MSA Performance Director; Ben Taylor, MSA Director of Development; Tom Onslow-Cole, MSA Performance Manager; Derek Walters, Racing Steps Foundation; Thomas Gayle, Loughborough College AASE NVQ Programme Leader; and Ben Anderson, national editor of Autosport magazine.
The activities included a variety of simulator challenges (including the innovative ‘eye-tracker’ software), gym assessment, reaction test and psychometrics, before each was interviewed by the panel.
Fielding, who competed in this year’s BRDC Formula 4 Championship, said: “Becoming the RSF MSA Young Driver of the Year is an achievement that I’m really proud of. I didn’t really know what to expect of the shootout beforehand; it was a step into the unknown so I was pretty nervous, and throughout the event I gave my all but had no idea how I was faring. At the end of the day the anticipation built up and my heart started beating faster, then I was thrilled when my name was called as the winner. It’s a great to end the year on a real high and it’s a massive confidence boost for 2014.”
Robert Reid, MSA Performance Director, said: “All five finalists performed very well throughout the day, and choosing one winner was a difficult and unenviable task. However Sennan’s attitude, application and presentation really shone through, and he acquitted himself equally well across a variety of tasks. He’s a worthy winner of this prestigious award and we look forward to crowning him the RSF MSA Young Driver of the Year at the Night of Champions in January.”
Fielding will receive £1000 and a trophy at the MSA’s prestigious Night of Champions ceremony at the Royal Automobile Club on 18 January 2014.
Previous winners
2012: Chris Ingram2011: Josh Webster2010: Jake Cook
