Junior Open Wheel Talent

Spencer Pigot and Felix Serralles earned the top prize at the 2009-2010 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-Out; each earning a fully-funded ride in the 2010 Skip Barber National championship.

Nicolas Costa, Mukul Sud, Sebastian Ordonez and Jesus Rios also earned prizes at the shoot-out.

Prizes

• Spencer Pigot (16)- fully-funded season in Skip Barber National
• Felix Serralles (17)- fully-funded season in Skip Barber National
• Nicolas Costa (18)- fully-funded half season in Skip Barber National
• Mukul Sud (24)- fully-funded season in Skip Barber Regional
• Sebastian Ordonez (15)fully-funded season in Skip Barber Regional
• Jesus Rios (15)- fully-funded half season in Skip Barber Regional

A couple thoughts on this year’s shoot-out.

- As always it’s nice to see the Skip Barber organization spreading out the awards and developing a few of the kids in their regional programs.

- It was a good year to be from Florida as both Serralles and Pigot hail from the Sunshine State.  Plus, I would assume that both Serralles and Pigot (being from Florida) have both done their fair share of laps around Sebring.

- Both Spencer and Felix competed in the 2008 shoot-out as well.  I don’t think too many people were surprised when the top-prize recipients were announced.  It will be fun to watch these two develop in the car ranks next season.

- The average age of the award winners is 17.5 years old.
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You can read the official press release here.

2009 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-Out Winners(drivers from left to right) Nicolas Costa, Mukul Sud, Sebastian Ordonez, Jesus Rios, Spencer Pigot and Felix Serralles. Joined by John Doonan (l) and Michael Culver (r).

Alex Ellis and Gary Carlton are the winners of the 2009 Jim Russell Future Driver Search.  Both drivers will receive a fully-funded ride in the 2010 Jim Russell Championship.

Ellis, 18, was the best “all-rounder“, meaning he was the best all-around selection on-and-off the track.  Gary Carlton, 23, was awarded his prize for setting the fastest lap in the FJR-50 race car during the final day of evaluation.

The judging panel was led by Allan McNish, who was very impressed with the competition at the event.  “I was pleasantly surprised by the high standard of all of the drivers,” commented McNish in a release. “Even the ones that didn’t progress through at the halfway stage were all of a good standard. It was a very closely fought competition not made any easier by the changeable weather conditions we experienced at times – but that’s motor racing.”

The event started with 40 drivers— you can view the full entry list here.  After the first two days of competition the judges split the group in half, sending 20 drivers home.  Heading into the final day of competition, the judges sent another 14 drivers home.  Six drivers remained;  Bastien Graber, James Kovacic, Felipe Polehtto, Gary Carlton, Alex Ellis and Jeff Westphal.

Two drivers emerged from the final six to win the fully-funded rides in the 2010 Jim Russell Championship.

Alex Ellis- "Best All-Rounder" (N.Napierala Photography)

Alex Ellis, from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, competed in the Formula BMW-Americas series this season and finished 6th in the final standings.  He earned 3 podiums, 2 fast laps and 1 pole position in 14-starts.  His best finish was 2nd which occurred at Road America.  His improvement was evident in 2009 and I expect we will see even more out of him in 2010.  In 2008, his first season in cars, he drove in the F1200 Canadian series finishing 2nd in the overall championship.  He claimed 5 victories and found himself on the podium in 73.3% of his race starts.  Prior to his car racing endeavors he developed his craft in go-karts.

“Winning this means absolutely everything to me, having dedicated my life, mine and my family’s money, in to succeeding in motorsport so you can understand I’m absolutely elated – it’s more than a dream coming true, it’s a massive turning point in my life,” stated Ellis in a release.

Gary Carlton- Fastest Driver (N.Napierala Photography)

Gary Carlton, from Marysville, California, entered the event with very little car experience.  The 23-year-old has spent most of his life in a go-kart but proved to everyone exactly how beneficial karting can be when you make the transition to cars.  Carlton was extremely fast all weekend and earned himself a fully-funded ride by setting the fastest lap of the day in the closing evaluation.

McNish was very impressed by Carlton, “Considering the lack of time Gary has spent in a single-seater, especially one [the FJR-50] at such a high technical level, he was very impressive,” continued McNish. He didn’t make a single mistake throughout the event and was always running towards the front. In his ‘home’ habitat of karting, he was extremely quick and very good in traffic.”

Carlton was a favorite to win the overall event.  He has always had the work effort and the natural ability it was just a matter of getting that elusive opportunity.

“Winning this initiative will literally change my life,” said Carlton in a release. “I know what I’ll be doing in 2010, I can focus and prepare fully for the months ahead which are certainly going to be exciting as well as challenging. I’ve had a great time over the past four days and have learned a great deal in terms of on and off the track.”

Both drivers plan to compete in the 2010 Jim Russell Championship which kicks off in April.  The winner of the 16-race 2010 Championship will earn a fully-funded ride in the 2011 FIA Formula Two Championship.

You can read the official press release here.

Related Reading:

• Jim Russell Future Driver Selection Entry List
• Jim Russell Future Driver Selection: Final 20
• Jim Russel Future Driver Selection:  Final 6

Look for a full story tomorrow but it only seemed fitting to announce the winners tonight.  Gary Carlton and Alex Ellis will both receive a fully-funded ride in the 2010 Jim Russell Championship after winning the inaugural Jim Russell Future Driver Selection.

**Update** You can read the full story here.

Related Reading:

• Jim Russell Future Driver Selection Entry List
• Jim Russell Future Driver Selection: Final 20
• Jim Russel Future Driver Selection:  Final 6

The panel at the Jim Russell Future Driver Selection whittled their list down to six finalists heading into the last day of evaluation.  The final list isn’t too far off what I expected to see.

As noted in my post yesterday… After reviewing the initial 40-driver entry list I made a list of my personal top-ten picks (drivers who I felt had a legitimate shot at winning the overall prize).  There is only one driver in the final six who didn’t make my top-ten list.

The drivers listed below will be evaluated throughout the day today (the final day of the shootout).  At the end of the day, two recipients will be awarded funded rides in the 2010 Jim Russell Championship.  The first prize will go to the driver selected as the best overall candidate (the driver who performs the best on-and-off the track).  The second prize will be awarded to the driver who sets the quickest overall lap in today’s session (driving the FJR-50 race cars).

The Final Six:

• Bastien Graber
• James Kovacic
• Felipe Polehtto
• Gary Carlton
• Alex Ellis
• Jeff Westphal

A few interesting stats:

• 5 countries are represented among the final six.
• The average age of the finalists  is 19.67 years old.
• Gary Carlton and Jeff Westphal are the oldest (23).
• James Kovacic is the youngest (16).

Related Reading

• Jim Russell Future Driver Selection Entry List
• Jim Russell Future Driver Selection: Final 20

The Jim Russell Future Driver Selection Panel cut the field of 40 entrants in half today as they head into the final two-days of evaluation.  There are 20 drivers still competing for two fully-funded rides in the 2010 Jim Russell Championship Series.

Early today, I posted the full entry list and mentioned that I would highlight a few surprise cuts.  I  haven’t seen all of these drivers perform and I’m not on-site at the shootout so my “surprise cuts” are based solely on my opinion.  It’s up to you how serious you want to take them.

Surprise Cuts
After looking at the full entry list (as linked above), I decided to narrow that list down to 10 drivers who I felt had a legitimate shot at winning the overall selection.  Out of the 10 drivers I selected …. 70% made it past the first cut, which means 3 drivers were cut.  Here are a few drivers that made my “Surprise Cuts” list:

Ben Searcy- I put Ben on my list because I felt that he made some real improvements this season during his freshman season in the car ranks.  He always impressed me in karts and he did a great job this year in the F2000 Championship—bagging 3 wins, 4 podiums and 1 pole position in 11-races.

Stefan Rzadzinski- I had Stefan on my list for multiple reasons.  I think he has done an excellent job making the transition to cars —finishing 2nd in the Ontario Formula Ford Challenge and earning the “Rookie of the Year” title.  He lacks a little experience in comparison to a few of the other entrants so he probably wasn’t a favorite for the overall selection at his young age, but he is certainly a driver to watch in the future.

Sean Rayhall- Sean has accomplished some very impressive feats, despite his young age (14), so I was a bit surprised to see that he didn’t make the top-twenty.  He has spent the bulk of his time in the Skip Barber ranks but he did run the first two races of the 2009 Jim Russell Championship, finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively.  He might have been a long shot for the overall prize but I fully expected to see him inside the top-20.

Make the jump for a few interesting stats and the Final-20 list.  [More]

The Jim Russell Future Driver Selection started on Friday December 18th, 2009 and will continue for four days.  The drivers are competing for two fully-funded rides in the 2010 Jim Russell Championship Series.  The entrants will be evaluated both on-and-off the track.  While on-track they will drive karts, Mitsubishi Evos, and the FJR-50 race cars (the cars used in the Jim Russell Championship).

The top awards will go to the best overall selection (the driver who performs the best on-and-off the track) and to the driver who sets the fastest lap overall during the final day of evaluation in the FJR-50 race cars.  The final cut will narrow the list down to only six drivers.

There are some really impressive drivers taking part in this shoot-out.  Earlier today, the judges, led by Allan McNish, narrowed the list of 40 drivers down to 20.  I will post that information (along with a few of the surprise cuts) later today.

Make the jump to see the entry list…

[More]

Skip Barber released their 2009 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-Out entry list today at the PRI show in Orlando, Florida.  The list is comprised of 37 drivers.

The shoot-out will take place on December 27-30, 2009 at Sebring International Raceway.  The entrants will be competing for $255,000 worth of seat time in various Skip Barber Racing Series.  The top prize, presented by the MazdaSPEED Development Ladder and the FIA Motorsport Safety Development Fund, will be a pair of fully-funded rides in the 2010 Skip Barber National Championship.  A fully-funded ride in the SBN championship is valued at approximately $52,000.

As noted above, their will be 37 drivers in attendance for this year’s shoot-out.  The entry numbers are down in comparison to years past, but I suppose that was to be expected considering the current economic climate.

Last year, I wrote a piece about the number of drivers who are 15 years of age or younger and competing for the prestigious Skip Barber Karting Scholarship.  It seems the average age of the entrants continues to drop every year as competitors are getting younger and younger.  Last year there were ten drivers who were 15 years of age or younger in the shoot-out.  This year, there are thirteen drivers who are 15 years of age or younger.

Here is a closer look at some actual numbers…

Percentage of Drivers Age 15 or Younger

2009- 35.14% (13 drivers) with the youngest being 13 years of age.
2008- 20.00% (10 drivers) with the youngest being 13 years of age.
2007- 29.41% (15 drivers) with the youngest being 12 years of age.
2006- 24.49% (12 drivers) with the youngest being 13 years of age.
2005- 17.02% (8 drivers) with the youngest being 13 years of age.

As noted last season, with these stats, it’s impossible to argue against the fact that drivers are attempting to move from karts to cars at a younger age every year.  I’ve said it before and I will say it again… It’s great to see these young drivers gaining experience in cars but it’s a shame to see so many rushed into cars.  A drivers karting years are so important to their overall development as a race car driver that pushing kids into cars at such a young age can be detrimental to their overall success.

I know that a lot of these drivers will continue karting along with their car programs… which is great to see.  The more seat time the better whether it be in cars or karts, but it’s always great to see drivers diversifying their skills.

Make the jump to see the full 2009 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-Out Entry List…

[More]

The 12th annual Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-Out was held on December 27-29 at Sebring International Raceway. According to inside sources, this was the tightest group of competitors in years. Two drivers were awarded top honors: Sage Karam (13) and Court Vernon (16) were both awarded a fully funded season in the Skip Barber National series. The second place drivers also tied, with Dennis Trebing (16) and Nick Andries (18), both winning a funded half-season in the Skip Barber National. The judges either like Florida kids quite a bit or the natives have put in quite a few laps around Sebring while living in the Sunshine State (3 out of the 4 scholarships went to Floridians).

I believe Sage Karam has just become the youngest driver in history to win a fully-funded Skip Barber National ride at the age of 13. Gabby Chaves, who was also 13, won a smaller scholarship, while Alexander Rossi won the big prize at the age of 14. The average age of drivers entered in the shoot-out this year was an astonishing 18, compared to years past. The average age of the scholarship winners’ this year is 15.75 years of age.

Sage Karam of Nazareth, PA, has had a very successful career in go-karts, winning both the Stars of Karting East/West titles in Cadet last year. This season saw the 13-year-old make the jump to the ultra competitive Junior ICA class, where he finished 10th nationally.

Court Vernon of Key Biscayne, Florida spent the year running the Skip Barber Eastern Regional series (winning eight races and the championship) along with his karting efforts. He also made an impressive start in a Star Mazda car at Road Atlanta finishing ninth in his first outing.

Dennis Trebing of Cape Coral, Florida didn’t start racing until two years ago, when he jumped into a Junior TAG kart and won every race during his inaugural season. Last season, he moved up to the TAG Senior class where he won his first race. Late in 2007, the 16-year-old, made the transition to cars by running a regional Skip Barber race at Sebring where he finished 4th out of 15 drivers on a rain soaked circuit.

Nick Andries of Pinellas Park, Florida began his racing career in karts at the age of 5. He graduated from the Skip Barber 3-Day School at the age of 16 in 2006. This season saw him make the move to cars, running alongside Trebing in the Skip Barber Regional series. He stood on the podium in his first Regional weekend.

(photos: http://www.skipbarber.com)