Junior Open Wheel Talent

2012 Skip Barber Shootout Particpants at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (Photo: Kelly Brouillet - Skip Barber Racing)

Editor’s Note: I’m trying something new this week. Prior to this year’s Skip Barber Karting Scholarship I asked friend and driver coach Steve Welk if he was heading to the shootout at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and if he would be interested in writing a guest post on JuniorOpenWheelTalent.com. He gladly accepted the invitation and you can read his submission below. His piece starts out with a day-by-day description of the shootout and ends with some interesting thoughts on a few of the competitors. It should be noted that while Steve coached for Skip Barber Racing, he was not working for Skip Barber last weekend but was coaching eventual winner Tristan DeGrand and Andrew Hobbs — which he is up front about in his intro. Enjoy.

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By: Steve Welk – President of Linear Sport Motorsports Management

A little background on myself / disclaimer, I have been involved in motorsport since the age of eight which puts me at the 20-year mark this year.  In 2003 I began instructing with the Skip Barber Racing School then formed Linear Sport in 2005. I decided to end my own driving career in 2008 to focus solely on driver development.  I work individually with drivers from karting through the upper levels of junior formula car racing and coached drivers Tristan DeGrand and Andrew Hobbs at this year’s Shootout.

The 2011 edition of the Skip Barber Scholarship Shootout was another very well run event that should be on any driver’s agenda if they plan on making the transition from karts to cars.  Regardless if a driver comes away with a scholarship (sometimes even more so if you don’t), the knowledge gained about the realities of motorsport is invaluable.

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Scholarship winners with Skip Barber Racing School CEO Michael Culver
(Photo: Kelly Brouillet)

Skip Barber Racing announced its 2011 scholarships Monday morning, following the 15th Annual Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. For those who asked about prize specifics, here they are:

Related Reading:

• 2011 Skip Barber Scholarship Shootout Entry List
• Tristan DeGrand and Danilo Estrela win Skip Barber Scholarship Shootout

For up-to-date news and views on junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

Drivers were introduced to the Skip Barber formula car on an infield autocross course prior to pedaling their way around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the 2011 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout.
(Photo: Kelly Brouillet)

Tristan DeGrand topped 22 other karters to win the 2011 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout and Danilo Estrela bested the Skip Barber Race Champions at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

After four days of seminars and observation — both in and out of the car — the drivers gathered in the Laguna Seca infield for the announcement.

The judges’ decision didn’t come quickly with several participants sparking their own Twitter trend by hashtagging #NerveRacking as they awaited the big announcement.

While only two were chosen for the top-prize in their respective competition, several other drivers qualified for a scholarship. Per the Skip Barber organization, 17 of the 30 participants will leave Montery with a scholarship.

DeGrand, 15, and Estrela, 18, are both guaranteed a funded season in a Skip Barber Race Series for 2012. The specifics on the remaining prizes will be released in an official statement by Skip Barber Racing tomorrow.

For up-to-date news and views on junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

Skip Barber Racing released its 2011 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout and Race Champions Shootout entry list yesterday. The Karting Shootout has 22 entries, while the Champions Shootout has nine.

The scholarship competition will take place on Nov. 3-6, 2011, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The entrants will be competing for $245,200 worth of seat time in various Skip Barber Racing Series.

The average age of entrants in the Karting Shootout is 15.91 years with the Race Champions averaging 16.22 years of age.

Three years ago, 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.

Here is a closer look at some actual numbers…

Percentage of Drivers Age 15 or Younger

2011- 50% (11 drivers) with the youngest being 13 years of age.
2010- 39.47% (15 drivers) with the youngest being 14 years of age.
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.

Make the jump to see the full 2011 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout and Race Champions entry list…

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The Skip Barber Racing School announced the date of its 2011 Karting Scholarship Shootout today, as well as a few important changes to the program.

The Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout will take place Nov. 4-6, 2011, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Here’s where things get interesting.

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Trent Hindman, 15, and Danilo Estrela, 17, were announced as the winners of the 2010 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout today at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Tristan Nunez (15) was awarded a half season in the 2011 National Championship. Stefan Rzadzinski (17) won a full regional scholarship for 2011. Kenton Koch (16), Scott Hargrove (15) and Kyle Kaiser (14) earned a half season of regional competition.

A couple thoughts…

• As always, it’s great to see this shootout in place. The Skip Barber Karting Scholarship offers drivers a tremendous amount of seat time for a relatively low price. For those who walk away with scholarships, the event is even more valuable.
• Last year, with Pigot and Serralles winning, it was good to be from Florida as both are Floridians. This year it would appear New Jersey is the state to live in. Hindman and Estrela — the top prize winners — are both from New Jersey.
• The average age of scholarship winners this year is 15.57. Last year, the average age was 17.5 years.
• Several of the award winners had a significant amount of previous experience in a Skip Barber car. Both Hindman and Estrela ran four National Championship races in 2010.  Nunez, Koch, Kaiser and Hindman all participated in the 2009 Karting Scholarship at Sebring.
• Estrela also has European experience as the 15-year-old ran three races in the 2009 Formula Palmer Audi series. In addition, he ran a few Brazilian Touring Car events. I’m not sure where Estrela was karting this season, but I’d have to assume somewhere because the application for entry to the shootout specifically says, “Applicants must be actively and currently racing karts.” Update: Estrela ran two races in Brazil’s Center-West Cup Championship this year.
  
• I’m glad I wasn’t a judge. There were so many talented drivers in attendance this past weekend. Prior to the event, I had picked a few drivers that I thought would exit with a scholarship — Not all of them did. It’s tough to leave an event like this without a prize, but those drivers need to use this experience to their advantage and realize that they aren’t leaving empty handed.
• Congrats to everyone who participated.

Related Reading: Skip Barber Karting Scholarship

The 2010 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout is underway as of this morning and will continue throughout the weekend. The scholarship recipients will be announced Monday, Dec. 6, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Follow live updates from Skip Barber Marketing Coordinator Kelly Brouillet throughout the weekend on Twitter.

[Update]- Trent Hindman and Danilo Estrela earn top prize at Laguna Seca

Skip Barber Racing released its 2010 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout entry list last week. The tentative list is comprised of 39 drivers.

The shootout will take place on Dec. 3-6, 2010, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The entrants will be competing for $200,000 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 rides in the 2011 Skip Barber National Championship, valued at approximately $52,000 each.

As noted above, there will be 39 drivers (and possibly more) in attendance at this year’s shootout. The average contestant age is 16.79 years.

Two years ago, 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 13 drivers who were 15 years of age or younger in the shootout. This year, there is a record-15 drivers who are 15 years of age or younger. But, it should be noted that the youngest driver this season is 14, whereas in years past, the youngest competitor has always been 13-years-old or younger.

Here is a closer look at some actual numbers…

Percentage of Drivers Age 15 or Younger

2010- 39.47 (15 drivers) with the youngest being 14 years of age.
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.

Make the jump to see the full 2010 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout entry list… [Continue Reading...]

The Bondurant Racing School of High Performance Driving will hold their first Driver Search program on October 4-5, 2010 in association with Championship Karting International.

The winner of the Driver Search will receive a fully-funded ride in the 2011 Bondurant Championship Race Season – which utilizes Formula Mazda race cars.  The school will choose 20 finalists to take part in the Driver Search.  According to the official press release, drivers must be between the ages of 15-19 and have successfully completed a Bondurant 4-Day Grand Prix Road Racing course, 2-Day Advanced Formula Car Racing course or submit a qualified resume.

I’m not really sure who determines whether or not a resume is qualified or not.  So, it will be interesting to see what kind of exceptions are made for the 20 finalists.  It’s certainly fair to request that applicants attend the school but the Driver Search program doesn’t mention anything about a driver having too much experience – which is slightly troublesome.  Most shoot-outs or driver search programs tend to limit that number of “car” races a driver can compete in during the year of the Driver Search.  Perhaps that’s part of the “fine-print” requirements on the application.

As a whole, I think the program will be great as long as they follow through on what they promise and remain objective in their decision of choosing applicants and a driver search grand prize winner.  The runner-up in the Driver Search will receive one free race weekend and 15% off the entire season.  The third place finisher will be able to use their Driver Search entry fee towards a race weekend and receive 15% off the entire race season.

Drivers who wish to participate need to get their entry forms in by the July 15, 2010 deadline.  The field will be announced July 31st, 2010.

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).