First filed 26 October 2010
26 October 2010: Young Australian drivers Brendan Reeves and Molly Taylor have just been awarded €500,000 WRC Academy scholarships for the 2011 season. Both drivers were selected for the Academy following a successful showing in the recent Pirelli Star Driver Shootout.
The WRC Academy replaces the JWRC category and is a one-make series using Ford Fiesta R2s. There will be 20 competitors taking place in the Academy next year, but only six scholarships were up for grabs.
In addition to the six rounds of racing competition Academy participants will be given expert training for a future WRC career, including diet and mental preparation.
After being told of her success Taylor said, “My focus has always been working towards the WRC, so to be sitting here today knowing that this is actually a reality is surreal. This is just the beginning and the hard work starts now, I’m buzzing!”
Meanwhile, Reeves is also happy and grateful for the opportunities ahead, “This is a dream come true for me. I would really like to thank Pirelli and the FIA for giving junior drivers the opportunity to compete for such a fantastic prize. There is nothing else like it in rallying and for them to give young drivers like myself the chance to become a WRC driver, is awesome.”
Well done to Reeves and Taylor and here’s hoping both have a great 2011. Follow the source link below to see a brief video explaining the WRC Academy.
[Source: WRC]
UPDATE 4 November: The WRC Academy video from the source link has been added to YouTube and you can now watch the clip right here after the jump. Thanks to Chris for the tip.
2 replies on “Brendan Reeves and Molly Taylor earn WRC Academy drives”
Awesome news. I remember seeing Molly Taylor driving a Mitsubishi Mirage (if memory serves me correctly) at the Rally of Queensland a couple of years ago. She did pretty well from memory.
Awesome
I’ve known Molly through various rallies, burrows drive days, test days etc and she is a great driver and a great person. Good luck.
Also, Brendan is an awesome driver, and he makes a good team with his sister rhiannon as nav. Hopefully this means he won’t be in the showroom class at targa this year in the factory mazda, so I don’t look like such a slow coach! Seriously I hope he does still do targa as he is the benchmark for 2wd cars!