Announcing the 16th Annual Skip Barber Scholarship Shootout at Virginia International Raceway The 2012 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout Presented by Mazda at Virginia International Raceway is a competitive shootout that has awarded over sixty-four scholarships to famous racers such as Ryan Hunter-Reay (2012 IZOD IndyCar Series Champion), Alexander Rossi (2012 Test Driver for Caterham F1), Spencer Pigot (2012 USF2000 2nd Place) and many more. Funded in part by the FIA Foundation's Motor Sport Safety Development Fund, this year's participants will learn about driver safety, media skills and sponsor relations from today’s professionals and receive quality on track time in Skip Barber Formula 2000 race cars while competing for $120,000 in Skip Barber Racing Scholarships. The Motor Sport Safety Development Fund was set up in 2008 as a charitable fund to help progress and improve safety, training and education in motor sport worldwide. The FIA Institute manages the programmes of the Fund on behalf of the FIA Foundation. This includes the Young Driver Safety Programme under which this activity is being conducted. The participants will be evaluated by Skip Barber Instructors and expert, celebrity judges including: David Hobbs, famous Le Mans driver now SPEED Channel and F1 analyst Bob Varsha, SPEED Channel personality and F1 commentator Along with these judges, there are a number of important experts that will also be in attendance to lead educational seminars on a variety of topics (shown below): Townsend Bell, IZOD IndyCar Series Driver, Sponsorship Coach and Skip Barber Alumni Bryan Herta, Owner of Bryan Herta Autosport, IndyCar race winner, and 2011 Indy 500 Winner as a Team Owner with driver Dan Wheldon Dean Case, Communications Director for MAZDASPEED Motorsports Gerardo Bonilla, ALMS Driver, Skip Barber Racing School Lead Instructor and USF2000 National Championship series Driver Coach For additional information, contact Brett Johnson at [email protected] 2012 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout Schedule Day 1: Safety and Survival Modules provided by Skip Barber Racing School and sponsored by the FIA Motorsports Safety and Development Fund These drills include: 1) Skid recovery and car control in Mazda RX8’s on a wet skid pad 2) Car handling on an autocross in Mazda M 3’s and 3) Safety discussion with Skip Barber Racing School instructors. Interviews with SPEED Channel broadcasters Bob Varsha and David Hobbs Educational Seminar: Bryan Herta - The Team Owner's Perspective Autocross - Skip Barber Formula 2000 race car Day 2: Educational Seminar: Townsend Bell - Sponsorship Discussion Media Training with SPEED Channel broadcasters Bob Varsha and David Hobbs Educational Seminar: Gerardo Bonilla - Preparation of the Racing Driver Two 30-minute track sessions with feedback provided Skip Barber Instructors Day 3: Two 30-minute track sessions with feedback provided Skip Barber Instructors Educational Seminar: Dean Case - Business, Marketing and PR 101 The karters will be competing for points awarded based on best lap times and average lap times while having points deducted for car contact and spins. On the final day, the panel of judges comprised of David Hobbs, Bob Varsha and Skip Barber Racing School Instructors will gather to deliberate the winners of five scholarships worth a total of $120,000. 1st Place - A full season in the Skip Barber Racing School 2012-2013 Winter Race Series or Summer Race series 2nd Place - $25,000 in Skip Barber Race Series Scholarship 3rd Place - $20,000 in Skip Barber Race Series Scholarship 4th Place - $15,000 in Skip Barber Race Series Scholarship 5th Place - $10,000 in Skip Barber Race Series Scholarship For additional information, contact Brett Johnson at [email protected] Where the Scholarships Will Apply Skip Barber Regional Race Series are a perfect proving ground for drivers hoping to advance up the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder—a ladder that allows young racers to advance from Skip Barber Racing School to USF2000, which is the next step in the Mazda Road to Indy. The Mazda Road to Indy awards drivers scholarships to advance to Star Mazda, and Firestone Indy Lights helping them to achieve their dreams of racing in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Skip Barber Racing School is the official racing of the IZOD IndyCar Series. The top drivers in the 2012-2013 Skip Barber Regional Race Series will compete in the 2013 Championship Shootout seeking a scholarship for a full- season in the USF2000 National Championship, part of the Mazda Road to Indy Ladder System. As a prerequisite to compete in the Shootout, karters must complete a Skip Barber 3 Day Racing School and have no professional racing experience. Drive. Race. Win. For additional information, contact Brett Johnson at [email protected] Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HFznUdJAGY Share the Passion. A Special Thanks To Our Partners: For additional information, contact Brett Johnson at [email protected] Preview Release The 2012 Skip Barber Racing School Karting Scholarship Shootout presented by Mazda Kicks Off at Virginia International Raceway Braselton, GA (October 15, 2012) - The 2012 Karting Scholarship Shootout presented by Mazda begins today. This time two years ago, a 16-year old karter from southern California was gearing up for the Karting Scholarship Shootout. Today, Kenton Koch, 18, Glendora, CA, has transitioned from formula cars to sedans and is the champion of the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Challenge earning a fully funded ride in the MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge for 2013 where he will drive alongside the Playboy MX-5 Cup. "If it wasn't for the Karting Scholarship Shootout, I wouldn't be here," Koch said in a recent interview during a Skip Barber Regional race weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca."The Karting Scholarship Shootout has basically gotten me to where I am, right now." For Koch, the event taught him about more than just driving fast."It's as much about off the track as it is about on the track," he said. "[For me], it's acutally harder to do interviews than it is to drive. But for certain people I guess it can be different. The biggest thing I learned is how to prepare off the track." Who will be this year's star? The entrants for this year's shootout are the following: 1. Olivier Cote 2. Arthur Oliveira 3. Ruben Abadi 4. Timothy Humphrey 5. Jonathan Sugianto 6. Stephen Abel 7. Colton Herta 8. Brennan Harrington 9. Yago Cesario 10. Yuri Cesario 11. Bryson Schutte 12. Skyler Robinson 13. Matheus Dionisio 14. Mitsui Duzanowski 15. Esteban Garzon 16. Stefan Yasin For additional information, contact Brett Johnson at [email protected] 17. Tom Parry 18. Javier Cantu 19. Camilo Forero Vasquez 20. Jacob Parsons 21. Nicolas Armien 22. Ethan Low 23. Keaton McCormick For additional information, contact Brett Johnson at [email protected] Day 1 Young Karters Shine in Day 1 of 2012 Skip Barber Racing School Karting Scholarship Shootout Alton, VA. (October 15, 2012) - The first day of the 2012 Skip Barber Scholarship Shootout presented by Mazda at Virginia International Raceway is in the books. It was an eventful day with safety instruction funded in part by FIA Foundation's Motor Sport Safety Development Fund, mock interviews with Bob Varsha and David Hobbs, and educational talk by Bryan Herta. Complete event information can be found here. The day started with safety instruction funded in part by FIA Foundation's Motor Sport Safety Development Fund that provided the participants with valuable on and off track driving knowledge. "Getting to the track is what you have to do before you can get on the track," said Skylar Robinson, a scholarship shootout participant (pictured left). "So being a safe street driver is an important part of being a good [race car] driver." The activities on the skid pad helped Robinson find the limits of the car. "Being fast [on the track] you have to be on the limit everywhere all the time, so I think that will definitely transition," he said. After lunch, Bryan Herta spoke about the racing industry from a team owner's perspective with the unique twist that Herta also raced in IndyCar. "He helped me understand how a manager sees over a team and how a team is run in a formula car series," said Brennan Harrington, a shootout participant. "I think it is special because, while moving up the ladder, you need to what a team manager is looking for.” The karters are competing for points awarded based on best lap times, average lap times and deducted for car contact and spins. Shootout points will be made available after Day 2. For additional information, contact Brett Johnson at [email protected] Day 2 Points Released After Day 2 of 2012 Skip Barber Racing School Karting Scholarship Shootout Alton, VA. (October 17, 2012) - After two days of the 2012 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout presented by Mazda at Virginia International Raceway, several young karters have separated themselves. The second day began with three instructional sessions. Sponsorship Talk with Townsend Bell, IZOD IndyCar Series Driver, Sponsorship Coach and Skip Barber Alumni Media Coaching from David Hobbs, famous Le Mans driver now SPEED Channel analyst and Bob Varsha, SPEED Channel personality and F1 commentator Driver Preparation by Gerardo Bonilla, ALMS Driver, Skip Barber Racing School Lead Instructor and USF2000 National Championship series Driver Coach With two days of instructor scoring and one day of racing the current shootout point standings: (Driver name, shootout points ) 1. Yago Cesario, 214.05 2. Brennan Harrington, 208.00 3. Jonathan Sugianto, 206.70 4. Olivier Cote, 203.50 5. Yuri Cesario, 201.00 6. Bryson Schutte, 191.15 7. Skylar Robinson, 190.40 8. Timothy Humphrey, 183.10 9.