Ollie Millroy will go head-to-head with 19 other young hopefuls looking to impress the judges at the Formula BMW racing centre in Valencia on the east coast of Spain next week. The 17 year-old 2006 British ICA Super One kart champion will be battling for one of four EUR 75,000 scholarships into the new Formula BMW European Championship, which supports no less than seven European rounds of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
The scholarship qualifying, which takes place on Monday and Tuesday, previously consisted of about 60 young drivers who took part in the Licensing Course and has now been whittled down to just 20 who have been asked to return next week. Included in the two days will be a series of evaluation laps on the afternoon of the second day, when the youngster will get the chance to put the 140 bhp FBMW racing car on the pace.
The best judged four participants born in the years 1990, 1991 or 1992 will each receive a scholarship of EUR 75,000 (approx £52,000) towards competing in the prestigious 2008 Formula BMW European Championship. Participants who have previously competed in a car race are not eligible to receive a scholarship.
As well as the financial backing provided by winning a scholarship, the winners will also receive a very important place on BMW’s education and coaching programme, which will provide driver coaching, media and PR tuition and health and fitness advice.
Ollie has been busy testing in preparation for next season and has enjoyed considerable success on British and European tracks, including equalling the fastest time ever recorded at the Pembrey circuit, in a FBMW car, of 55.9. His time was set at the wheel of car run by Motoworld Racing who were extremely impressed with his progress and declared the session ‘awesome’.
Away from the track, Ollie has also been busy in the gym working with his fitness trainers, Pro Performance, to ensure he is at peak fitness when the 2008 season kicks off in April. |
