MOTORSPORT UK SELECTS FIA RALLY STAR CONTENDERS

A Motorsport UK panel has selected the three representatives for the FIA Rally Star talent search.

The successful trio – 2019 UK

Young Rally Driver of the Year Robert Wilson, Junior Saloon Car champion and McLaren junior GT driver Katie Milner plus top #RallyAtHome eSports racer John Bebnowicz-Harris – will now progress to the Continental Final which will take place in Germany later in the year.

The selection process, which took place at the Motorsport UK HQ in Bicester late last week, pitted 18 talents against each other. FIA Rally

Star is a worldwide talent contest that will take the best undiscovered talent from rallying at home to the ultimate prize of a fully funded seat in the

Junior World Rally Championship.

After early selection rounds were held virtually using the WRC9 game, the finalists gathered to contest two autosolo tests at Bicester Heritage, as well as being assessed on their physical performance by Porsche Human Performance and media engagement with representatives from MN and Autocar.

A delighted Wilson was looking forward to what the opportunity to represent the UK may mean. “I’m over the moon but it was so close – something like 0.2 seconds between the top three after the morning session,” he said.

“It was brilliant to see people who don’t necessarily have the opportunity to drive being here and being able to do it. I think [the gamers] represented themselves really well and the level of driving was insane.”

Milner was the only female among the finalists and the assessors were impressed by the way her circuit-honed skills translated into speed around the obstacle course. “I thought that, even if I don’t get through, at least I’ve done something different,” said the daughter of twice British rally champion Jonny.

“For the next round in Germany I’m going to practice hard and use my dad’s help as much as I can.”

The final entrant through, BebnowiczHarris, had only just obtained his road licence in order to attend the event.

“It’s been a shock to me to see how much of my [online] skills has been translatable,” he said.