Spreading the word on motorsport
Dannevirke Car Club’s Michael McLean Bradley Stewart were at Dannevirke High School’s assembly on Tuesday August 16 to encourage young drivers to participate in their auto-cross programme.
The programme is run by the club for drivers 12 years and up.
Michael, president of the club, said young drivers can learn about their cars in a controlled off-road environment at relatively little cost.
Michael bought his first car for $14 and drove it for three years in this junior version of motor-sport.
Principal Dr de Villiers had just been talking in the school’s assembly about the importance of motivation in emotional intelligence and said the two, both former pupils were examples of people living their dream.
While the students studied both cars with interest, Michael outlined the last month of activities, starting with his first week at the Elite Motor Sport Academy in Dunedin.
He said it was a real eyeopener as he had never before considered motor-sport drivers as elite athletes.
He said the amount of the money behind some of his other seven colleagues — all of whom are in track racing — is amazing.
One has a Porsche already and has a Lamborghini on order.
Most of his first week in at the academy in Dunedin covered theory, exercise physiology, strengthening and conditioning, nutritional and financial advice.
They worked from 6am to 7pm, starting each day with fitness training. He got to drive in a simulator under extreme heat of 52 degrees but there was not much related to actually driving.
Now he is home Michael is travelling for specialist training under Professor Gary Hermansson who travelled with the Olympic team to Rio as a sports psychologist.
Following his eighth placing overall at the Rally of Tauranga — described by Michael as “a very scary event during which it poured with rain and there were too many crashes” — Michael is looking forward to this weekend’s rally in Coromandel. It will be on a very windy course where he will have to trust his co-driver.
On Tuesday he was invited by kiwi motorsport legend Rod Millen to once again attend the Leadfoot Festival in Coromandel during Waitangi Weekend, with his dad Donald. The festival is by invitation only and features New Zealand’s top drivers.