Young Canterbury stars selected for elite academy

Two young Cantabrians, Christchurch’s Caleb Cross and Rangiora’s Nicole Summerfield, have been picked to join a select group of the country’s most promising up and coming motor racing talents, as part of New Zealand’s Elite MotorSport Academy.

Summerfield, who represents one of two females in the group of eight, and Cross will join six other young Kiwis, aged between 14 and 25, at the intensive week-long academy in Dunedin in July.

Run by the MotorSport NZ Scholarship Trust, in conjunction with Excellence in Sport South Island and Otago University’s sports science specialists, the programme is now in its 12th year.

MotorSport New Zealand president Shayne Harris said the programme has a very strong track record in equipping young Kiwi drivers for competition against some of the world’s best.

‘‘We’ve been able to help guide several of our most successful drivers on to the international stage, including GP2 contenders Mitch Evans and Richie Stanaway, and rising world rally championship star Hayden Paddon,’’ Harris said.

The programme focuses on a wide range of skills required for high performance sport, from diet to media training, and participants must meet a high standard of physical fitness prior to commencing the course.

‘‘Sports scientists report that the reflexes and fitness of some of the drivers who have attended the academy are equivalent to those of Olympic athletes, and their reaction times are equal to, or better than, those of fighter pilots,’’ said Harris.

Before they return home, all graduates are given an individually tailored 24-month programme to help continue their development.

The most promising graduate receives the Ian Snellgrove Memorial Trophy.

Cross has five junior national karting titles to his name and made his New Zealand Formula Ford Championship debut this year.

The 14-year-old finished third and was in title contention through to the final round.

His dream of competing in the V8 Supercar Championship got a boost when he was selected by Prodrive Racing Australia, owners of the Ford Performance Racing team, as a foundation member of its academy.

Summerfield is the older sister of rally ace Matt Summerfield and co-drives for him in the New Zealand Rally Championship.