James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, a veteran of Formula Atlantic racing who’s currently sitting fifth in the Firestone Indy Lights series with one race to go, has teamed up with Mosport’s Bridgestone Racing Academy to find a young karter with promise and help him or her start to climb the racing ladder.
Hinchcliffe will select eight go-karters for a private running of the Bridgestone Racing Academy's "Thrill of a Lifetime 3+" racing school at Mosport next Tuesday.
Hinchcliffe, along with Brett Goodman of the Bridgestone school and Tony Ventresca of Autosports Media Group, will judge the drivers' on-track performance.
And Hinchcliffe, who’s very well-versed in self-promotion and public relations – which is just as important in this day and age as the ability to go fast – will also monitor the drivers' off-track personas.
"Not only is this shootout going to test their on-track ability," Hinchcliffe said. "But some of the other judging criteria will introduce some of them to the pressures of the off-track side of racing, which is so important in the future when dealing with sponsors or media."
Following the completion of the one-day school, the panel will select one driver to participate in a fully paid, three-day "Wheel to Wheel" race licensing course at the Bridgestone academy next year.
"Canada has one of the best karting communities in the world and that's why we produce a high number of top-class racing drivers for the size of our population,” Hinchcliffe said in a release.
“I spent many years running karts all over Canada and those are some of my favorite memories from racing. The ‘Hinchtown.com Canadian Karting Award' is just a way for me to give something back to the community that really sparked my passion for racing."
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