Photo: GP3 Media Service
The governing body for motorsport in the United Kingdom, the MSA, has announced seven young British racers to be part of its Team UK scheme in 2012…
The Team UK is a national team comprised of some of the UK’s most promising drivers, in both circuit racing and rallying. The racing drivers are taken care of by National Race Coach David Brabham. Areas covered in the training include everything from driver coaching to fitness, psychology and safety.
The 2012 lineup was announced at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham today:
Jack Harvey, 18, will race in British Formula 3 for the second successive year in 2012. He hopes to challenge new Carlin teammate Carlos Sainz Jr for the prestigous title.
Josh Hill, 21, is the son of Damon and grandson of Graham. He looks likely to spend a second season in Formula Renault UK, where he will be gunning for the title. In the meantime, he is racing in the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand.
Alex Lynn, 18, dominated Formula Renault UK last year, and this year steps up to British F3 with Fortec. He will also be a member of the FIA Institute’s Young Driver Academy programme.
Lewis Williamson, 22, will step up to Formula Renault 3.5 after a strong first season in GP3 in 2011. He will also race as an official member of the Red Bull Junior Team, and like Lynn is part of the FIA Institute Young Driver Academy.
Josh Webster, 17, was the runner-up in the Formula Renault BARC series in 2011, and is due to step up to the main UK championship in 2012 after making a good impression in the Finals Series.
Nick Yelloly, 21, had a quiet season in GP3 in 2011, but shone on a handful of appearances in the faster Formula Renault 3.5. As a result a full-time ride in the series is imminent in 2012.
Oliver Rowland, 19, capped an impressive opening season in car racing with the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award. He’ll switch from Formula Renault UK to the Eurocup for 2012.
?We are very excited by the make-up of this year?s squad,? said Brabham. ?Oliver obviously claimed the McLaren Autosport Young Driver title and we are looking forward to working with him for the first time, while Alex will have learned a lot from that shoot-out experience. Indeed he has already gained a place on the FIA Institute Driver Academy, as has Lewis Williamson who was with us last year, and this will further extend the training programme and development that both drivers receive. We welcome Josh Hill and Nick Yelloly to the squad for the first time, as well as Josh Webster who becomes the first graduate of the MSA?s Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence programme at Loughborough College to take the step up to Team UK.?