This year’s Pirelli Star Driver UK shootout will take place on 21/22 October, two days after the final round of the 2013 MSA British Rally Championship, Rallye Sunseeker International.
The Pirelli Star Driver scheme has been running since 2008, supporting one driver each year with a fully-funded car for the duration of the BRC campaign. Previous winners include reigning WRC Academy champion Elfyn Evans and current BRC points leader Jukka Korhonen.
One driver has been nominated per event so far this season for the shootout, exclusively from the new BRDC Rally Two and Junior Rally Championships. The five drivers nominated so far are Jon Armstrong, Ruary MacLeod, Steve Rokland, Daniel McKenna and Alex Parpottas, with the final driver to be announced at Rallye Sunseeker.
The two-day shootout will see the finalists assessed on their driving abilities around a two-mile stage at Sweet Lamb, the same complex used as a special stage in the World Rally Championship, as well as their media awareness, event strategy, technical ability and future potential.
The drivers will be assessed by a panel featuring WRC co-driver Chris Patterson, South African motoring journalist Evan Rothman, BRC Managing Director Mark Taylor and Finland’s Risto Laine.
“Last year’s shootout proved to be extremely competitive and I don’t expect this year to be any different as we have some extremely talented drivers taking part,” said Pirelli UK Motorsport Operations Manager Matthew Corby.
“We have always been particularly keen to help new drivers entering the BRC to progress, so this season we focused our nominations on those competing in Rally Two and the Junior rally championships. I am confident that whoever wins this year’s shootout has the capability of winning British – and possibly international – titles in the future.”