“Three days ago 18 drivers came together, not really knowing each other. Today they won and lost together, they’ve become a team. All 18 leave Austria more aware of themselves, of their environment as well of the FIA Foundation’s safety work on the road and the FIA Institute’s work on the track. But for the successful drivers, this is just the beginning.”

Robert Reid, Performance Manager, FIA Institute Academy

All drivers headed to the track on the final day of the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy Selection Event.

Performance managers Alex Wurz and Robert Reid were quick to point out that today’s racing, while the pinnacle of the competitive element of the shoot-out, would only represent a small part of their assessment of the drivers which has been ongoing through a series of tests over the last three days.

Yet the competitors were very much nervous and excited as they headed to the Wachau Ring in Melk, Austria this morning. The itinerary was straightforward with practice and qualifying followed by a pursuit-style, knockout competition.

The drivers were led out in pairs for three practice laps in the BMW M3s. Having run on slicks yesterday, the cars were fitted with soft-compound and heavily treaded winter tyres for race day, offering another curve ball for the 18 hopefuls to deal with.

Lots were drawn for the qualifying, with Swede Timmy Hansen first out. The relief was obvious as the 18-year-old stepped from the M3. It didn’t last long: nothing keeps the heart rate up like competition.

Qualifying was a one-shot: out lap, flying start and in. The slowest two were out, leaving 16 drivers to compete in the afternoon’s final shoot-out.

In the final, the fastest qualifier was pitched against the ninth quickest; second fastest versus tenth down to eighth versus 16th. Starting at opposite sides of the circuit, the two drivers were counted down and set off on a three-lap pursuit. From then on the competition was pure and simple: the winner went on, the loser went out. This brought a final shoot-out between Philipp Eng (20, Austria) and Stoffel Vandoorne (18, Belgium). Vandoorne won the last race of the shoot-out.

Armed with the data, the analysis and the results from three days, the judges - Robert Reid, Alex Wurz, FIA Institute Director General Richard Woods and FIA Institute Director of Programmes Quentin Crombie – began the process of deciding on the successful drivers.

The successful participants in the inaugural FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy will be announced shortly.

Robert Reid, Performance Manager, FIA Institute Academy, said:

“Suddenly choosing from the 18 looks quite daunting. For three days, I’ve been thinking: ‘Yes, driver A is there, he’s got it,’ but then driver B comes along and edges him in another discipline. Okay, there are some drivers who have excelled here, but picking the final list is really tough. The one thing you can absolutely say is that we had the right 18, these guys have been fantastic. This has been the perfect start for the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy. Once we’ve got the final list, it’s going to be a great season.”

Alex Wurz, Performance Manager, FIA Institute Academy, said:

“It was really interesting to see how the drivers dealt with the final day. Starting with practice, some of the guys hung back a little bit to find their lines, while others immediately closed up on the guy ahead to get in his mirrors. For me, this was free practice, the time to prepare yourself for qualifying when you will be alone on the track. Qualifying was big pressure with one lap and then the races were fantastic. This was an incredible end to what has been a fascinating three days.”

Images

Click here to view and download images from all three days of the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy Selection Event. These images are available for editorial use only.