MG ZR Rally Scholarship

How does a young person manage to get to drive MG ZR rally cars? Have a high disposable income, rich family connections or be sponsored by someone? The first two is the preserve of few and the closest most come to a drive in a rally car is sitting in a static display car fitted with a Playstation.

There is currently another alternative in the form of the MG ZR Rally Scholarship launched by Motorsport in the Midlands in association with Advantage West Midlands, and supported by MG Sport and Racing and the East Midlands Development Agency.

Put simply the scheme is trying to attract young talented people between the ages of 18 and 25 with a desire to compete in rallying. The scheme organisers though ultimately will select one winner who will have the opportunity to compete in an international rally in a fully sponsored and supported drive in an MG ZR super 1600 Rally car, a prize worth in the region of £50,000. This will be on a chosen international rally and is with the same specification of car Gwyndaf Evans, MGs Works Rally Driver, uses with growing success. Gwyndaf will also be on hand and would take an active part in the scholarship selection procedures.

Silverstone Instructor Steve Sofraniou giving the introductory lecture

Class photograph with the eventual winner Daniel Whitman third from the right in the black MG polo shirt

3-2-1-Go

Ten local newspaper groups in the Midlands are also involved, their input is to print features detailing the conditions of the scholarship and inviting applications from young hopefuls. In each newspaper area, each of which has a large population catchment, 20 will be selected to travel to Silverstone Rally School for a full day’s assessment, and the opportunity to drive rally prepared ZR 1.4 Rally cars.

At this point the whole subject gained a personal interest as unbeknown to me, my son Matt (19) had entered and even more surprising was the ansaphone message for him from MG Sport and Racing! Not that all was a bed of roses though as dad had to put hand in pocket for the cost of the day on offer, nevertheless the opportunity was simply not to be missed. This was to be the first of the ten assessment days and involved Central Independent Newspapers and Friarsgate, Lichfield’s MG Rover dealer

Arrival at the Silverstone Rally School at a bright and early 8am on the Wednesday following the British Grand Prix, an event witnessed by the parking and camping fields still covered in hundreds of small piles of rubbish awaiting collection. The competitors were allowed two guests each and once the coffee machine was primed into action the competitors settled down for their introductory talk. This was given by Peter Young of MG Sport and Racing. A uniform in the form of MG Sport and Racing Tee shirts was issued and once all entrants had changed there was the usual ‘course’ photograph, with Silverstone Instructors Steve Sofraniou and Steve Markham.

Before any hands got anywhere near the four brand new ZR rally cars all competitors were given classroom input on basics. Then the first two disciplines were commenced involving controlled handbrake turns and controlled ‘lift off oversteer’. Being as the conditions were dry, dust was soon to cover all and sundry not least of which were the two pristine ZRs used for these tests.

At speed on the circuit	Car from here to the right of the cone in the foreground in less than 3 seconds without touching any cone, all in one move	Yes
Handbrake turn creates dust storm	Yes the course does go down here	A smile says it all, following Matt Parker’s first driving experience

Each candidate was given three to four laps of the small sections of the rally circuit being used for each discipline. The handbrake element being done at what many were surprised at very low speeds. Several chose to start with a little more speed and the results were predictably ‘off line’! Over on the section where the lift off oversteer was being mastered more speed was order of the day and through a dust storm akin to that seen on desert war films it was obvious that much pleasure was being generated.

Driving was clearly high on the order of priorities but aiming to project one young person into the top echelons of national and international rallying demands a wide range of skills so ably demonstrated by Gwyndaf, a very pleasant chap with the time to speak to anyone. This attribute is clearly one that the winner needs to be able to demonstrate along with a number of other skills. To gauge these skills a range of interesting and at first sight odd tests and tasks was awaiting the contestants.

Firstly a dexterity test used a child’s toy where you have to pass a metal ring over a length of bent wire and any contact completes an electrical circuit and a buzzer sounds. Amazing how such an item takes on a different meaning when the prize for success is so important!

Next a comprehension test was sat with a list of various statements and questions. For example, “Can a man living in York be buried in Newcastle?” and, “a dog runs through a wood, how far does he travel into the wood?” (Answers at the end of the feature)

Still indoors was a full-scale interview with a searching panel consisting of Phil Whiting of Friarsgate, Gwyndaf Evans, MG Works driver, Don Kettlebrook of MG Sport and Racing, Pete Adams of Central Independent Newspapers. Their aim was to probe each contestant’s PR skills and adding to the pressure was that this was done ‘on camera’!

Moving outside saw more practical tests, but with a twist. Physical fitness is a proven advantage for any competition driver, just look at any F1 driver, but running 100 metres to a pole and back against the clock is just physical. Immediately before the contestant started their run they were given a short phrase to remember, which on crossing the finish line had to be recited word perfect. Try this out sometime and you will see it may not be as easy as it appears.

A variation on this was with the wheel changing test. Simple you may think, yes if that is all it was, but of course it wasn’t. Here the task is to jack up the car, remove the wheel, change it for another, refit, torque up the nuts and drop the car from the jack. The difference though was that the wheel to be fitted was some 50 metres away and there was yet another phrase to remember and recite word perfect on completion of the test. Here the phrase was stuck to the removed wheel and of course it was against the clock.

All mental tests were done on the basis that in rallying is a very fast sport with information being thrown at the driver at exceptional speed from a wide range of inputs, sight sound and feel. The best drivers are able to take on board all of this information and correctly respond to it. Accuracy here then is vital.

Lunch intervened with no hints being given to individual progress, following which driving skills learnt in the morning’s session were to be put to the test against the clock. A simple 10-metre test was manoeuvering a ZR 90 degrees from one parking bay into another. The bays were marked by cones with a small problem that there was a cone placed behind the car’s centre line and one in front on the centre line at a distance of approx. 1 metre. The aim was to get out of this constricted space and into the receiving parking bay as quickly as possible without cone contact. Reverse and then steer right is the High St method and a sure-fire solution. To do it in about 3 seconds though required some lateral thinking. Stopwatch starts, full right lock, handbrake left on, revs up, clutch engaged and feel the car pivot around the rear axle, release handbrake drive forward into the bay and stop – stopwatch stopped. In fact it takes longer to write than complete!

Running 100 metres to pole and back – then see if you can remember the ‘phrase’

Matt Roberts doing the wheel change

The final driving test involved two laps of the rally circuit, the first to familiarise and the second against the clock, but as in most things more haste usually leads to less speed. An oft-repeated point during the day was that the fastest driver is not guaranteed to be the chosen driver. A neat and quick driver is more likely to win than a slightly faster ragged driver. Clearly a neat and tidy driver has potential to be honed into a faster driver.

At the end of a very long day all contestants gathered in the classroom and were given a range of goodies to remember the event. The time to announce the day’s winner arrived and after the usual well done to everyone, Daniel Whitman from Sutton Coldfield was proclaimed the clear winner.

Daniel has a very busy 15 months ahead of him and once all the nine winners from the remaining selection days are decided, each will be fully supported in eight rallies using MG ZR 1.4 rally cars. At the end of these one driver will then be selected to go forward into that drive of the MG ZR Super 1600.

This is a superb example of co-operation with the aim of bringing forth new talent in British Motorsport. And a credit to all involved.

The answer to the two ‘comprehension questions’. Can a man living in York be buried in Newcastle? No because he is still living. A dog runs through a wood, how far into the wood does he travel? Halfway, as once beyond half way he is coming out. This is about testing the candidate’s ability to correctly read and interpret what is there, not what he thinks is there!

Roger Parker