Rangiora’s Matt Summerfield will take another step toward his dream of being a professional rally driver simply by participating in the inaugural Hyundai NZ Young Driver Shootout taking place on 9 and 10 December.
Summerfield, age 24, is one of five young rally drivers who have been selected to contest the shootout, a mentoring programme developed by Kiwi world rally star Hayden Paddon and Hyundai New Zealand aims to give a young New Zealand rally driver a major step-up with their motorsport career aspirations. The shootout winner will benefit from the opportunity to drive the Hyundai NZ AP4 i20 rally car run by Paddon Rallysport in two rounds of the 2017 New Zealand Rally Championship, testing and training with Paddon, plus the potential for an expanded programme in 2018.
Summerfield, who’s an apprentice electrician by day, says: “It’s always been a dream of mine to be a professional rally driver and to be able to spend time with such a great crew like Hayden and John [Kennard, Paddon’s co-driver] will be priceless. You just can’t let these sorts of opportunities go by, so it was an obvious decision to enter the shootout and we were delighted that we were selected as a finalist. Watching Hayden and John do what they have done in the World Rally Championship so far has been mind-blowing and it proves that if you work hard and never give up you can reach whatever goal you set your mind to.
“Any opportunity like this will bring me a step closure to my dream. From what we learn this week, will give us the advantage we need to win the NZRC in 2017. That is our first goal. But not only that, it will flow on to everything we do as individuals in and out of the sport.”
Having started in local autocross events at age 12, Summerfield has already achieved considerable success in his 12 years of rally competition. He describes one of the highlights so far as being the outright winner of the 2015 Daybreaker rally round of the New Zealand Rally Championship. “I’m also very proud to have won the Ashley Forest Rallysprint three times in three different cars!”
Running near Auckland, the Hyundai NZ Young Driver Shootout includes lessons and assessments on fitness, how to identify and look after sponsors, nutrition, media presence, career planning, writing pace notes and car set-up. The finalists also get a day in the forest where they will be writing and driving to their own pace notes in the Hyundai AP4 car.
Summerfield competes with older sister Nicole Summerfield alongside as co-driver and he’ll be taking Nicole to the Hyundai NZ Young Driver Shootout later this week.
“I’m excited to drive the Hyundai AP4 car. I have seen what the car can do in Hayden’s hands so it’s going to be a thrill to be in a car with that much potential. Hayden and the team might not be able to get me out of it!”
The pair aims to make the most of the opportunity to learn from Paddon and Kennard in the classroom workshops and on-the-road sessions during the shootout.
“Even if we don’t win, the amount of experience and knowledge that Hayden and John have is tremendous,” says Summerfield. “For Nicole and me personally, we have reached a ceiling in our notes development so we are looking forward to getting some more ideas and technical skills for getting the most out of reconnaissance on each rally and how to describe each corner more effectively. But, of course, the entire two days will be soaking up every topic that they have in store for us.
“Hayden and John put an amazing amount of energy and time back into rallying in New Zealand, and we owe a great deal to them for their efforts. Not only have they put New Zealand on the map, they have created a following that I believe is unstoppable and it’s great to be a part of it. We can’t thank Hayden and Hyundai New Zealand enough for this opportunity and we can’t wait to join them later this week.”
Summerfield joins four other finalists selected from more than 180 applicants:
· Max Bayley, 20, Hawke’s Bay
· Sloan Cox, 24, Rotorua
· Job Quantock, 22, Ashburton
· Dylan Thomson, 21, Waiuku
The Hyundai NZ Young Driver Shootout finalists will be assessed over the two days by Paddon, rally driver Reece Jones, talented teens Pinnacle Programme leader Bernice Mene, Newshub senior sports reporter Shaun Summerfield and former Rally New Zealand chairman Chris Carr.
“We want all finalists to take as much as they can away from the shootout weekend,” says Paddon. “We are not looking for the fastest driver – we are looking for someone with that X factor who has the ability to learn and develop into a leading rally driver, both nationally and internationally, while representing the Hyundai brand.”
Hyundai NZ Young Driver Shootout and Scholarship was open to drivers aged 16-25 with applicants having contested a minimum of 10 rallies, including four pace-noted rallies. Six more applicants – Jack Williamson, Max Tregilgas, Michael McLean, Chris McLean, Ari Pettigrew and Jack Hawkeswood – have been invited to participate in the classroom day.
The Hyundai NZ Young Driver Shootout and Scholarship winner will be announced on 11 December.
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