New Zealand young driver development program, the SpeedSport Scholarship, has received a bequest from the estate of the late Robin Curtis, a well-known and respected journalist who passed away last year after a battle with cancer.
Curtis, who wrote and photographed motorsport for over 50 years, had a long association with the scholarship program and keenly followed it’s progress and the journeys of the winners since it was first awarded in 2001.
“We are greatly appreciative of Robin’s decision to leave a bequest to the Scholarship Trust,” said SpeedSport Scholarship co-founder and Sabre team owner, Dennis Martin.
“Robin always supported the work of the program as an independent writer and as a regular contributor to SpeedSport magazine, from which the scholarship takes it’s name.”
Following the closure of the magazine in 2010, the program was then formed into the SpeedSport Scholarship Charitable Trust.
The donation is not the first to be bequeathed to the scholarship. The family of long-time race mechanic and engineer, Murray McLaren, who was also a long serving member of the scholarship’s judging panel, also made a bequest after his sudden passing in 2012.
“I’m humbled by the actions of these guys to support the program in this way. They both appreciated the work the scholarship program does in launching the career of young race car drivers, and were both proud of what has been achieved,” said Martin.
The acknowledgment comes after a weekend when one of the SpeedSport Scholarship’s most successful graduates, Shane van Gisbergen, became the first New Zealander to win the coveted Jason Richards Memorial Trophy at the Pukekohe round of the V8 Supercars. The 2004 winner is on the verge of winning the Australian V8 Supercar championship.
The winner of the SpeedSport Scholarship competes with Sabre Motorsport in the New Zealand Formula First championship with the next round of the series at Taupo on November 19-20.
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