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SEAT CUPRA CHAMPIONSHIP |
01/04/2004 |
Development Programme From SEAT |
Programme Aimed At Creating The Best |
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Development Programme Geared To Make Good Drivers Stand Out From The Pack
Drivers in the 2004 SEAT Cupra Championship will benefit from an exclusive Driver Development Programme which has been specially designed to make them stand out from the pack and help them in their future racing careers. The Programme will begin at Donington Park next week (April 6-8).
Each driver is given the opportunity to take part in a series of tailor-made training events, designed to assess their strengths and abilities and to help develop the skills they need to become a successful professional racing driver. The Driver Development Programme focuses on all aspects of a driver’s role, both on the track and in seeking out and securing sponsorship, interacting with the public, working with the media and managing their career. The 2004 Driver Development Programme will consist of three main workshops:
Personal Assessment Workshop
At the beginning of the season the SEAT Cupra Championship drivers will undergo a thorough individual assessment to identify their strengths and weaknesses and commit to a development plan. The workshop will include:
Personality profiling and analysis
Diet and nutrition assessment
Physiology tests
Fitness tests
Behavioural assessments
Role play situations
Following the assessment, each driver will receive detailed feedback and be given help and advice to set up improvement plans.
Driver Development Workshops
Throughout the season the SEAT Cupra Championship drivers will receive training in specific skill areas and have access to a mentor who will be able to constantly monitor their performance and review their improvement plans. The workshop sessions will include:
Visioning and mental imagery
Relaxation techniques
Understanding and working with other people
Goal setting and focus
Media Skills and Communication
This workshop aims to develop the SEAT Cupra Championship driver’s ability to communicate effectively with team members, sponsors, the public and the media. It will include training at a TV studio, where each driver will be interviewed on camera in an ‘as live on TV’ simulation.
The Driver Development Programme is designed exclusively for the SEAT Cupra Championship by Kingswood Consulting, a team of assessment and development specialists who bring the best practices from industry and commerce into the world of motor racing. Kingswood has worked with SEAT to develop a profile of the skills and attributes that make the most successful touring car drivers stand out from the pack.
Judith Wardell, Managing Consultant at Kingswood, said: “Every individual has a unique talent that deserves to be discovered and allowed to flourish, and in the world of sport this is particularly important. The SEAT Cupra Championship provides an opportunity for racing drivers to demonstrate their potential on a level playing field, and SEAT is committed to giving each driver the best possible chance of being successful and ensuring that the experience of being involved in the series will help them with their future racing careers.
“Many different personalities and characters enjoy great success in motorsport, so developing clones is not our objective,” adds Judith. “However, there are clearly some common characteristics and skills which all successful drivers share and the Driver Development Programme aims to find these features in an individual driver to enable them to be more successful and increase their likelihood of success.”
The Driver Development Programme was one of the main reasons why Ben Winrow joined the SEAT Cupra Championship in 2003. He has already turned theory into practise, by consistently improving on the circuit and also developing such a good relationship with this sponsors Telemecanique, that Nigel Knapp (Marketing Manager of Schneider Electric) considers Ben such a “fantastic ambassador” for the brand that he has increased its support to ensure the 18-year old driver from Northampton returns to the SEAT Cupra Championship in 2004.
Ben Winrow said: “One of the main reasons I signed up for the SEAT Cupra Championship last year was because of the Driver Development Programme. I knew I wasn’t in the running for the big first prize at the end of the season, so winning the works touring car drive with SEAT in 2004 was never an issue for me, but the Driver Development Programme was something I was really keen to do. I wasn’t disappointed as it lived up to my expectations and it really helped me push forward and come on off the track – it was a really good experience. I found all of the personal profiling really helpful, as well as the media training and fitness side of things.”
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