Scotland in Pole Position to Succeed in Motorsport

Scotland is ideally placed to produce world class motorsport talent that can emulate the success of stars like Lewis Hamilton.

That was the view of a panel of Scottish driving champions brought together by Motorsport Scotland as part of National Motorsport Week.

The Motorsport Scotland Forum - held at Bell College, Hamilton - saw Scottish stars such as touring car ace Gordon Shedden, rally legend Jimmy McRae and Mercedes DTM driver Paul Di Resta brought together to give advice to youngsters looking to break into the sport.

Chaired by TV presenter and rally competitor Lee McKenzie, the panel also gave the audience a humorous insight into what goes on behind the scenes in the world of motorsport.

As well as providing practical tips for youngsters entering motorsport, the event brought together industry and education.

Representatives from some of Scotland's top motorsport organisations attended, including Knockhill racetrack, County SAAB Scottish Rally Championship, Cambuslang Karting and MSA British Rally Elite.

There was also guidance on how to gain qualifications for a career in professional motorsport from Bell College - the only institution in Scotland to offer a specialised motorsport engineering design course.

Motorsport Scotland plans to make Scotland a World Class motorsport destination by 2012 – and f ormer WRC Rally Champion co-driver Robert Reid said he had no doubt Scottish youngsters could make it to the very top of motorsport if given the right backing.

"It was nice to see such a high quality panel turn out to support National Motorsport Week and Motorsport Scotland, and I'm sure everyone who attended had an entertaining evening," he said.

"In Scotland we have some great people involved in Motorsport and we have lots of youngsters who have the talent to win at the highest level, if they receive the support they need.

"In that respect it was fantastic to see so many experienced people on the panel who were willing to give those just starting out the benefit of their knowledge."

www.MotorsportScotland.com