Tom Bradshaw and Lewis Hopkins have been announced as the winners of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme for 2009. They will each receive £50,000 towards racing in the Carrera Cup GB next season.
Nineteen year-olds Bradshaw (Blackburn) and Hopkins (Winchester) were selected from six finalists after two days of intensive evaluation at Silverstone in the programme designed to find two drivers to follow the path of Richard Westbrook to being a professional sports car racer. In 2008 Bradshaw has raced in Formula Palmer Audi, while Hopkins has raced in Caterham Roadsports.
"I still can't believe it," said Bradshaw after the announcement. "It's an amazing opportunity with a huge manufacturer behind me and I can’t wait to get started. I want a career in sports car racing and this is a massive boost. It's a great car and a great championship. It will be a steep learning curve, but I'm confident I can be up at the front."
"It feels amazing; I've never felt like this before," said Hopkins. "I wanted it, but I wasn't expecting it. It means everything for my career, and I can do what I really want to do in 2009. This has been a great experience and I'm really grateful for the opportunity. The commitment of Porsche is amazing."
While only two drivers could be selected for the scholarship, the other four finalists will each get the chance to participate in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB after learning that they would get the chance to drive the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car during the 2009 season. This additional award will allow Aaron Steele (Chatham), Andrew Herron (Co Down), Tom Sharp (Camberley) and Richard Singleton (Conwy) to show their ability in the 420bhp 911 race car over a race weekend.
Created and run by Porsche Cars GB, the 'Carrera Cup GB Scholarship Programme' will provide £50,000 to each of the drivers to use as a significant element of their budget for the 2009 Carrera Cup GB season. From over 50 applications, six finalists were selected for the evaluation programme at the Porsche Driving Experience Centre at Silverstone.
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