A golden opportunity for a youngster interested in working in motorsport is up for grabs from the organisers of an industry event.
The Inside Motorsport Race Car Engineering Seminar is offering two weeks’ work experience at British sportscar team Strakka Racing to one aspiring race engineer who attends, as well as the chance to work with that team during the 1000km of Silverstone race next September.
Organisers say that one of the event’s key aims is to help engineering students and post-graduates make the leap from academia to the motorsport profession. The work experience will offer one youngster the chance to get hands-on vocational experience and make that hope a reality.
Silverstone-based Strakka will be aiming for home success in the LMP2 category of Le Mans Series with drivers Danny Watts and Nick Leventis this year during the September 10-12 event.
Inside Motorsport says that the candidate will work with Strakka’s technical director Piers Phillips in the week leading up to the race. They will get the chance to work on the car and help prepare the race strategy as well as engineering the car through the race from the pitwall.
The work experience will conclude with a detailed post-event analysis of all the chassis, engine and driver data.
Phillips said: “For an aspiring race engineer to be given the opportunity to work with a top international sports car team like Strakka Racing at the Silverstone 1000kms is the type of work experience money can’t buy.
“Whoever joins us will become an integral part of the team and play an important role in the build up to the event, over the race weekend itself and during the post-race technical debriefs.
“It normally takes many years of working your way up the motorsport ladder to work at this level, so it will be a fantastic insight into the real life operations of a professional racing outfit for someone starting their career. I wish I’d had this type of opportunity when I was starting out.”
The Inside Motorsport Race Car Engineering Seminar is the creation of Dan Walmsley and Jay Davenport, graduates of Oxford Brookes University and well respected top-level race engineers.
Walmsley added: “It’s a fantastic opportunity to gain an insight into a leading international race team, and we hope the experience gained from this will directly influence someone’s career.”
On offer at the seminar itself is the chance to hear speakers including former Formula 1 team technical director Gary Anderson, touring car champion Jason Plato, Formula 1 World Championship winning race engineer and Teamcraft team principal James Robinson, motorsport and America’s Cup engineer Jonathan Moury and one of the world’s leading aerodynamic experts, Dr Mark Handford.
It will also include an exclusive behind-the-scenes technical tour of a Formula 1 team’s headquarters.
• The seminar will be held at the Silverstone Innovation Centre on 4-8 January 2010. For more information on attending, including prices and booking information, visit the event website here.