• Pioneering driver detection scheme set for comeback in 2016
• New winter series seeks motorsport’s stars of tomorrow
• Winner awarded with fully funded season in FIA Formula 4
Following a 15-year absence, Winfield Racing School returns to Paul Ricard in January 2016 with the launch of an exciting new project: the Winter Selection programme, which harks back to Winfield’s historic concept of discovering motor racing’s ‘next big thing’.
In keeping with the ethos of the original Racing School, Winfield’s latest project will reward the Winter Selection winner with a fully funded season in a competitive FIA Formula 4 championship. What’s more, the programme aims to educate and support young drivers in an effort to bridge the gap between karting and single-seater racing as they climb the motorsport ladder towards Formula 1.
The Winfield Winter Selection will comprise nine races on three different configurations of the Paul Ricard circuit over just three weeks, offering participants an intensive learning experience both on track and off it. Indeed, the programme will include qualifying and race sessions as well as workshops on basic technical explanations, rules and regulations, insurance, physical and mental preparation, media training and road and racing conduct.
As a result the Winfield Winter Selection is so much more than an off-season championship; it offers youngsters the full driver training experience to help them on their way to a career in motor racing.
he modern interpretation of Winfield Racing School aims to echo the success of its 1964 namesake that helped propel the likes of Alain Prost, Damon Hill, Didier Pironi, Jacques Laffite and Jean Alesi towards Formula 1. Indeed, its alumni’s achievements include some 90 grand prix race wins and five Formula 1 World Championship titles.
Managing Director Fred Garcia, whose career at the highest levels of motorsport spans 15 years, has spent the past two years working to revive the famous school.
“As a Frenchman and a motorsport enthusiast, I have a very personal and emotional connection to Winfield,” he said. “It was such an iconic racing school throughout my childhood and when I got my driving licence I took part in the Winfield Scholarship programme myself, like so many other young hopefuls. Now, I want to give something back to the programme that helped me and so many others achieve what they have. The Winfield Racing School name carries with it great prestige and a profound history in the world of motorsport; hopefully this modern interpretation will prove just as successful and continue its legacy.”
In addition to the Racing School, Winfield will also be offering a corporate F1 programme that allows VIP guests and gentleman drivers to experience a modern grand prix car that raced at the pinnacle of motorsport between 2011 and 2013.
The Winfield Winter Selection kicks off in January 2016 at the Le Castellet circuit, while the corporate F1 experience will be available from Autumn 2015.
For more information about the Winter Selection and the calendar, please visit: www.winfieldracingschool.com.
Info Winfield Racing School / © Photo Jean-François Galeron WRI