Academies have been much talked about in recent years. In some cases, they are mentioned when a driver is enrolled by academies based on their karting results, at a point when a management agency is already working on the driver's career, and a path towards the junior formulas is already planned. The association between the concept of an Academy and the path to F1 is almost immediate in the minds of those entering the sport, but it’s not always clear what happens in between.
When it comes to karting, academies typically 'sponsor'—so to speak, primarily through image work and sometimes by including the driver in simulator programs—the racing activity of a particular driver. But what if the Academy itself were the link between grassroots racing and the junior formulas? What if, by organizing its own independent championship, it allowed access to F1 Academies based on results? This is the idea behind the new project by the Champions of the Future Academy Program: to broaden the base of participating drivers, to expand the number of countries involved in high profile karting worldwide, and to allow any driver, regardless of their origin, to take the big leap by demonstrating their skills on track, without requiring million-dollar investments.
When it comes to karting, academies typically 'sponsor'—so to speak, primarily through image work and sometimes by including the driver in simulator programs—the racing activity of a particular driver. But what if the Academy itself were the link between grassroots racing and the junior formulas? What if, by organizing its own independent championship, it allowed access to F1 Academies based on results? This is the idea behind the new project by the Champions of the Future Academy Program: to broaden the base of participating drivers, to expand the number of countries involved in high profile karting worldwide, and to allow any driver, regardless of their origin, to take the big leap by demonstrating their skills on track, without requiring million-dollar investments.
"Many will surely remember that 'Champions of the Future' in the '90s was a TV show in the UK that followed the exploits of young Minikart drivers. Who can forget that very young Lewis Hamilton, not even thirteen years old, who gained his first media visibility? That program was crucial for a boy who, by his own means alone, as we’ve heard many times over the years, would never have made it," James Geidel, President of RGMMC Group, begins in describing his project. "With the Champions of the Future Academy Program, we want to do just that: give many the opportunity that is now available to very few. It’s essentially about expanding karting to new frontiers, new markets, new drivers, and consequently, new potential ‘Champions of the Future’!"
The technical foundation of the project is the universally ASN-compliant platform of the OKN (and OKNJ) and Mini Gr3, tested and appreciated across all regions. The format, however, is new, at least in the world of 'kid-junior' competition, which is the 'Arrive and Drive' format for all three categories: Mini Group 3, OKN-J, and OKN Senior.
"Drivers arrive at the track with their dad or a mechanic they decide to bring with them for the race, and they find a complete race-ready kart provided by our technical partners. Over the weekend, they will manage their kart, their practice sessions, and, in short, the entire event on their own: there are no teams or tuners behind the drivers. For any technical issues related to breakdowns or other problems, there’s a full staff of mechanics from our technical partners ready to step in, but we know that the OKN engine has minimized reliability issues, and we can say that in the first rounds already held, very few problems have arisen," explains the series' Media Manager Alex Vernardis.
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Indeed, among the many possibilities that ‘junior kart racing’ offers (it’s worth noting that in this series, drivers over 18 years old are not allowed), the Champions of the Future Academy Program represents an innovation aimed at a change in philosophy but, most importantly, at expanding the global karting market. The project involves top F1 officials, as evidenced by the words of Susie Wolff, Managing Director of the F1 Academy: «With so much momentum building around F1 Academy, we must continue to strengthen the pipeline of talent coming into our sport. We look forward to this collaboration with Champions of The Future which will create a clear pathway from karting into F1 Academy. COTFA will operate a lottery system for the chassis and engines plus implement a fixed budget, giving us the opportunity to identify the top talent across all age groups. We will also provide the best in the senior category with an F1 Academy test, giving them a chance to prove themselves to our teams. Champions of the Future shares F1 Academy’s vision to increase female participation, create opportunity and allow clear progression up the motorsport ladder.»
The series consists of six rounds: it started in Spain and Italy (Valencia, Cremona, and Franciacorta) and continues in the Middle East, where motorsport is highly popular and where F1’s interests are increasingly present. The next round is scheduled for the Dubai Kartdrome in Dubai on the weekend of October 4-6
