CAMS Helping To Develop The Rally Stars Of The Future

The 2007 NEC Australian Rally Championship has seen a group of young drivers burst onto the national rally scene. Molly Taylor, Brendan Reeves, Eli Evans, Will Orders, Glen Raymond and Paul Batten are taking on the big names in Australian rallying and are proving that they have just what it takes to make it to the top not only in the NEC ARC but also internationally.

While each of these drivers come from different backgrounds, drive different cars and have their own unique driving styles there is one experience they share together which they all know has helped set them up with the best chance of succeeding in rallying. They have all participated in the CAMS Rally Driver Development Program.

The program, designed by the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), aims to educate young rally motor sport competitors in the area of nutrition, psychology, strength, conditioning, recovery and media skills. The participants are also subject to Australia’s leading physiology testing, physiotherapy and massage.

The primary goal of the camp is to provide rally drivers with an opportunity to develop their skills in an environment away from competition and outside of the car, with the aim of improving their level of performance.

Brendan Reeves, who is driving for Les Walkden Rallying and finished on the podium in third place overall at coates Rally Queensland this year, is a camp regular and is participating for his third consecutive year in 2007.

“There is so much to learn outside of the car; at an event a huge focus is placed on the driving, but competing in a rally and doing well requires more than just being able to drive, explains Reeves.

“The trainers teach you how to look after yourself and the best way to prepare for an event,” explains Reeves. We all know how to drive, they can’t teach us that, but they help us to develop the sides of sport we don’t normally focus on, primarily how we think about driving and competing at a national level.”

Asking what was the best part of their experience at the camp, the simple answer was everything, but when it came down to it, the time spent with Vicki dePazer – the resident Sports Psychologist at the AIS – was a highlight for everyone and an experience that is proving invaluable mid way through the NEC ARC season.

Motorsportparts.com.au team driver Will Orders is competing in the NEC ARC Privateers Cup after competing in the BP Challenge in 2006, having stepped up from the RS Challenge.

“The work I did with Vicki has been the most beneficial part for me,” says Orders. “You not only take the things she talks with you about into every event, but into day to day life as well.”

These sentiments were echoed by Bendigo Bank team driver Glen Raymond, who progressed to the NEC ARC in 2006 after success in the Victorian Rally Championship, believes the experience and the motivation you get from being around elite sports people is infectious.

“Overall the time spent with the sports physiologist had the biggest impact on me. The techniques I have learnt in regards to mental focus and goal setting will allow me to be more calculated in my approach to driving,” says Raymond.

Another feature of the camp that rated highly among attendees was the media training, and several of the group have had the chance to draw upon the experience they have gained this year with commanding heat times resulting in increased media attention.

Eli Evans has returned to the NEC ARC in 2007 after a year in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship and is driving a Yokohama backed Evans Motorsport Subaru. Surprising even himself, he finished second behind his brother – defending series champion Simon Evans – at coates Rally Queensland and says the training he received at the camp has been invaluable when dealing with an increasing media profile.

“The media training was excellent, it really opened my eyes about how important the little things are when you’re in front of a camera or talking to a journalist,” explains Evans.

“Phil Lynch has been around the media for years and his advice has been so valuable. He took us through everything we need to know - how to prepare, how to speak and then actually sat us down in front of a camera and played it back to us to highlight the areas where we can improve.”

Molly Taylor, daughter of Toyota Racing Development’s Coral Taylor is driving a 2WD Mitsubishi Mirage backed by Penrith Ralliart and is the only female driver competing in the NEC ARC in 2007. Taylor is participating in the CAMS Women’s Driver Development Program which runs parallel to the CAMS Rally Driver Program but caters to all motor sport disciplines.

“It’s such a great camp to be involved in, every time you go back you get more out of the experience because you have taken something from the last time and put it into practice, so you come back with more questions for the trainers, or other areas where you want to improve,” says Taylor.
“Attending a facility where everything is 100 per cent dedicated to improving your performance makes such a difference, and this carries through in your motivation not just while attending the camp but also when you’re at an event.”

The learning process goes both ways and while the course has been designed by CAMS and the AIS, every driver provides feedback on how the course can be improved and four years after it began it can truly be called a rally specific program.

“When I first attended many of the trainers didn’t know much about rallying or what we had to face as a rally driver, explains Reeves. “In that respect we have also been able to teach them and now we can talk to them in rallying terms and they have been able to be more specific in the programs they develop.”

With half of the NEC ARC season complete the level of professionalism shown by the group of rallying young guns has earned the respect of the competition and as more young drivers become involved in the camps there is no doubt the lessons they learn will flow through to all aspects of rallying in Australia, both at national and state levels.

“Everything the camp teaches you are things that you need to be able to do to be a great rally driver,” says Evans. “There is always something you can gain from listening to other people and if you want to win it’s not just about knowing how to drive a car.”

Paul Batten, driving a Kangan Batman TAFE prepared WRX has upgraded to the Rally Challenge class in 2007. Batten, as with the rest of the group, is just thankful he got the opportunity to be involved in the camp.

“The guys at CAMS and the AIS are great, they are so enthusiastic and the time that have put into developing the program is a credit to everyone involved, says Batten. “The camp is such a great initiative and definitely worthwhile, I have learnt so much from the experience and would definitely recommend it to other young drivers out there.”

The CAMS Rally Driver Development Program is funded by the Australian Sports Commission and is run on a self nomination system which will open for drivers later this year. It is open to drivers who are under 25 years of age, are currently competing in a CAMS-sanctioned competition, have demonstrated outstanding results over the last three seasons of competition and have the potential and the ability to progress to an international level of rallying.

Courtesy of www.rally.com.au