FEATURE
“ As we move up the pathway, where we are making talent selection decisions, we want to make sure those drivers or co-drivers we are working with have a good support team around us from what we offer on our academy program, curating subject matter experts and specialist services to help them be even better.
“ The Academy gives really clear handrails to drivers in the early stages of the process then the more experience they get, the more autonomy they have to choose what support they have. Part of that is having a performance manager, as we call it, or a coach, who helps them make sense of their whole competitive outlook.
“ As they move through the process, it goes from high to moderate to low structure because we create an environment where there is more choice for the drivers to focus on the areas they want, based on their specific needs, and we can then remove some of the barriers to getting the help that they need.
Ross Whittock, WRC2 Co-driver Graduated: 2016
Whittock’ s father was also a professional Co-Driver, and Ross started his own journey reading notes in Road Rallying before stepping up to compete on Stage events. He competed at National level while in the Academy, and went on to win the Junior WRC title in 2019 alongside Jan Solans. He is now competing in WRC2 with Filip Kohn.
JEP
“ When I worked at Arsenal, one of the things that really stuck with me was helping players to be really intentional about what they are working on. We developed a new approach for players to be the leading voice in their own development. Aspiring athletes should own their personal journey – and we can bring those principles to supporting drivers in motorsport.
“ Traditionally in football and many other sports, coaches give feedback about the things that athletes should be getting better at, but for me, I want to think about coaches as treasure hunters rather than deficit detectors. Rather than finding all the things we are not doing well – find strengths, build on them, and use them to strengthen other areas.
“ When I turned up to a coaching session, rather than asking the coach what they were working on, I would ask the players themselves. I would love for that mindset to transfer into the motorsport world, where we are able to help drivers have clarity on the one thing they are working on today, or next week, or this year. That is going to help them become just a bit better.
“ This sport is so data rich, it can help give real clarity about the things they could improve on and then the role of the coach just changes slightly, from someone who gives feedback to someone who can work with a driver to generate feedback. There is a subtle difference, but it matters.
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Revolution- Month- May 2024 2025