When a generation of drivers learned skills for life from an atypical academy scheme

Alex Wurz and Robert Reid used to preside over an FIA scheme that changed the way drivers prepare for competition. They – and some of their pupils – look back on the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy

What do Stoffel Vandoorne, Alexander Rossi, Alex Lynn, Michelle Gatting, Timmy Hansen and Macauley Jones have in common? There may be any number of links between that disparate bunch, but one common thread is that they were all part of a largely forgotten young driver programme that kicked off more than 10 years ago.

It wasn’t run by a Formula 1 team or a manufacturer, and neither did it involve putting the participants’ bums in racing cars. Yet those who took part view it as an important staging post in their careers. And its legacy stretches beyond the successes – a Formula E title, an Indianapolis 500 victory and a World Rallycross Championship crown included – that the up-and-comers on its books went on to achieve.

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Author Gary Watkins

Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 32nd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 75 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.

Gary, who also writes for Autoweek, Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.