Australia pages 37

Aiding the development of young driver talent through support of Australia’s F4 Certified by FIA Championship.

Following the launch of the Formula 4 Certified by FIA category in Australia in 2015, the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) launched a 2019 programme to provide additional support for the Australian F4 Championship, which across its five years helped boost the careers of a number of successful drivers including current FIA Formula 3 racer Liam Lawson and Supercars drivers Will Brown and Thomas Randle. However, the championship faced a number of challenges and the aim of the programme was to continue to foster development of Australia’s young elite driver talent and to provide a recognised pathway for young drivers to develop in open wheel racing. While the development programme addressed many of the difficulties faced, in September of 2019 the ASN opted not to hold an F4 Championship in 2020, with other development activities currently being discussed. CAMS is also an FIA Regional Training Provider for Officials, Young Drivers and Medical.

CONFEDERATION OF AUSTRALIAN MOTOR SPORT (CAMS)

BAHAMAS MOTOR SPORTS ASSOCIATION (BMSA) Further grassroots motor sport engagement through expansion of its innovative EduKarting programme.

In 2015 the Bahamas Motor Sports Association (BMSA) launched its EduKarting programme to create an awareness of motor sport by training school age students in the various skills associated with the discipline. Over the following three years the ASN embarked on successful expansions of the programme, including training young drivers to compete in the Formula Americas Kart Academy in 2017, planning the construction of a permanent race complex and introducing karting slalom to support EduKarting. BMSA’s 2019 activity continues the development of the EduKarting programme, which now has 550 participants overall and 60 competitors taking part. The BMSA would provide a safe environment in which people could race karts and would continue the racing development of young people from disadvantaged communities. The ASN has also now trained 20 people from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force as trainers.