2012 Fujitsu 'Cool' Drivers Announced

The 12 drivers forming this year's Fujitsu 'Cool' Driver Program have been announced. The seven karters in the 2012 program are:

  • Cooper Murray - 10 (Victoria)
  • Nick Rowe - 13 (Western Australia)
  • Damon Strongman - 13 (Victoria)
  • Liam McLellan - 14 (Victoria)
  • Pierce Lehane - 16 (New South Wales)
  • Joey Mawson - 16 (New South Wales)
  • Renee Gracie - 17 (Queensland)

Unlike last year, where the karting representatives included one driver from each state, this year it was open slather with over 400 applications received from right across the country for the seven available karting spots.

The Fujitsu 'Cool' Driver Program is a youth development initiative designed to foster and develop young motor racing talent and supports the company's current two-car sponsorship of Garry Rogers Motorsport, while 18-year old Scott McLaughlin also forms part of the youth succession planning program as a Fujitsu sponsored driver contesting the Dunlop Series for V8 Supercars. McLaughlin is entering his fifth year with Fujitsu's support, having been the first recipient of the company's youth focused development when he was just 14.

Fujitsu 'Cool' kid Cameron Waters scored the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2011, earning a test with Garry Rogers Motorsport as a result, and this year the same prize is up for grabs for the Formula Ford
drivers, while the most successful karter will be rewarded with a national Formula Ford test.

Fujitsu General National Marketing Manager, Milton Kaloudis, is excited about the year ahead for the Fujitsu 'Cool' drivers and looking for a repeat of the form shown in 2011.

"We had a great first year in 2011 with Cam Waters winning the national Formula Ford crown and Nick Foster claiming third, while some of our karters were absolute standouts, specifically Joey Mawson, Damon Strongman and Todd Hazelwood - in fact, the entire group were fantastic and did us proud ... both on and off track."

The 2012 squad includes a handful of drivers entering their second year of association, while seven new youngsters have been added to the program.

"This year we have continued our association with some of the youngsters we started out with last year, while at the same time we've expanded into state level Formula Ford to fill an important void in the motor racing staircase. It's also really exciting to have a 10-year-old joining the program and we're confident of big things from this year's Fujitsu 'Cool' drivers."

The Formula Ford endorsees, all former karters, are:

State Series

  • Todd Hazelwood - 16 (South Australia)
  • Macauley Jones - 17 (New South Wales)

National Series

  • Jack Le Brocq - 19 (Victoria)
  • Garry Jacobson - 19 (Victoria)
  • Shae Davies - 21 (Queensland)

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