Sydney based team Volante Rosso has announced a new prize offer for drivers in the Australian Formula 4 series.

A test day in a 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car will be offered to two outstanding drivers from the 2018 Formula 4 series.

Team Principal Chris Papadopoulos has experience in young driver development, having worked with young drivers in several junior formulas including Formula 4, Formula 3, Formula Renault 2.0, A1GP and right through to Formula 1.

Team driver in Carrera Cup Josh Hunt has travelled the driver development pathway himself, having come up through karts to race in many categories and competed in Champ Car Atlantics in the USA before moving to a career in GT cars and now Carrera Cup. During this time he has maintained an involvement with karting and well understands the transition to cars.

Together they will judge this years’ F4 field to find worthy prize contenders.

Chris Papadopoulos says: “I’ve had some involvement with Formula 4 before and am a fan of the category. Other categories have served the development pathway admirably in previous decades, but in the modern era, we are looking for young drivers that have knowledge of slick tyres, light aero and paddle shift gearboxes, which is exactly what Formula 4 delivers, so it’s the perfect training ground for both modern race cars and race craft. The perfect progression from karting into race cars.

“We’ve already seen some great young talent come through F4 since its’ inception, and they’ve gone on into Carrera Cup, Super 2 and even overseas. It’s only been going for a few years, but soon we’ll see F4 graduates filling out the top levels of competition both in Australia and abroad.

“I’ve got no doubt that’s where the future stars will come from, so we’re going to keep a close eye on the category this year, and then reward some of those standout drivers with a taste of Carrera Cup to help them plan their futures and progress.

“I’ve worked with a lot of drivers over my career, and I’m pleased to say some of them have gone on to win some pretty big championships here and overseas. But I’ve also seen how hard it is for these young guys and girls to progress. Our aim for this program is to help young drivers build their profiles and careers.”

Josh Hunt: “This is something that we are really excited about as young driver development is a focus for the team at VR to ensure drivers are getting the best chance to progress in their careers.

“I have been very fortunate to be on the receiving end of development programs that helped me to reach the levels I did. Most notably was the support of Champ Car in 2004.

“F4 is the logical place to offer this opportunity as it is the first step out of karts and the time of a drivers career when support and advice can have the biggest impact. We want to be a part of that, to contribute”.