October 11, 2008...... by Stephane Levesque ..... Photo by Bruno Dorais

This Sunday at the International Club Academy Racing (ICAR), an ultramodern complex for motorsports located at the site of Mirabel Airport, local karter Nathan Blok will finally get a chance at moving to the next step in motor racing as a result of his stellar performance last weekend at the Mirabel Grand Prix of Karting in the Junior Rotax class.

During that event, Nathan qualified second and finished second in the pre-final, putting on a great battle with the 2008 Canadian champion. In the final, under light rain, Blok dominated the race, finishing first. However, he was moved back one position due to contact with a racing pylon.

Blok's drive was sufficiently impressive that a panel of experts which included former Formula One and Indycar champion Jacques Villeneuve and Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame inductee Richard Spenard awarded the Beachburg native a spot at the selection day for Auto Sport Academy that will be held Sunday, Oct. 12 for young drivers, aged 14 to 23.

This weekend's opportunity is to enrol for the 2009 European Auto Sport Academy open wheel program. The series includes races in Le Mans, Spa-Francorchamps and Magny-Cours.

The required exercises and challenges will certify that the drivers posess certain physical and psychological aptitudes (co-ordination, cardiovascular endurance) as well as developed learning skills (concentration, listening, memorization capabilities).

Based in Le Mans, the Auto Sport Academy has schooled drivers and mechanics for the past 15 years. In 1993, French petroleum giant Elf decided to get actively involved by creating a driver development program. In 2001, the French Motorsport Federation took over the program with a mission to remain a world-class training centre and reinforce its standing on the international stage. The centre was renamed the Auto Sport Academy in 2007.

The goal of ICAR is to become a leader in the high performance car racing industry, to promote the growth of motorsport and to make it more accessible with quality partners such as the FFSA Auto Sport Academy.