MOTOR SPORTS NEWS

Latest News

  • Driving ambition: How truck racing provides a marketing platform for firms
  • Gutsy Grampian drive gives Cronin & Galvin valuable BRC win
  • Extreme E – Best battles in Sardinia
  • M-Sport Ford Unfulfilled on Rally Finland
  • Goodyear FIA ETRC pays tribute to Anthony Janiec
  • Home
  • News
  • Dakar
    • DAKAR 2016
    • Dakar 2015
  • Cross-Country Rally
  • Notice Board
  • Rally
  • Motorbike
  • Touring Cars
  • Circuit Racing
  • Events
  • follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • Pinterest
    • RSS Feed
    • Linked
    • Youtube

Team Ireland Foundation launched

Feb 21, 2016


  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Tweet

Expat Irish multimillionaire pledges support for the future of Irish motorsport

This week Motorsport Ireland launched the Team Ireland Foundation at the Mansion House in Dublin, a national programme of support and development for talented drivers in the sports of rallying, racing and karting.

Backing the new initiative is Irish native-US based philanthropist and long time motorsport fan John Campion.
Martin McKenna, President Motorsport Ireland, said: “I am honoured to be part of the Team Ireland launch. The programme we have developed for our young gifted and elite drivers is designed to bring the best out of the participants both personally and competitively. The pool of talent we have available to us in Ireland is quite phenomenal and with the support of the foundation, we are confident that our young Team Ireland drivers will make great progress and become the best that they can be and will go on to represent Ireland on an international level.”

The Team Ireland Foundation will focus on identifying, supporting and coaching Irish competitors who can succeed in all categories of competition both domestically and across the globe. The aim is to put Irish drivers at the forefront of international motorsport.

John Campion, having left Ireland as a young man with just IR£20 in his pocket, this former roadie to rock stars, now multimillionaire businessman and long time motorsport fan has committed to supporting the foundation from the beginning. Mr Campion is the co-founder and chief executive of APR Energy, a $1.2 billion company in the United States.

Mr Campion said: “As a young boy in Cork I found myself struggling with school and at a loss as to what I would do with my life. But I always felt a bond with motorsport after witnessing Billy Coleman, a farmer who became a world rallying icon, competing near my home in Cork. After seeing Billy rallying I realised then that if you put your mind to it, you could achieve anything.
“After I heard about the Team Ireland Foundation and how the winner of the Billy Coleman Award would be participating in the programme, I felt I had to return to Ireland to offer my support. I believe that every young person needs to be inspired like I was. If some of these young drivers reach their goals and become household names across the motorsport world then they too might inspire a child somewhere to go out and achieve their goals.”

The initiative will be run by Declan Brennan Sports Management and entails specific programmes developed to address nutritional, physical and psychological improvements for the participants over the course of their involvement. The drivers will be chosen from the winners of many of the junior motorsport disciplines, such as rallying and racing, as well as the winners of the elite Billy Coleman and Sexton trophies. They will be offered every opportunity to benefit form a wide range of expertise on offer.

Speaking at the launch, Lord Mayor of Dublin, Críona Ní Dhálaigh, highlighted how important it is to have a safe environment for young drivers to participate in. “We are all aware that there is an issue in this country with young men taking unnecessary risks on our public roads. All too often you open a newspaper
and read about tragic accidents claiming the lives of young drivers – particularly young males from the ages of 17 to 25.

“Motorsport Ireland has been a force for good in promoting road safety through various programmes for many years and with this new initiative I hope that as a national sports governing body they will be recognised for the work they do to create a safe environment for young people to take part in an organised and regulated sport.
“To see so many young people here today, determined to be the very best they can be and achieving their goals will, I have no doubt, inspire many of our disenfranchised youth today to try and better themselves.”


  • tweet
Related articles
  • Driving ambition: How truck racing provides a marketing platform for firms
    Driving ambition: How truck racing...

    Aug 14, 2022 Comments Off on Driving ambition: How truck racing provides a marketing platform for firms

  • Gutsy Grampian drive gives Cronin & Galvin valuable BRC win
    Gutsy Grampian drive gives Cronin...

    Aug 13, 2022 Comments Off on Gutsy Grampian drive gives Cronin & Galvin valuable BRC win

  • Extreme E – Best battles in Sardinia
    Extreme E – Best battles in...

    Aug 13, 2022 Comments Off on Extreme E – Best battles in Sardinia

  • M-Sport Ford Unfulfilled on Rally Finland
    M-Sport Ford Unfulfilled on Rally...

    Aug 07, 2022 Comments Off on M-Sport Ford Unfulfilled on Rally Finland

More in this category
  • Driving ambition: How truck racing provides a marketing platform for firms
    Driving ambition: How truck racing...

    Comments Off on Driving ambition: How truck racing provides a marketing platform for firms

  • Gutsy Grampian drive gives Cronin & Galvin valuable BRC win
    Gutsy Grampian drive gives Cronin...

    Comments Off on Gutsy Grampian drive gives Cronin & Galvin valuable BRC win

  • Extreme E – Best battles in Sardinia
    Extreme E – Best battles in...

    Comments Off on Extreme E – Best battles in Sardinia

  • M-Sport Ford Unfulfilled on Rally Finland
    M-Sport Ford Unfulfilled on Rally...

    Comments Off on M-Sport Ford Unfulfilled on Rally Finland


Fleet Car Magazine

Notice Board

  • Goodyear FIA ETRC pays tribute to Anthony Janiec
    Goodyear FIA ETRC pays tribute to Anthony Janiec

    Aug 07, 2022

    Tweet The Goodyear FIA ETRC, ETRA Promotion and the entire...
  • Killarney Forestry Rally to raise funds for Air Ambulance
    Killarney Forestry Rally to raise funds for Air Ambulance

    Feb 03, 2022

    TweetRally drivers from across Ireland will help fund...
  • McHugh’s Service Station, Ballindine Mayo Stages Rally, 6 March 2022
    McHugh’s Service Station, Ballindine Mayo Stages Rally, 6...

    Jan 27, 2022

    TweetMayo & District Motorsport Club, organisers of the...
  • Osian Pryce takes second British Rally Championship victory in a row at Cambrian Rally – 4th BRC win for Creighton
    Osian Pryce takes second British Rally Championship victory...

    Oct 31, 2021

    Tweet William Creighton takes his fourth Junior BRC win of...
  • Audi Sport electrifies with U.S. star Ken Block
    Audi Sport electrifies with U.S. star Ken Block

    Sep 24, 2021

    Tweet Electrifying addition to the brand with the four...

Categories

  • Africa Eco-Race
  • Baja
  • BRC
  • Circuit Racing
  • Cross-Country Rally
  • Dakar
  • Dakar 2015
  • DAKAR 2016
  • DAKAR 2017
  • DAKAR 2019 PERU
  • DAKAR RALLY 2018
  • EV Motorsport
  • Events
  • EverGreeens: Irish Abroad
  • Extreme E
  • Forestry Rally
  • Formula 1
  • Hillclimb
  • IndyCar Series
  • Interview
  • Middle East Rally Championship
  • Morocco Rally
  • Motorbike
  • News
  • Notice Board
  • Rally
  • RallyX
  • Related products
  • Review
  • Sportscars
  • Touring Cars
  • Tribute
  • Truck Racing
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
  • WRC
Tweets by @IrMotSportNews

Recent Posts

Extreme E – Best battles in Sardinia

Extreme E – Best battles in Sardinia

Aug 13, 2022

Tweet The Sardinian double-header promised us double the action and double the excitement. It delivered, showcasing some of the best wheel-to-wheel duels in Extreme E to date. The narrow and...
Read More
Price on becoming Chip Ganassi Racing’s first female Extreme E race winner

Price on becoming Chip Ganassi Racing’s...

Aug 07, 2022

Spotlighting XITE ENERGY

Spotlighting XITE ENERGY

Jul 29, 2022

Polaris continues its partnership with Xtremeplus team ahead of Dakar 2023

Polaris continues its partnership with Xtremeplus...

Jul 29, 2022

Toyota Hilux 1-2-3 at Baja Spain Aragón – Orr navigates to second

Toyota Hilux 1-2-3 at Baja Spain Aragón –...

Jul 25, 2022

Copyright 2016 / All rights reserved