Chris Pither Scholarship – Powered by Ice Break Racing.

After a great year in 2011 winning the Ute championships in NZ and Australia I have achieved my aim in the category. One thing I learnt since joining Ice Break Racing was the power of planning. The team told me we would win the 2011 Championship and at no time did we deviate from the plan, and we did it. That wasn’t bad for a driver and team in their first full season of Utes in Australia.

At Darwin everyone wrote off our championship chances although the team remained calm, worked out what needed to be done overnight and did it. The car was back on the grid the next morning. That was where the championship was ours to be won or lost. The team told me to keep circulating and make it to the finish or drive till it stops, this was against all my instincts, which were to pull over and save the engine. We were on the grid the next morning and as they say the rest is history. The team was always positive with the view of when we win, not if we win the Championship. I knew I had the best team around me and they also had the winning attitude and forward planning mindset. After Darwin I thought hard about how I had been able to climb back from what was ‘Rock bottom’ in my career. I was able to achieve this because people were prepared to give me a break. At that point I decided to put a proposal to the team and our sponsors that paid it forward to someone else. I decided to pass the opportunity to race onto a number of selected young drivers.

After my crash in 2008 at Bathurst, I was out of the seat for 18 months. I worked as a Fitter/Turner and every day I would ride my push bike to and from work so I had a lot of time to think and I thought I may never race again. I had worked towards my goal of racing V8 Supercars since I was 6 years old and I knew I still had it in me, I just needed a chance. Ash offered me his Ute in NZ which set me up to take advantage of the Ice Break Racing opportunity when it presented itself. I was very fortunate in 2010 to have the chance to do the Winton Round with Ice Break Racing as a test. This went well and has led onto much bigger things. Ice Break didn’t know who I was but they were prepared to take a punt and give me a crack. To have won the championship in my first full season racing Utes in Australia was special and has created bigger opportunities for me. Hopefully what I am offering you, could lead to bigger and better things like it has for me.

With that in mind I have decided to pay forward the opportunity to other young up and coming drivers that don’t have the resources to take the next step but have demonstrated exceptional ability. We have selected two drivers from here in Aus, Tom Williamson and Jesse Dixon who will each do two rounds. Being from Palmerston North NZ I wanted to offer the chance to a fellow Kiwi to make the step across the ditch to chase their dream like I have been able to.

One thing I have learnt over the last few years is that motorsport is not just about driving fast. The off track activities like fan interaction, sponsors commitments and promotions are just as important as the racing. It’s about the whole show and the entire Icebreak Racing team strive to be the best on and off the track.

I would like to invite the winner of the NZ V8 Ute Racing Series to make the trip over and take my seat at Ice Break Racing for one round, free of charge.

I will take up the position as team manager, truck driver and driver mentor. I would like to pass on my knowledge wherever possible to assist, and coupled with the vast experience of Ice Break Racings lead engineer Jake Stoneman this offers a unique, competitive package in the 2011 championship winning Ute. That’s right guys. This is not just a test, you will race at one round of the Australian v8 Ute Racing Series, in the 2011 championship winning Ute. Now there’s some incentive to throw everything at it this weekend at Taupo. I’m sure we will see some good hard racing!

Finally I would like to thank all my sponsors. Ice break, Gull, Repco, Mack, Sams Walkinshaw Performance, Wholesale Suspension, Fast & Ezy and Race Bred engineering. You guys believed in me, took a big punt and gave me the chance to comeback and resurrect my dream. Hopefully this opportunity helps another driver live theirs. We have been through the highs and lows together, but as we have learnt, without the bad days, you just don’t realise how great the good days are!