Teenager Matthew Solomon has been selected for trials at the FIA Young Driver Excellence Academy in Australia, offering him a chance to further his career path.
The 17-year-old Chinese International School student will compete against some of the best young drivers from the Asia-Pacific region in qualifying over three days, hoping to gain one of eight places in the final academy group to be held in Europe.
“It’s an honour to be selected for the shoot-out for this year. Let’s see how it goes, I’ll certainly do my best to make Hong Kong proud,” said Solomon.
It’s an honour to be selected for the shoot-out for this year. Let’s see how it goes
Solomon will compete with drivers from 11 countries across the Asia-Pacific region and the drivers take part in a series of five qualifying events.
The fifth and final Asia-Pacific event will be hosted by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport on October 20-23 at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Earlier this month, Solomon teamed up with two-time Formula One world champion Mika Hakkinen for the GT Asia event in Zhuhai, where the pair won the first of two races at the circuit, starting from the third row. He finished fourth in the other race, partnering German Lance David Arnold.
“It was amazing having double-world champion Mika Hakkinen as a teammate. I watched him as I was growing up, so it was quite surreal actually driving with him, let alone winning a race with him in what was a quite historical weekend,” said Solomon.