Bridgestone, exclusive tyre supplier to the GP2 Series, took the fourth finalist of the 2007 Bridgestone e-reporter competition to Nürburgring for the European Grand Prix (20-22 July). Aspiring sports journalist Jake Schembri was reporting on GP2 for the Bridgestone website, www.bridgestone.eu/e-reporter, writing race reports and diary entries.
Schembri, a journalism student, witnessed drivers Timo Glock (iSport International) and Javier Villa (Racing Engineering) both take their second race wins of the season in the GP2 Series, which had two races supporting Formula One at Nürburgring in Germany.
As an e-reporter in the GP2 paddock, Schembri interviewed numerous drivers including Glock and Villa, Andreas Zuber (iSport International) and Kazuki Nakajima (DAMS). Schembri also took the opportunity to interview various GP2 team personnel and met up with F1 journalists.
Commenting on his invaluable experience at the European Grand Prix, Schembri said: “My weekend at the Nürburgring was epic! For journalistic exposure in the world of motorsport the e-reporter competition is a great concept and one that all young journalists wanting to get into this field should aspire to.
“A huge thank you goes to Bridgestone for conceiving this competition and give us budding young motorsport writers a launching platform. At risk of sounding over-confident, being involved in this field of work is what I feel I was born to do. Thanks to Bridgestone, my career’s metaphorical wheels have now been set in motion.”
The next Bridgestone e-reporter finalist, out of the seven selected for this year, will be Andras Kittka (from Hungary) who will attend the Hungarian Grand Prix at Hungaroring from 3-5 August.
The overall winner of Bridgestone e-reporter, who demonstrates the most journalistic flair while reporting from the GP2 paddock, will be awarded a state-of-the-art laptop; the chance to interview a GP2 graduate who has made the step up to drive in Formula One; further invaluable work experience; and a trip to attend a Bridgestone safety event (www.safetyatheart.eu).
The overall winner of the pan-European 2007 Bridgestone e-reporter competition will be announced at the GP2 end of season finale in Valencia.