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HAYDEN FITZGERALD WINS PM SCHOLARSHIP
Motorcycling New Zealand High Performance Squad member, Hayden Fitzgerald, has been awarded a Prime Minister’s Athlete Scholarship for the second year. The scholarships are awarded to elite young athletes who are pursuing a tertiary qualification.
Fitzgerald’s academic programme centres around the Western Institute of Technology in his hometown of New Plymouth, where the 19 year old soon embarks on his second year of a Bachelor of Visual Arts.
Hayden was a finalist in the 2003 On Road Newcomer of the Year Award following a strong showing in the Formula Three series last season.
The son of top road racer, Terry Fitzgerald, Hayden describes his father as “inspirational,” and credits much of his progress and the performance of his bike to him.
Three meetings into the 2004 series and Hayden who has stepped up to the Blue Wing Honda 600 Sports Production class finds himself in fifth place. “I had a bad start and was only 11th after round one at Pukekohe, I have moved through the field to be fifth” explained the young rider. The competition is tough - top international Shaun Harris is setting the pace. Meanwhile, Terry leads the Formula Three Championship by 24 points.
MNZ CEO, Trevor Gill, believes the scholarship is well placed. “I can’t think of a better set of ingredients, Hayden is a goal orientated young man in a very supportive family environment. Our very successful High Performance Programme is about the development of the whole person we want to develop complete athletes.”
