A 25-year-old engineering student from Christchurch has secured one of the most highly-coveted placements in both the automotive and motorsport world.
During the Singapore Grand Prix last weekend, James Gourley was crowned the the Asia & Oceania Finals winner of the Infiniti Engineering Academy by a panel of judges from Infiniti, Renault Sport Formula One Team and 'decision science experts' from Harvard University.
As the regional winner, Gourley has been awarded a placement to work for the Hong Kong-based luxury carmaker and Renault Sport Formula One Team.
Competing against nine other finalists from around the region, Gourley tackled numerous tests to get to the final event, including an engineering exam, one-to-one interviews with the judges, a dragster car build, and facing a tough media Q&A session where journalists from different industries evaluated his communication skill.
James Gourlie with the Infiniti Engineering Academy judging panel. Photo / Infiniti
Selected from thousands of applications, the Infiniti Engineering Academy is the company's annual global search for bright engineering talent to work across automotive and Formula One. It is the only recruitment program of its kind, pairing young and fresh thinking engineering talent with seasoned automotive and racetrack engineers to gain first-hand knowledge and experience.
Commenting on his win, Gourley said, “I still can’t believe that I have won! This is the place to be - Formula 1 is the cream of the crop. Winning the Infiniti Engineering Academy and having this opportunity is a dream come true!”
Gourley will relocate to the UK in January 2019 with a paid position, company car, travel and accommodation for one year.
He will spend six months working at the Renault Formula One Team’s Technical Center and six months at Infiniti's European Technical Center, working on the the transfer of technical knowledge between Renault Sport Formula One Team and Infiniti.