Gould wins Pirelli shoot-out place

Gould, 21, will go head-to-head with 16 of the fastest rally drivers in Europe in the race for one of two Pirelli-funded drives on selected rounds of next year's World Rally Championship.

Gould, who is currently driving a Renault Clio in the British Rally Championship, was delighted with his selection and admitted he had only one thing on his mind: "I'm going to go to Austria with one intention: to win the shootout.

"It's going to be tough against the best in Europe," he added, "but I feel that I have the skills and the all-round package to succeed. It's the biggest opportunity of my career."

Gould is a member of the MSA's British Rally Elite scheme and admitted the training and coaching he received from former world champion co-driver Robert Reid and his colleagues on the scheme had proved invaluable to his career development.

Gould added: "The training this year has stepped up a huge amount and my focus in all areas has improved massively. The support and structure around me has been fantastic and will play a big part in my preparations for this event."

Reid, the MSA's UK performance director, said: "This is a fantastic initiative from Pirelli and is a wonderful opportunity for the right driver. Unsurprisingly, there were a number of names mentioned as suitable candidates, but we had only one ticket to hand out.

"Adam was repeatedly identified as one of the most exciting British talents in years and has already been nominated by Pirelli UK for their own star driver award this season.

"Despite his age and relative inexperience, I feel he is best equipped not only to win the shootout, but importantly to make the most of the subsequent prize drive."

The shoot-out takes place in Freistadt, Austria on October 24/25. Of the 17 nominations from across Europe, two seats will be awarded in either a Group N or Super 2000 car for six WRC rounds next year.

There will also be competitors coming from the other FIA Regions: Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.