In a very exciting development, Luke has confirmed that he will now be attending The Race Drivers Academy at Loughborough College and Silverstone. The degree level course is aimed at assisting young drivers in fulfilling their potential and becomeing talented drivers. While this is the main focus of the course, it also gives the drivers enough qualifications to work within the industry if they do not succeed as a driver. We caught up with Luke and got his reaction to the news.

ljr.com: So, great news about the RDA. Tell us, what was your first reaction?

Luke: Well obviously I was very pleased with the news. It is something that we (Luke and his family) have been working on for a while now. There was a point where it seemed like it might not happen but we have managed to secure my spot on the course and its fantastic.

ljr.com: So is everything done and dusted then; you are all set to attend our first residential?

Luke: Well not totally, there are a few things to finalize and we need to work some things around; but it's as good as a done deal.

ljr.com: Well that's great to hear. So can you quickly run us through what happens at the RDA.

Luke: Sure, basically it is a University degree. But it's not as simple as all that. We (Luke and the other drivers) have our year split up and we have the course designed to fit around our racing. We start with our induction onto the course and tehn everything develops from there. We study race car design, sports fitness, nutrition, driving and we get some track time too. The big step is going to be in my improved physical and mental performance and so my training regime has become a lot harder.

ljr.com: So it's a very interesting course then?

Luke: Absolutely, the facilities that I will be using are also used by athletes that competed in Beijing who study a similar course but with focus on their field not motor racing. The college has fantastic facilities and we get to exploit them fully.

ljr.com: So it is based on elite athletes and high performance then? Would you refer to yourself as an athlete?

Luke: Absolutely. For sure it is different to athletics but all racing drivers are performance athletes. We have our own disciplines but we have to be incredibly fit and prepared for almost any situation. There is nothing easy about the course at all. We have to put in tremendous levels of hard work but it comes with its rewards.

ljr.com: Well thanks for your time and hopefully we will hear all about your adventures soon.

Luke: Cheers.

There we go then, exciting times for Luke and for ljr.com