2008 Bridgestone e-reporter crowned in Monza at GP2 awards

French student Guillaume Navarro was crowned as the winner of the 2008 Bridgestone e-reporter competition on Sunday night, 14 September. With the results of the competition announced as part of the 2008 GP2 Series end of season ceremony at Monza, Guillaume enjoyed the bonus of sharing the stage with newly crowned GP2 champion Giorgio Pantano. The Bridgestone e-reporter competition attracted a record number of entries this year from across Europe with nine finalists chosen to report on Bridgestone and the GP2 Series rounds this season.

In a tense finale to the competition, Guillaume’s victory was announced on stage by Franco Annunziato – Managing Director, Bridgestone Technical Centre Europe - in front of all GP2 teams, drivers, GP2 Series personnel, official suppliers and partners attending the evening celebrations. Bridgestone is the Official Tyre Supplier to the FIA Formula One World Championship and the GP2 Series. This year marked the fifth anniversary of the Bridgestone e-reporter competition and the company celebrated by inviting all previous Bridgestone e-reporter finalists to Monza. A total of 31 graduates joined the celebratory reunion at the Italian Grand Prix – the GP2 Series finale - and watched as Guillaume received his prize at the GP2 awards.

"It is a great honour to crown yet another talented Bridgestone e-reporter. As we celebrate five years of the competition this year, we look forward to the future by continuing our commitment to education and supporting young talents," commented Franco Annunziato.

Overjoyed winner Guillaume Navarro said, “In the same way GP2 is Formula One’s strongest feeder series, the Bridgestone e-reporter competition represents a unique chance for young aspiring motorsport journalists to make their way to the paddock. Being the winner of the 2008 Bridgestone e-reporter contest gives me a great sense of achievement. Most of all it will give me opportunities to work with passion in the motorsport journalism environment. I would like to thank Bridgestone for this amazing programme that has been a success for five years. Thanks to the competition, new generations of writers will hopefully make successful careers in years to come.” Guillaume was chosen for his excellent ability to produce written race reports, conduct interviews with drivers, team managers and GP2 Series personnel, and for his professional journalistic approach in the paddock and around the GP2 teams. He will continue his work with Bridgestone by continuing to cover Bridgestone-backed events in 2008.

Guillaume was also awarded a laptop computer and work experience at a European motorsport magazine. Bridgestone e-reporter is a pan-European competition for students striving for a career in sports journalism. It offers up- and-coming writers the opportunity to report on GP2 and to develop their journalistic talent with first hand experience at a European Grand Prix. Guillaume was the sixth 2008 Bridgestone e-reporter finalist to report on GP2 – he covered Round 7 of the Series in Hungary – for the Bridgestone website www.bridgestone.eu/e-reporter

The nine finalists this year each reported on a GP2 Series event. They included Gavin Grace (Ireland), Lorenzo Quolantoni (Switzerland), Olivier Cougard (France), James Aitcheson (UK), Alan NG (Germany), Guillaume Navarro (France), Tabatha Valls Halling (Spain), Rutger Wuyts (Belgium), and Tom Drew (UK). The final Bridgestone e-reporter finalist, Tom Drew, attended the Italian Grand Prix (13-14 September) to report on the tenth and final round of the GP2 Series. Since its launch in 2003, the Bridgestone e-reporter programme has continued to grow in popularity with more students entering the competition year-on-year from an increasing number of European countries. The competition has also continued to prove that it is a programme committed to launching journalistic careers, with numerous Bridgestone e- reporters securing jobs within the media as a direct result of their involvement in the initiative.

Sky Sports (UK) Broadcaster Tony Jardine, judge on the 2008 Bridgestone e-reporter panel of judges, said, ”We were presented with a difficult task judging the Bridgestone e-reporter finalists this year. The calibre of the nine finalists was extremely high. The winner, Guillaume Navarro, is exactly what we are looking for in a strong candidate. His creative writing, his never-ending enthusiasm to get the job done, his curiosity and his ability to seize opportunities have made him the Bridgestone e-reporter 2008.” It is testament to the e-reporter programme that past and present Bridgestone e-reporter finalists have been writing, either full time or as contributors, for high profile European media outlets also including Autoklub (Poland), Autosport (UK), Autosport es Formula (Hungary), Bild Motorsport (Germany), Crash.net (UK), De Telegraaf (Netherlands), F1i (Belgium), Formula 1 Race Report (Netherlands), ITV-F1.com (UK), L’Alsace (France) and Sport Magazine (UK).

The 2009 Bridgestone e-reporter competition is set to be launched on 15 December 2008. To find out more, and how to enter, visit www.bridgestone.eu/e-reporter.