Tim wins inaugural Britten scholarship

15th December 2006

By Carly Udy

The blur of speed, the smell of burning rubber and the distinctive roar heard over the tarmac - they all make Tim Drinkwater weak at the knees.

The 26-year-old has been compared with the maverick genius of motorcycle design, John Britten - except it's more cars than motorbikes that rev this automotive student up.

Mr Drinkwater is the first recipient of the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic's John Britten Memorial Scholarship - the first scholarship in New Zealand to hold Mr Britten's name.

Mr Drinkwater, a student in automotive engineering, was to receive his scholarship from Mr Britten's widow Kirsten but when she couldn't make it, Hamilton-based New Zealand superbike champion Andrew Stroud stepped in.

The John Britten Memorial Scholarship consisted of a certificate and $4600, which will enable Mr Drinkwater to undertake a second year of study at the polytechnic towards the National Certificate in Motor Industry (Level 4).

"It's pretty cool, I didn't think I was going to get it," Mr Drinkwater said of the scholarship.

Of John Britten, he said: "He's pretty awesome. He was a genius that guy, the stuff he came up with was unbelievable. He built a bike in his garage then pulled up to millionaires in their Ducatis and pulled wheelstands."

Dave Anthony, Year Two automotive engineering co-ordinator, came up with the idea to approach Mrs Britten about the scholarship after having used her husband to motivate his students.

"We have a John Britten video which we show students to encourage them to achieve more than what they came to polytech for," he said.

He said Mr Britten had suffered from dyslexia and Mrs Britten had said her husband would be "proud" to know someone would receive a scholarship under his name for achieving practically.

All five of the students who applied for the scholarship had themselves struggled with the theory required, Mr Anthony said.

The scholarship aimed to acknowledge the student who best emulated the qualities of Mr Britten, not the best academic student. Mr Drinkwater was, however, placed in the top three out of 50 automotive students.

Gary Faulkner, programme co-ordinator for the certificate in automotive engineering, said it became apparent in the first weeks of the programme that Mr Drinkwater had a thirst for knowledge about everything automotive and the focus of his application centred around the work he has carried out to his 1965 Mk1 Ford Cortina.

"A self-confessed Ford fanatic, Tim has spent countless hours rebuilding and modifying his beloved Cortina," he said.

Mr Stroud said he was impressed by Mr Drinkwater's passion for automotive engineering and his dedicated goal to one day work on engine building and modifications for Europe's V8 Supercars.

"I checked out his car before and I was impressed."