Jump aboard the UK National Motorsport Week
The two leading bodies in UK motor sport are encouraging all involved to maximise the full potential of National Motorsport Week.
Established by the Motor Sports Association (MSA) and Motorsport Industry Association (MIA), this year’s National Motorsport Week runs from 30 June to 8 July – a high profile period for the sport featuring both the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Santander British Grand Prix. Both of which I am going to (nice).
“We want everyone involved in motor sport to get right behind this initiative,” said Colin Hilton, Chief Executive of the MSA, governing body of UK motor sport. “At a National level it allows us to celebrate our past and present successes and last year we set the ball rolling when the UK-based F1 teams opened their doors to the public. However, it also gives us a great opportunity to attract new people to get involved for the first time and a number of clubs and venues organised special activities last year. We want to build on that, especially working with motor clubs to set up events that encourage newcomers to take a look at the sport and realise how much fun they can have on four wheels.”
The history books show that British drivers and teams have dominated all areas of the sport. Indeed McLaren leads the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship for Constructors with its drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button among the early pacesetters for the prized Drivers’ title. Their achievements, though, are just the pinnacle of a world leading industry that includes more than 4,000 technology-focused companies providing close to 40,000 highly skilled jobs with an annual turn-over of £6 billion, the majority of which is from exports.
“Whether it’s high-tech F1 teams winning grands prix, dedicated experts restoring historic racing cars or engineering companies producing state-of-the-art components, the UK motor sport industry is booming,” reports Chris Aylett, CEO at the MIA. “National Motor Sport Week provides all these stakeholders with the perfect opportunity to do something really special. It could be the UK’s premier F1 and WRC teams organising open days, race teams inviting local schools and media into their workshops or some of the many engineering specialist companies setting up special factory tours. From all angles motor sport is a huge UK success story and National Motorsport Week exists not only for all involved to publicise their fabulous achievements, but also as the perfect shop window to attract a new generation of young engineers and entrepreneurs.”
To assist and encourage all areas of motor sport – teams, venues, clubs, manufacturers, events, suppliers and series organisers – to maximise the many opportunities presented by a highly visible National Motorsport Week, the MIA and MSA have prepared a comprehensive Contributors’ Toolkit which is available to download from the central website. The relaunched site also includes tips on how to get involved, official National Motorsport Week logos and will feature a full listing of all events being organised during the period.
For more information: www.gomotorsport.net or www.nationalmotorsportweek.co.uk.
