GREEN MEANS GO
11 of the leading global
automotive manufacturers have bases in the UK, backed by 19 of the world’s top 20 suppliers
close to the world-famous Silverstone circuit. Dubbed ‘Motorsport Valley’, it enjoys a global reputation as a world-beating, unique community of knowledge and expertise, home to equipment manufacturers, leading motorsport teams and supporting engineering companies, plus a range of leading service fi rms. It offers a highly integrated, end-to-end motorsport design, construction and services industry, where new innovations can become prototypes almost overnight and then be rapidly deployed in the most demanding of racing environments.
DRIVING FORWARD
The dominant position of the UK motorsport industry is a powerful illustration of the increasingly buoyant wider UK automotive sector. This has enjoyed some notable successes in recent months, including impressive exports fi gures and major investment announcements from leading international manufacturers. Global sales for Crewe- based Bentley Motors, for example, went up 37 per cent in 2011, while Rolls- Royce posted its highest sales fi gures in its 107-year history, including 47 per cent growth in the Asia-Pacifi c region.
The UK is a leading player in helping motorsport, often seen as environmentally unfriendly, make the transition to a low-carbon future. In 2004, the UK Government established the Energy Effi cient Motorsport (EEMS) programme to engage the automotive industry in using motorsport to accelerate the development and acceptance of alternative ‘green’ technologies. EEMS has proved highly successful, with F1 recently adopting hybrid technology. A number of teams are being assisted in this by Berkshire-based transmission technology specialist Xtrac, which pioneered the new KERS or Kinetic energy recovery systems technology, which can help reduce transport-related carbon dioxide emissions. Similarly, British automotive technology and engineering company Ricardo has advised the International Automobile Federation (FIA) in the consideration and application of energy-saving and environmentally effi cient technologies for F1. In 2009, UK Trade & Investment helped to launch the TTxGP, or eGrandprix, the fi rst zero-emission motorsport event in the world. Starting with a single motorbike race on the Isle of Man, in 2011 there were series in Europe, North America and Australia. Other developments include
the recent unveiling of the groundbreaking Lola-Drayson B12/69EV prototype all-electric racing car at the UK Trade & Investment-supported International Motorsport Business Week.
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