The Motorsport Industry Association, or MIA, run by Chris Aylett serves a valuable and complementary role for the UK motorsport industry to that of the governing body, Motorsport UK. The MIA has, for a long time, represented the interests of the engineering side of the sport and has done an excellent job in providing a coherent voice for a disparate group of organisations that collectively make a phenomenal contribution to the UK.

Back in 2013 the MIA published a seminal research paper defining the scale and impact of the motorsport industry in the UK. This has proved invaluable when talking to stakeholders, including the media and government, allowing us to set the record straight on how motorsport makes a crucial contribution to the nation. It was therefore with great anticipation we awaited the publication of a new edition of research conducted by Grant Thornton, the leading accountancy firm, based on data from 2023. The headline news is entirely positive; there are now over 50,000 people working in the UK motorsport and engineering services industry, with a sales turnover of some £ 16 billion, versus 41,000 and £ 9 billion respectively in 2012. There is a raft of interesting facts and figures in the report which you can download from the MIA website; among those I found it thought-provoking was that 34 per cent of UK motor sport businesses employ apprentices and they are spending around 14 per cent of their turnover on R & D. It is also fascinating to put in context where our industry lies in the broader landscape, sitting not far behind aerospace and defence in terms of economic impact.

As I am sure you know 7 of the 10 Formula 1 teams are based in the UK, with Racing Bulls increasing its investment in Milton Keynes such that it is now equally split between Italy and the UK. Just last week it was announced that the new Audi Formula 1 team, formerly Sauber based in Switzerland, is creating a new technical office at Bicester Motion; giving further confirmation that our wonderful site continues to draw extraordinary businesses to it like a magnet.

Despite everything that I have outlined, it has always been a great frustration that government after government has failed to grasp both the size and influence of motorsport in this country, and the opportunity to impact the nation’ s wellbeing. As is often the case, it took an extraordinary event to change that dynamic, and in our case, it was the pandemic of

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2020 / 21. With the country facing an overwhelming number of hospital cases and a dearth of ventilators, the Formula 1 industry stepped up to the plate and in a matter of weeks was producing prototypes and production viable solutions. As for Motorsport UK, we have dramatically changed our relationship with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport( DCMS) and again this came about through the pandemic and the necessity for the free movement of the Formula 1 community, mostly based on our shores, which we facilitated. Given that Motorsport UK receives no direct funding from government, we have always been slightly outside the normal channels of communication and policy making in Whitehall. It has therefore been a priority in the last few years to build those bonds and relationships with government to ensure there is a better comprehension of all the positive work our community undertakes, and its contribution to society.

I was therefore delighted when the office at Number 10 Downing Street contacted us with their intention to host a reception in the week of the British Grand Prix, and the plan to celebrate that for 75 years the UK has been the centre of Formula 1, and also the true grassroots and club level of the sport.

The team at Formula 1 management did their usual highly professional job of arranging for a glittering array of cars, team principals and Formula 1 drivers to attend the event at Downing Street. And Motorsport UK was asked to arrange a wide cross section from our community, to give the Prime Minister and his key members of staff a better understanding of the extraordinary diversity of talent across the sport. In the end we had around 50 members of the community coming together in the gardens of No. 10 on a sunny afternoon. There are too many to mention, but they included officials such as Andrew Farrington, who over the last 24 years has shown his dedication and his quick thinking in the saving of a colleague’ s life last year. Then there was Asya Alwafai, a year 12 student at one of our Race for Diversity schools who we first engaged with her through an introduction from her teacher; and has since advocated the programme within the school. Vicky McClinton, as a Motorsport UK Official, is one of only four fully licenced female race Clerks of the Course in the UK, with a particular focus on junior racing. Ian Redhouse is a marshal who has volunteered at 51 editions of the British Grand Prix – and won the Marshal Award in 2024. I could carry on, but I am sure you gather that everyone there has a story to tell and felt privileged to be recognised at such a gathering.

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Revolution- July 2025