Parliament’s British Motorsport Day focuses on sustainable technology innovation
On 27th June 2022, the House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle hosted British Motorsport Day in Westminster to celebrate the UK’s historic motorsport pedigree, and its key role in research, development and technology innovation as the world turns to a carbon-sustainable future.
Sitting between the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the British Grand Prix, the event was organised by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Motorsport and delivered by Motorsport UK (MSUK). Members of both Houses of Parliament were able to view vehicles from Formula One, Formula E, Extreme E, British Touring Cars, and karting, and speak with engineers and experts on how motorsport is developing new, more efficient, and greener, technologies.
Opening the event, House of Commons Speaker, the Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, said: “Motorsport has a long and proud history in the UK. We have seen outstanding drivers from all parts of the country, and teams have been successful across all forms of motorsport. They have been and are supported by a significant workforce, producing the necessary technologies and components to ensure we maintain our leading role.
“I am delighted that Members of Parliament have the opportunity today to understand just how important the motorsport industry has been not only to the UK, but how it is playing its part to ensure a sustainable future.”
Speaking after the event, APPG for Motorsport Co-Chair, Member for Bracknell and MSUK licence holder, James Sunderland MP, said: “It is an important and poignant time for UK Motorsport. The enormous success the UK has seen with internal combustion engine racing in all its forms will never be forgotten and cannot be dismissed. But as was seen at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, with Max Chilton smashing the longstanding hill climb record in an electric car with the first sub-40 second time, innovation in motorsport continues at pace. So Members of Parliament do have a duty to ensure that the government provides the best possible framework for motorsport to thrive.”
Greg Smith MP, whose Buckingham seat includes part of the Silverstone track which hosts the British GP, also Co-Chairs the Group and sits on the Transport Select Committee. In Parliament on Thursday, he called for a debate on innovation in motorsport, saying: “as we look forward to the UK’s biggest sporting event, the British Grand Prix, this weekend, Parliament came alive [on Monday] to the technologies that this sector has offered us over the years. From examples of the Formula One turbo hybrid, to extreme e and formula E, and the bambino carts, to a classic jaguar e-type that ran solely on sustainable fuels at Goodwood last weekend.
“Where motorsport technology leads, other sectors follow so can we have a debate to explore the full panoply of technologies being developed by the motorsport sector to ensure that the future use of cars, of aviation, of shipping, of agricultural machinery and beyond has a wide eclectic future, not just a monotype electric battery future?”
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Motorsport comprises Members of both Houses of Parliament and all parties. It supports and promotes motorsport at every level in the UK across Westminster and Whitehall visit: www.parliamentary.racing.
To learn more about motorsport in the UK, visit: www.motorsportuk.org.