The organisers of National Motorsport Week are pleased to announce that David Coulthard MBE and Nick Fry are joining the 2012 campaign as ‘official spokesmen’. With 13 Grand Prix victories, Coulthard is one of the UK’s most successful F1 drivers while Fry has experienced Formula 1 glory as CEO of the Honda, Brawn and, most recently, Mercedes F1 teams.
Backed 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 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix.
“We are delighted that David and Nick are lending their support to National Motorsport Week this summer,” said Colin Hilton, Chief Executive of the MSA, governing body of UK motor sport. “They both understand the importance of motor sport to this country and their endorsement gives the initiative further impetus as we look to build on the UK’s long running success and encourage more people to get involved at all levels.”
Having graduated to F1 through national karting and single-seater championships, Coulthard has contested more Grands Prix than any other British driver. In a 15 year F1 career with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull he started no fewer than 246 Grands Prix and recorded 62 podium finishes. The 41-year-old Scot is still competing in the DTM touring car series and is a key member of BBC Television’s F1 commentary team.
"Britain really is the home of international motor sport and we all have so much to celebrate,” said Coulthard, who is also one of the high-profile Ambassadors backing the MSA’s Go Motorsport scheme. He added: “The history books show that we have produced more F1 world champions than any other nation and British teams and drivers remain at the forefront of grand prix racing today. But there's far more to National Motorsport Week than simply waving the flag; it's a great opportunity for everyone involved to showcase their own individual successes and activities. More importantly, perhaps, it puts the spotlight on what's available at grass roots level. Last year I had a great day out experiencing an autotest, sporting trial, track day and hillclimb – all events that you can do in your everyday road car without the need for deep pockets."
Fry is the Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One, one of four UK based teams to have won a grand prix in 2012. He is member of the MIA’s Executive Committee and was recently appointed a UK Trade and Investment Business Ambassador by the Prime Minister.
“National Motorsport Week is an excellent initiative designed to showcase our wonderful sport to Great Britain,” said Fry. “Starting with the Goodwood Festival of Speed and concluding with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, this celebration of British motor sport will highlight the excitement and passion of our sport, and hopefully bring a whole new audience to our existing loyal fan base. With involvement and activities at all levels from schools to club racing, and from junior formulae right up to Formula 1, National Motorsport Week is a further example of how significantly the motor sport industry contributes to our economy and our country.”
BRITISH MOTOR SPORT ACHIEVEMENTS
The Sport
•Britain has produced more F1 World Champions than any other nation with ten title winners; Brazil and Finland are next up with three each.•Two of the last three F1 World Champions are British – Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.•More British drivers (32) have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans than those representing any other nation, including France (27). •Guernseyman Andy Priaulx MBE is one of only two drivers to have won three World Touring Car Championship titles•The reigning IndyCar champion is Dario Franchitti from Scotland.•The late Dan Wheldon from England won the 2011 Indianapolis 500•The UK hosts rounds of the three premier FIA World Championships: FIA Formula 1 World Championship, FIA World Rally Championship and the new FIA World Endurance Championship. •There are more than 32,000 MSA Competition Licence holders in the UK.•The UK hosts almost 5,000 MSA sanctioned motor sport events every year including: autocross, autotest, circuit racing, cross-country, drag racing, hillclimbing, karting, rallycross, rallying, sprinting, time attack and trials.
The Industry
•British-based constructors have won no fewer than 37 F1 Constructors’ Championships, well ahead of Italian (16) and French (1) based companies.•Eight of the 12 current F1 teams are based in the UK and four have already won a Grand Prix in 2012.•British built cars won 18 out of 19 Grands Prix in 2011.•Two of the three premier World Rally Championship teams are based in the UK.•The top ten finishers on the 2011 Wales Rally GB were all British-built cars. •The FIA World Touring Car Championship winning team is based in the UK.•UK companies dominate the design and manufacture of components used in the majority of the world’s motor sport competition categories.•More than 4,000 UK companies are involved in the technology driven world of UK motor sport’s performance engineering industry with an annual turn-over of £6 billion – of which £3.6 billion exported.•These innovative businesses invest more than 30 per cent of their sales into R&D when the UK pharmaceutical industry invests 15 per cent. •The UK’s motor sport industry supports nearly 40,000 full and part-time jobs of which 25,000 are qualified engineers.
