9-10 DECEMBER 2006
The first London Motorsport Show will take place at ExCeL London, the spectacular, state-of-the-art international exhibition centre in Docklands, on Saturday and Sunday 9-10 December 2006. The new exhibition will incorporate the highly-successful London Kart Show, allowing companies from every discipline of motorsport to exhibit in the nation's capital.
Said organiser Philip Bunn: "There is a clear need for a major winter motorsport exhibition in London and the home counties, serving a very affluent target audience which includes a large proportion of the UK population. ExCeL London's location right next to an international airport also makes it easily accessible from continental Europe, which will allow businesses in France, Germany and the Low Countries to show their products to the UK motorsport market, which is of course one of the largest in the world."
This news follows the successful staging of the 3rd London Kart Show at Sandown Park, where well over 4,000 committed competitors visited companies selling everything from racing karts and safety equipment to performance parts and accessories. Attendance was up 10 per cent on the previous year, despite the Sunday morning traffic chaos caused by the fuel fire at Hemel Hempstead.
Among the exhibitors at the London Kart Show were many promoters of 'next step' formulae - aimed at ambitious kart racers who aspire to move into cars - organisations like Caterham Motorsport, Formula Ford, T-Cars and the John Cooper Challenge.
"These companies have shown us the way to go," says show organiser Philip Bunn. "Kart racing is where most competitors begin their motor sport careers, not least because you can begin as young as age 8, and many karters eventually move on to race cars, or go rallying or hillclimbing or even to ride motorcycles. The overall theme will be affordable motorsport.
"The London Kart Show will continue in its own right, but ExCeL London offers us the space and the facilities to promote the whole spectrum of British motorsport, which is why the new London Motorsport Show will run in parallel.
"We have had three excellent years at Sandown Park, which is a super venue, but we have simply outgrown the available exhibition hall."
The new London Motorsport Show will retain and expand all the features which have made the London Kart Show so popular, including free workshops on such diverse topics as advanced driving techniques and media skills.
Comments from some exhibitors at the 2005 London KartShow:
"We exhibited for the first time in 2005 and were extremely pleased with the reception we got from a very high quality audience. With the move to ExCeL and the launch of the London Motorsport Show alongside the kart show, this can only be beneficial for grass roots motorsport." (Andy Storer - Racing Specialist Services - Formula Vee)
"After three successful years at Sandown we certainly support the move to ExCel, as this can only enhance the profile of karting, especially if the exhibition is expanded to run alongside a new London Motorsport Show.
We have been an exhibitor from the start and will certainly be at ExCel next year." (Bill Sisley - Managing Director, Buckmore Park Kart Circuit)
"We have exhibited at The London Kart Show since it started three years ago, and each year has been more and more successful for us, with strong interest from established kart drivers looking to make the move into cars. The move to ExCeL is right and I believe that motorsport in general will benefit as a result." (Andrew Crighton - Advent Motorsport - T-Cars and John CooperChallenge)
