THE governing body of British motorsport is set to move to Bicester in an ‘exciting’ new partnership.
Motorsport UK will move onto Bicester Heritage’s new Technical Site, forming part of the wider Bicester Motion development.
The move is a key part of Motorsport UK’s ambition to invest in its future, which includes opening up both new opportunities and services for members and allowing Motorsport UK to better represent the needs of the motoring industry.
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The company, which is currently based in Slough, will move into a new 13,000sq ft building and begin its next phase of its development, in the motorsport world.
Daniel Geoghegan, chief executive at Bicester Motion, said: “The partnership between Bicester Motion and Motorsport UK enables both organisations to address the advances in the automotive sector and motorsport, providing vision and resource for the future.”
As a ‘major’ extension of the Bicester Heritage Technical Site, the new Technical Site will provide purpose-built units in addition to the existing buildings on the historic former RAF base.
Building 141, which is to become the headquarters of Motorsport UK, will be among the first to be completed in this development, where it will provide a new and centrally-located base for the sporting body.
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Hugh Chambers, Motorsport UK CEO, said: “This move to Bicester is a clear symbol of the ambition of Motorsport UK. Our vision is of a nation inspired by the past, present and future of motorsport. The whole concept of Bicester Motion certainly provides the backdrop for us to deliver on that vision.
“There are clear synergies between the objectives of Motorsport UK and Bicester Motion, particularly in terms of engaging the public with the automobile and more specifically, motorsport.”
Mr Chambers added: “The location, in the heart of ‘Motorsport Valley’, will allow us greater access to the motorsport talent pool, and enable us to more effectively develop our commercial relationships, as well as being logistically more suitable for the governance of the sport.”
More than 90 per cent of the new units at Bicester Heritage have been pre-let prior to construction and the new businesses waiting to move into the new site are expected to create new employment and training opportunities.
It is hoped this will put Bicester Motion and motorsport at the heart of the UK’s automotive development.
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