Tag: Autosport Show

BARC to kick off new year at Autosport International Show

The British Automobile Racing Club is poised to kick off the new year in style after confirming its presence at the upcoming Autosport International Show. 

Taking place at the NEC Arena in Birmingham between January 11-14, the four-day show will serve as the perfect launchpad for another year of national and international racing, with thousands of industry experts and fans set to attend.

Making a triumphant return to Europe’s biggest motorsport show for the first time since 2019, the Club will be situated in Hall 3 on Stand 3450.

Showcasing a variety of cars as well as an eye-catching stand, information on all of the Club’s championships, marshal initiatives, venues, membership and much more will be able to be discussed at the event.

Paul Graham-Fielding, BARC Group Head of Marketing & Communications, said: “At Autosport International 2024, the British Automobile Racing Club isn’t just about showcasing cars, it’s about celebrating and growing the community that fuels our sport.

“For the BARC, it’s a chance to showcase our rich heritage and our wide variety of championships. We hope to identify new partnerships, new motorsport talent and continue to grow motorsport in the UK.”

BARC championships kick-start 2020 season at Autosport Show International

As the 2020 season continues to draw ever closer, the Autosport Show International served as the perfect place to kick-start the new year for the British Automobile Racing Club and a host of its championships last week.

Bringing together some of the biggest names in motorsport under the roof of the NEC Arena in Birmingham, the four-day (January 9-12) event saw thousands of enthusiastic fans descend on the venue.

Among those that race under the BARC banner, the Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship once again had a major presence as it served up plenty of announcements during the course of the show.

The Dunlop Endurance Championship also enjoyed a productive show as they welcomed a raft of drivers and teams signing up to their Endurance and Trophy classes for the forthcoming campaign.

Coming off the back of their milestone 25th Anniversary season, the Legends Cars National Championship with MRF Tyres made their mark.

Not only showcasing what they have to offer in the main exhibition hall, a host of drivers including 2019 champion Miles Rudman put on a show in the Live Action Arena.

Elsewhere, cars representing the Junior Saloon Car Championship, C1 Racing Series, Carbon8 Hyundai Coupe Cup, Kumho BMW Championship, Porsche GB Motorsport, CNC Heads Sports/Saloon Car Championship, MINI CHALLENGE and Clio Cup UK were also in attendance.

BARC kicks off 2019 season in style at Autosport Show International

The British Automobile Racing Club kicked off the 2019 motorsport season in style this past week with a successful four days at the Autosport Show International.

Serving as the perfect launchpad to lift the curtain on another year of motorsport, tens of thousands of enthusiastic fans descended on the NEC Arena in Birmingham for the event.

Showcasing a brand new vibrant stand, the BARC once again flourished in the National Motorsport section as it welcomed drivers, marshals, officials, co-ordinators and fans to discuss plans for the forthcoming campaign across all four days.

Adorning the striking stand were a multitude of cars too, showcasing the diversity that the BARC offers when it comes to motorsport in the UK.

Ollie O’Donovan’s front-running Toyo Tires Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship Ford Fiesta drew plenty of attention, as did vehicles from the Caterham Graduates Championship and Trade Team Citroen C1 Challenge.

In addition, the British Superkarts Championship were also in attendance with a bespoke kart available for all to see.

Drew Furlong, BARC Chief Operating Officer, said: “The Autosport Show International has long been the traditional starting point for the motorsport season each year and the BARC has always enjoyed exhibiting there too.

“As always, this years show proved to be a huge success with lots of exciting announcements and meetings taking place across all four days. Our new stand certainly stood out from the crowd, as did the cars that were displayed on it as well.

“The 2019 season is shaping up to be another busy one for the Club with a raft of exciting championships and events all set to be played out. It is an exciting time for the BARC and we’re looking ahead to move forward.”

If you missed out on any of the big stories from the show then click here to catch up.

British Truck Racing Association Championship partners with SmartWitness video camera systems

All competing British Truck Racing Association Championship machines will be fitted with SmartWitness video camera systems in 2019, following an agreement with SmartWitness.

Forward-facing, rear and blind side SmartWitness cameras will be installed on all competing trucks at BTRAC events for the forthcoming season with the live video support set to be available for race officials at the click of a button.

Competing trucks will have 1080HD footage on a monitored live stream via connected 3G/4G SmartWitness cameras which will be monitored on the SmartView software platform. The live video platform registers events such as hard breaking, acceleration as well as footage on demand from collisions shot in high resolution and at 30 frames per second.

The forward facing SmartWitness KP1S camera has a 170 angle lens which simultaneously records to an SD card in a tamper-proof unit, as well as sending footage and data via the 3G/4G cellular connection.

Driving infringements can be monitored live from the SmartView platform or can be reviewed from the SD card afterwards if race officials so wish. The SmartWitness software will allow officials to track back to the exact moment of an alleged infringement and can analyse footage frame by frame on forward-facing, rear or blind side cameras to see exactly what happened in any alleged incident. The SmartWitness system has already been trialled on BTRAC machinery with selective trucks running the equipment at the 2018 season finale at Brands Hatch.

Glen Horncastle, Championship Director, said: “The SmartWitness system and cameras are the perfect solution to assist race officials to investigate and monitor these race trucks in race conditions. The SmartWitness cameras and software really impressed us and ticked all the boxes from what we needed from live video analysis.

“We are always looking to align ourselves with professional sponsors / partners who can bring added value to the Championship, and having the ability to work with a technology leading camera and software provider such as SmartWitness is a very exciting prospect.

“Not only will the Championship benefit from this relationship but so will the fans, as they will be given the opportunity of viewing truck racing from new angles and with previously unavailable vehicle telemetry.”

Paul Singh, SmartWitness CEO, added: “We are really proud to be a part of the British Truck Racing Association Championship, we are big fans of the sport and it’s great that we can help make it safer and fairer.

“The cameras and systems are exactly the same as we install in HGV fleets across the UK and USA, the cameras are the same high definition footage, G-shock sensors and GPS tracking. Our system is so robust and flexible that it can work just as well on a truck hurtling round Brands Hatch at 100mph as it does with a vehicle in urban traffic.”

The 2019 British Truck Racing Association Championship season will begin over the Easter weekend at Brands Hatch on April 21/22, before the heavyweight behemoths then descend on Pembrey, Thruxton, Nurburgring, Donington Park and Snetterton, before capping off the year back at Pembrey and Brands Hatch.

Series Elite takes covers off race spec car and announces title sponsor

Series Elite, the new race series that will cater exclusively for drivers aged 40 and over, have taken the covers off its first Jaguar SVO Project 8 car at the Autosport Show International and announced SmarTrack as its title sponsor.

Taking pride of place at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, the jaw-dropping V8 machine will be capable of speeds of almost 200mph and is fitted with an FIA approved roll cage, as well as Corbeau seat and harnesses.

The car is the first of the grid being built by Jaguar and has been converted to race specification by Slidesports’s Mark Jenkins.

In addition to the car being unveiled, SmarTrack have also been announced as Series Elite title sponsor in a multi-year agreement which will see branding on each car, trackside, in the paddock and across all marketing communications.

SmarTrack is a multiple award winning stolen vehicle tracking systems brand and the category will be known as SmarTrack Series Elite for the forthcoming campaign.

Graeme Glew, Series Elite CEO, said: “It is another milestone on our journey to the first race today with the unveiling of our race car and the signing of a title sponsor, with SmarTrack stolen vehicle recovery systems joining us.

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome SmarTrack on board and thanks to their commitment and that of our other partners, we can build a great new series with high profile brands that reflect the premium quality of our drivers and events.

“I’ve been developing SmarTrack Series Elite for over two years and working with Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) to produce the quality, build and performance of race car that we need for the series during this time, so to bring this to fruition with the unveiling of the race-spec car in Birmingham today is fantastic.”

SmarTrack’s Gavin Hennessey added: “This is a great opportunity for SmarTrack to be working with the new, exclusive race series for amateur racing drivers using the latest Project 8 Jaguar SVO P8 vehicles and race technology.”

The inaugural season of SmarTrack Series Elite kicks off at Brands Hatch in May before visits to Silverstone, Donington Park, Snetterton and Portimao.

BTCC grid continues to take shape following flurry of Autosport Show announcements

The countdown to the 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship has further intensified following a flurry of announcements at the Autosport Show International.

Serving as the annual launch for the new motorsport season at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, ASI 19 has seen a raft of unveilings and launches take place for Britain’s premier race series – all of which have further shaped the forthcoming campaigns entry list.

Motorbase Performance led the announcements by confirming Tom Chilton will remain with the Ford Focus RS squad for a second successive season after finishing third overall in 2018, and he will be joined by Ollie Jackson.

Jackson makes the switch to the Kent-based squad after several years at AMD Tuning. Coming off the back of a maiden BTCC podium at Brands Hatch last year, Jackson returns to the Motorbase fold focused on scoring a maiden win in 2019.

The covers have come off a variety of cars too with Jake Hill unveiling the striking colours of his Trade Price Cars Racing Audi S3 whilst Daniel Rowbottom has done the same on his Ciceley Motorsport Mercedes Benz A-Class as he prepares to make his BTCC bow this year.

Plenty of heads turned when the striking AMD Tuning Honda Civic Type R of Sam Tordoff and Rory Butcher was unveiled whilst Power Maxed Racing’s Vauxhall Astra also showcased its revised colour scheme for the forthcoming campaign as well.

Prior to the Autosport Show reigning champions West Surrey Racing confirmed that Colin Turkington will defend his title at the wheel of a BMW, partnering new team-mate Tom Oliphant. Former champion Andrew Jordan has also re-signed with WSR as he bids to capture another crown.

Toyota will make a triumphant return to the championship as a fully-fledged manufacturer in 2019 too with confirmation that they will join Speedworks Motorsport in bringing the new Corolla to the grid, with last years runner-up Tom Ingram at the wheel.

Team HARD will field four Volkswagen CC’s once more with Mike Bushell, Bobby Thompson, Michael Crees and Carl Boardley behind the wheel whilst new outfit Excelr8 Motorsport have taken on the running the MG6 GT’s, with former MINI Challenge competitor Rob Smith the first driver confirmed for them.

More announcements are set to be made in the coming weeks and months before the 2019 season officially roars into life with rounds one, two and three taking place around the Indy layout of Brands Hatch on April 6/7.

For more BTCC content, head to www.btcc.net.

Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship to raise funds for Children with Cancer UK

Kwik Fit and the British Touring Car Championship will team together in 2019 to raise funds for Children with Cancer UK.

Announced on the opening day of the Autosport Show International, the first public for the BTCC under its new title sponsorship with Kwik Fit, the two will aim to harness the support of race teams and spectators to fundraise for the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people.

A wide range of fundraising initiatives will be run over the course of the season, including many ‘money-can’t buy’ opportunities for BTCC fans such as winning a lap ride in the BTCC safety car, wave the chequered flag for a BTCC race, walk the track prior to the start of racing, win VIP tickets to the final race weekend, and to meet a driver and be part of a BTCC team for a day.

Children with Cancer UK’s mission is to improve survival rates and the quality of survival in young cancer patients and to find ways to prevent cancer in the future.  It funds research, works to raise awareness and also provides practical support for young cancer patients and their families.

A key objective of the fundraising is to help fund new family accommodation at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital to keep families together while children from across the UK receive cancer treatment.

Andy Lane, Kwik Fit Marketing Director, said: “We are really excited to be sponsoring the BTCC and are very grateful to the championship for joining us in supporting Children with Cancer UK.

“We know that BTCC fans are not only passionate about the sport but have also been very supportive of good causes over many seasons.  We hope that children with cancer will benefit from their support this season.”

BTCC Series Director Alan Gow continued: “Our new sponsorship agreement with Kwik Fit is bringing a new look to the championship this year, and we have lots of new initiatives to add to fans’ enjoyment of the race weekends and the overall programme in general.

“While we live and breathe our racing, we hope that by supporting Children with Cancer UK the championship can provide a benefit to those families facing a much bigger challenge than getting a podium position.”

In addition to the fundraising taking place at BTCC events, Kwik Fit employees around the country will also carry out their own activities to support the charity too.

The 2019 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship will begin at Brands Hatch on April 6/7 before travelling the length and breadth of the country, with 30 pulsating races taking place.

BARC gearing up for 2019 Autosport Show International

Despite the dust barely settling on the 2018 season, the British Automobile Racing Club is already setting it’s sights on its next event by confirming its presence at the 2019 Autosport Show International.

Taking place at the NEC Arena in Birmingham between January 10-13, the Show will serve as the perfect launchpad for another year of racing with thousands of industry experts and fans set to attend the four-day extravaganza.

Following on from a hugely successful 2018 event where the BARC picked up an award for ‘Best National Motorsport Stand’, the Club will return to event and will be situated on Stand 2745.

Showcasing a variety of cars as well as an all-new eye-catching stand, information on all of the Club’s championships, marshal initiatives, venues, membership and much more will be able to be discussed at the event.

Drew Furlong, BARC Chief Operating Officer, said: “The Autosport Show International is an event that is a permanent fixture in the diary of any motorsport fan and we, like many others, are delighted to kick off the new season there in January once again.

“Coming off the back of another brilliant year for the Club and our championships, we’re heading to the Show looking forward to showcasing all that we are about with the fans and those that work or compete within motorsport.”

In addition, a raft of announcements are set to be confirmed by the BARC and its affiliated championships during the Autosport Show as well.