Industry News
News for 16th March 2007
Medical warning light launched in F1
All cars competing in this coming weekends Australian Grand Prix, the opening round of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, are required to be fitted with a medical warning light.
The device, required by the 2007 Formula One technical regulations, comprises a sensor system that measures and records deceleration in the event of an impact and activates a warning light adjacent to the cockpit of the car if a pre-determined G force limit is exceeded.
The warning light is intended to indicate the severity of an impact to track marshals and medical staff attending accidents. It is a requirement of the rules that any driver who is in an accident in which the medical warning light is activated must present himself for examination in the circuit medical centre without delay.
Barwell Motorsport becomes first EEMS campaign partner
The Great Bookham, UK based Barwell Motorsport organisation has become the first team to be accepted as an EEMS Campaign Partner after signing up to a six point charter of actions demonstrating its commitment to energy efficiency.
The EEMS Campaign Partner certificate was presented to Mark Lemmer, managing director of Barwell Motorsport, by Alan Mercer, EEMS programme manager: "When we first talked with Barwell, we could see a team who would demonstrate energy efficient motorsport both on and off the track," said Mercer. "Barwell is the first team to convert a high performance sports car to compete on bioethanol E85 blend. The British GT3 championship is new to EEMS and we are delighted to recognise their efforts and to welcome the team as one of our first EEMS Campaign Partners. This is a project we will be hearing a lot about during the season, as EEMS works with Barwell to promote the benefits of sustainable motorsport."
Lemmer said, "We are delighted to be able to promote the EEMS initiative in 2007. Everyone at Barwell Motorsport takes the environmental issues that we are facing very seriously. Developing the Bio-Ethanol Aston Martin DBRS9 and becoming an EEMS Campaign Partner are important steps towards tackling these issues."
By signing up to the six point charter, organisations will receive updates from EEMS, networking opportunities, invitations to specific EEMS Campaign Partner events and the team can promote their status as an EEMS Campaign Partner to sponsors and investors.
The Campaign Partner initiative is open to all organisations in motorsport: suppliers, race teams, championship organisers, regulators and circuits. More organisations will be endorsed as Campaign Partners in the next few weeks.
Ethanol marketing campaign linked to IRL
The US based Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) is to implement its first ever national marketing campaign through its partnership with the Indy Racing League.
In 2007 the IRL will become the first international motorsport series to run 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol. As part of its marketing activities EPIC's mobile marketing unit will travel to all 16 US domestic IndyCar Series events in 2007. The interactive unit is designed to educate consumers with videos, show cars and child-friendly exhibits. It also will make appearances at selected fairs and environmental festivals across the USA.
EPIC has also funded an IRL based television commercial that will be shown during US TV coverage of the races and will be distributing thousands of Fan Packs comprising posters, giveaways and other fan-friendly marketing items at US domestic IRL races.
EPIC’s pump tour initiative, launched in 2006, that allowed consumers to buy E10 fuel in race markets at a reduced price, will continue in 2007.
Reece Nanfito, senior director of marketing for EPIC said, "This is our first truly national marketing effort. Our partnership with the IndyCar Series will allow us to highlight the benefits of ethanol fuel. There is no better way to showcase ethanol's performance aspects than with a car going 220 mph."
Ilmor suspends MotoGP programme
The Brixworth, UK based Ilmor Engineering organisation has suspended its involvement in the 2007 MotoGP motor racing world championship until further notice.
Ilmor, which builds its own engines and frames, launched its 800cc V4 machine at the 2006 Portuguese Grand Prix but was unable to attract a sponsor for the 2007 season. In last weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix one of team’s two entries was withdrawn from the race after its rider was injured in a crash during the qualifying session while the second rider failed to finish the race.
Team owner Mario Ilien took the decision to suspend the MotoGP programme on Thursday. He said, "We discussed the situation in great detail internally and obviously it was an extremely difficult decision for us to make. However once we went through all the options, we decided that the best course of action for the sake of the project as a whole would be to put the racing side of things on hold and continue developing.”
Motorsport Academy to attend historic racing show
Representatives of the UK’s Motorsport Academy will attend the Race Retro international historic motorsport show that will take place at Stoneleigh Park, near Coventry on March 23 – 25.
The Motorsport Academy will share a stand with the UK’s Motorsport Industry Association where it will continue its efforts to effect an improvement in the skills and qualifications of those entering the UK motorsport industry. The Academy will use the show as a forum to find potential education and training partners with whom it can address the historic motorsport sector’s three prime needs which it identifies as supervisory and business skills; advanced apprenticeships in motorsport engineering; and craft skills.
The Motorsport Academy’s show stand will be situated adjacent to an area dedicated to education and training providers. Exhibitors confirmed so far include the University of Derby; Swansea Institute of Higher Education; Staffordshire University; North West Kent College; Sandwell College and Oxford & Cherwell Valley College. Coleg Sir Gar will also demonstrate its expertise in reverse engineering technology.
David Allison of the Motorsport Academy said, “This is an ideal opportunity for us to counsel a wide range of businesses about what skills and qualifications they will need their employees to possess in the future. We will then work closely with relevant universities, colleges and other training providers to ensure the very highest levels of training for these learners.
“The show will also give us the chance to talk directly to people looking for employment in the motorsport industry, for who we have appointed a dedicated support team that can assist in finding the jobs they want.
“Finally, we will be highlighting to the many small businesses present some of the potential issues that low volume employers now face in the area of HR law. Moreover, we will be offering our solutions to help them cope with the ongoing changes concerned.”
MIA publishes new Business of Winning
The UK’s Motorsport Industry Association has published a new and updated edition of its Business of Winning brochure.
The publication, supported by UK Trade & Investment, comprises more than 100 pages of in-depth features and case studies and offers an analysis of the pioneering ideas, processes and capabilities that characterise Motorsport Valley and UK high performance engineering on the international stage.
The Business of Winning is available at the price of £20 per copy for MIA members and £25 for non members, for further information contact the MIA by e-mailing gus.bhandal@the-mia.com
Ford in the garden of Eden
Ford is exhibiting a number of vehicles spanning Ford's rich biofuel heritage at the Eden Project's Sexy Green Car Show. These include a 1920s Ford Model T, the latest Ford Focus flexifuel vehicles and a Formula Ford racing car. All these can be driven on bioethanol, a renewable transport fuel which is produced from UK-grown crops and which offers technologically the easiest move towards carbon neutral motoring.
In 1916 Ford Motor Company's founder Henry Ford said: "All the world is waiting for a substitute for petrol. The day is not far distant when, for every one of those barrels of petrol, a barrel of ethanol must be substituted." He went on to design the first Model T to run on ethanol, or grain alcohol, believing then that oil-based transport fuels did not have a long-term future.
FTA casts doubt on European diesel duty harmonisation
The Freight Transport Association has expressed disappointment at plans by the European Commission to address the competitive distortions created by wide variations in diesel duty across the European Union. The FTA had hoped that the Commission would back industry calls for diesel duty harmonisation.
Instead, in an amending directive published this week, the Commission has proposed new minimum levels of diesel duty and petrol duty for the period 2010-2014. These duty rates carry forward the gradual uplift in duty levels which is set out in the 2003 Energy Tax Directive. Under the Energy Tax Directive, minimum diesel duty rates are set to rise from €302 per 1,000 litres to €330 per 1,000 litres by 2010. The Commission proposals increase the 2010 minimum threshold to €340 per 1,000 litres. This would subsequently rise to €in 2012 and to €380 in 2014. However, even these moderate uplifts are watered down by concessions to many member states including Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg and Austria. All have until 2016 to move to the new level.
The FTA’s Chief Economist said that diesel duty harmonisation is proving to be elusive. He felt that the role of the Commission should be to champion the principles of a free market for goods and services against the self-interest and protectionism of individual member states, but on this occasion, the Commission has opted for political expediency. Rather than tackling the problem, it is simply perpetuating the existing inequalities.
Despite the proposal’s shortcomings, the FTA believes that the UK Government should back the plans as it would allow a decoupling of duty on diesel used in trucks from that of cars. This has been a potential sticking point in the Government creating a road pricing mechanism alongside fuel duty that ensures tax-neutrality for UK-based road freight operators.
UK’s greenest cars
The Environmental Transport Association (ETA) has announced the winners of its 2007 Car Buyers’ Guide, the guide to Britain’s greenest cars. The Honda Civic Hybrid takes the top award for the second year running, winning the overall award as well as the award in its own Small Family Car category. Vauxhall wins the supermini category with its Corsa 1.3 CDTi, also overall runner-up and the Toyota RAV4 5 Door diesel manual rates as the greenest off-road vehicle in Britain. In the Luxury car category the Jaguar XJ 2.7 diesel auto wins again as the greenest choice.
The Guide also ‘names and shames’ the worst offenders in terms of damage to the environment with Lamborghini taking the double with its Diablo Roadster as worst offender for the third year running, and the brand new Murcielago Roadster, listed as the second worst offender. However, the ETA pointed out that the big problem is not the Lamborghinis because there are not many of them on the road. The issue is that people are still buying cars that are much too big for their real needs.
