Motorsport Academy to come alive at Autosport International

The recently launched Motorsport Academy will be brought to life before fascinated crowds on the public days of the Autosport International Show, NEC, Birmingham, January 13/14.

Renowned British Touring Car driver, Le Mans racer, Eurosport commentator and Swansea University lecturer, David Leslie, will be imparting motorsport engineering skills live to students on the MIA stand, No.6400, Hall 6.
The tuition will occur on the hour every hour from 10.00am each day. With the aid a single-seater Formula Renault race car, Leslie will instruct the students on motorsport engineering tasks such as, changing gear ratios, steering, brakes and suspension.

The UK is currently pre-eminent in the field of motorsport engineering. The aim of the Motorsport Academy is to ensure it remains so by actively helping the industry recruit and develop staff with exactly the world-class skills and expertise it requires. It is a partnership between the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) and internationally renowned automotive education and training provider Carter & Carter plc, with funding from Motorsport Development UK (MDUK).

Following the official launch by former Director General of the CBI, Sir Digby Jones, at WilliamsF1 in October last year, a series of Academy workshops were held around the country at which the innovative scheme was introduced to the industry, educators and those seeking a career in motorsport engineering.

Key industry figures such as Nick Fry of Honda Racing F1 participated in these capacity events, which each featured a focus group element, from which some 600 salient results were collected and subsequently analysed for future guidance.

Said Chris Aylett, Chief Executive of the MIA, “Autosport International is the perfect event for us to showcase the Motorsport Academy to the many interested parties. Certainly, among the show’s visitors will be thousands of industry figures, educators and would-be industry employees, all of whom could benefit from the Academy and its aims.”

He continued, “And it is important to remember that the industry doesn’t just employ engineers, but all manner of other professionals with, for example, skills in: marketing, corporate hospitality, PR, journalism, photography, event and venue management, finance, administration etc.”