- THE NEXT British Formula 1 star to be found from Wales’ Drive to Survive generation
- The nation’s continued sporting, technical and economic success depends on a growth in participation in motorsport
- More than 32,500 motorsport fans living in Wales that are under the age of 29 say they are keen to get involved, according to a Motorsport UK commissioned survey
- Motorsport UK is licensing 35 events from international events to club meetings across the region for novices to witness and experience motorsport first-hand over the next month
Britain is a global powerhouse of motorsport, evidenced by the performance of Sir Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and George Russell at the British Grand Prix earlier this month. But sustaining this dominant position relies on Netflix’s Drive to Survive generation getting behind the wheel, volunteering or working in the industry, so says the sport’s national governing body at the start of a new awareness campaign to find the next racing star from fans in Wales.
Motorsport has 7 million viewers of the Netflix series in the UK with a large proportion under the age of 29. 32,500 of these fans in Wales have an expressed interest to actively participate in motorsport. In order to enable this participation, Motorsport UK is sanctioning 35 events across the region from Welshpool in Powys to Pembrey in Carmarthenshire to allow the sport’s younger fan base to witness and experience motorsport first-hand. Fans can find events in their locality at https://motorsportweek.org/find-an-event/.
Motorsport UK believes that the country’s continued success as a leading nation in the top echelons of motorsport from Formula 1 and sports car racing to the World Rally Championship, as well as the country’s dominance in engineering that sees seven of the world’s 10 Formula 1 teams based in the UK, is all powered by a thriving level of grassroots participation in the sport.
David Richards CBE, Motorsport UK’s Chair and 1981 World Rally Champion said, “Motorsport is one of the country’s ‘special sectors’ that puts it alongside music, theatre, film or the gaming industry as areas where the UK is universally acknowledged as a world leader. But despite the fact that we’ve produced 66% more Formula 1 world champions than any other country and arguably we breed the best motor racing teams and engineers, we cannot afford to be complacent. And the engine room of our sport is the depth of active participation in all forms of competition that take place every weekend up and down the country.”
He continued, “Over the past six seasons of Drive to Survive, we’ve witnessed a remarkable demographic shift. Thanks to the series, motorsport now has incredible currency with the younger generation. Our task as the national governing body of the sport is to move this interest from passive engagement to active participation. This summer there is a huge diversity of disciplines, events, clubs and opportunities to prospective participants to power the nation’s future success in the sport.”
