Autosport International is traditionally one of the first major motorsport events of the year, bringing industry leaders together for an annual show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.
Engineering again forms an integral pillar of the event, which takes places on January 11-14. The first two days are reserved for trade visitors before the show opens to the public at the weekend.
The pair of trade-only days will feature the Autosport Engineering show, taking place in a newly-dedicated hall where over 100 engineering companies will showcase their products. The hall is designed to provide a close-up look at new technologies from across the industry including engines, gearboxes, brakes and suspension parts.
Returning to Autosport International this year is the Business Forum where experts will hold discussions covering the sport’s biggest talking points. Confirmed session topics include: ‘Would motorsport be appealing with alternative powertrains?’, ‘How AI is set to shake up the engineering industry’ and ‘Is a world without fossil fuels possible?’
The first of those sessions, about alternative powertrain options, will be headed up by Bill Pearson (IMSA senior manager of performance and simulation), Richard Saxby (McLaren Applied head of motorsport) and Mark Grain (Extreme E technical director).
The ADAC’s head of motorsport Thomas Voss will be among the attendees examining how racing as a whole is capitalising on the growth of Formula 1, while Alpine’s head of F1 vehicle performance Richard Frith is on the panel looking at the next big trends in engineering.
The latter session, taking place at 2pm on 12 January, also features Darren George (PES Performance senior design engineer), Charlotte Phelps (single seater systems and data engineer) and Jeremy Aston-Phillips (MCOIL director).
After taking public reaction from last year’s show on board, Autosport International is aiming to return to its roots by placing a greater emphasis on racing. This will include cars being taken to the main interview stage by their drivers, such as 24 Hours of Le Mans winner James Calado in a Ferrari 499P and fellow FIA World Endurance Championship driver Callum Ilott in a Jota Porsche 963.
There will also be the launch of M-Sport’s FIA World Rally Championship program with the Ford Puma Rally1, and an audience with Haas Formula 1 team principal Guenther Steiner. Motorsport action will be provided by stunt shows in the Live Action Arena.
This year’s Autosport International edition is aiming to cover all stages of the racing pyramid, and the grassroots level will be represented through MotorSport Vision, the 750 Motor Club, the British Automobile Racing Club and the Classic Sports Car Club.
The motorsport and engineering elements will run alongside the Autosport Performance aspect of the show for tuning, modification and show cars.
Tickets for Autosport International can be purchased here.
