The four rings will not extend its commitment in the DTM touring car racing series beyond the 2020 season. The management board of AUDI AG made this decision also considering the economic challenges due to the corona pandemic. 

Involvement in Formula E and in customer racing will be taking center stage in Audi’s motorsport activities. The brand has been represented in Formula E ever since the fully electric racing series launched in 2014. With 41 trophies, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler has been the most successful Formula E team over the years. Off the racetrack, Audi is planning to generate about 40 percent of its sales with electric cars and plug-in-hybrids by 2025. 

Markus Duesmann, chairman of the board of management of AUDI AG. “We’re going to drive our transformation into a provider of sporty, sustainable electric mobility forward. That’s why we’re also focusing our efforts on the racetrack and systematically competing for tomorrow’s ‘Vorsprung.’ Formula E offers a very attractive platform for this. To complement it, we’re investigating other progressive motorsport formats for the future.” 

Audi has won 23 DTM championship titles, including eleven driver titles, plus 114 victories, 345 podium finishes, 106 pole positions and 112 fastest laps, Audi shaped the DTM from 1990 to 1992 and from 2000 onwards. With three of three possible championship titles, numerous podiums and many other records, 2019 has so far been the most successful DTM season in the company’s history.  

Read the article here on PMW.

Join this online webinar at 11am on Tuesday 5 May to find out more about the coronavirus financial support schemes you may be eligible for.

About this Event

The webinar will cover:

• Eligibility for small business grants
• Applying for a loan
• Tax
• Claiming for wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

You will have the opportunity to ask questions during the webinar. If you would like to put forward a question in advance you can submit it via email to sed@beis.gov.uk by Friday 1 May.

Find out more about the business support measures available:

• Use the business support finder to see what support is available for your business, or visit the Business Support Hub to find all business support information
• For the latest information direct to your inbox, sign up to the Coronavirus Business and Employers Bulletin here.
• They'll also be hosting live Q&As on the Business Support Facebook and Twitter pages, follow us for updates.

How to join the webinar:

• You will receive a link to the online event page after you complete your registration here. You will also receive reminders and links from Eventbrite 48 hours, 2 hours, and 10 minutes before the event starts.
• Use the link in the email to access the online event page (you will need to sign into Eventbrite).
• Further technical details on how to watch the webinar are available on the event detail page after you register.

Sign up here.

 Provisional dates produced pending future government directives

Series Organiser, TOCA, has issued a revised provisional calendar for the 2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship, comprising nine events and a total of 27 races, all of which will be screened live and exclusively on the ITV network.

TOCA has taken the decision to provisionally plan events from August onwards, however, the calendar will of course remain conditional upon receiving appropriate government directives and approvals regarding the resumption of sporting activities. Should the BTCC be unable to resume at that time, the calendar will be amended accordingly.

The revised season is now scheduled to start on 1/2 August at Donington Park, which begins a run of four events in just five weekends, with Brands Hatch, Oulton Park and Knockhill completing the opening month of action.

September events at Thruxton and Silverstone are then followed by October race dates at Croft and Snetterton. Unfortunately a second event at Silverstone, originally scheduled on the International circuit, was unable to make it into the compressed season.

The 2020 BTCC season – as originally planned – will conclude on the world-famous Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit in Kent, but at the later date of 14/15 November.

Alan Gow, BTCC Chief Executive, said: “These are incredibly challenging times for the whole nation. Through it all, we have seen the importance of being both adaptable and pragmatic… and the BTCC is no different. So it’s entirely logical to draft plans and lock-in our provisional dates, with the ability to amend those if circumstances dictate.

“Obviously this calendar presents a hectic four months, with three separate back-to-back events and four events in the first five weeks alone. But our teams and drivers are fully up for the challenge – there’s such enormous energy, enthusiasm and passion for the BTCC that everyone will want to just roll up their sleeves and get the action underway when the time comes to go racing.

“However, the over-arching element will always be to ensure we have the correct procedures and protocols in place, in order to provide a safe environment. But before that time comes the most important thing we can all do is to please stay safe and also protect the health of others.”

2020 Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship – Provisional Calendar

Dates Rounds Venue (Circuit)

August 01/02 1, 2, 3 Donington Park (National)
August 08/09 4, 5, 6 Brands Hatch (Indy)
August 22/23 7, 8, 9 Oulton Park (Island)
August 29/30 10, 11, 12 Knockhill
September 19/20 13, 14, 15 Thruxton
September 26/27 16, 17, 18 Silverstone (National)
October 10/11 19, 20, 21 Croft
October 24/25 22, 23, 24 Snetterton (300)
November 14/15 25, 26, 27 Brands Hatch (GP)

Read more here.

New 100% government backed loan scheme for small business

• businesses will be able to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 and access the cash within days
• loans will be interest free for the first 12 months, and businesses can apply online through a short and simple form

Small businesses will benefit from a new fast-track finance scheme providing loans with a 100% government-backed guarantee for lenders, the Chancellor announced today (Monday 27 April).

Rishi Sunak said the new Bounce Back Loans scheme, which will provide loans of up to £50,000, would help bolster the existing package of support available to the smallest businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The scheme has been designed to ensure that small firms who need vital cash injections to keep operating can get finance in a matter of days, and comes alongside the £6 billion awarded in business grants, supporting 4 million jobs through the job retention scheme and generous tax deferrals supporting hundreds of thousands of firms.

The government, which has been consulting extensively with business representatives about the design of the new scheme, will provide lenders with a 100% guarantee for the loan and pay any fees and interest for the first 12 months. No repayments will be due during the first 12 months.

The loans will be easy to apply for through a short, standardised online application. The loan should reach businesses within days- providing immediate support to those that need it as easily as possible.

Find out more on the government website here. 

F1 CEO Chase Carey provides an update to fans on the latest developments on the 2020 F1 calendar, including a target start date and location…

"Although this morning it was announced that the French Grand Prix, due to take place in late June, will not be going ahead, we are now increasingly confident with the progress of our plans to begin our season this summer.

We’re targeting a start to racing in Europe through July, August and beginning of September, with the first race taking place in Austria on 3-5 July weekend. September, October and November, would see us race in Eurasia, Asia and the Americas, finishing the season in the Gulf in December with Bahrain before the traditional finale in Abu Dhabi, having completed between 15-18 races.

We will publish our finalised calendar as soon as we possibly can.

We expect the early races to be without fans but hope fans will be part of our events as we move further into the schedule. We still have to work out many issues like the procedures for the teams and our other partners to enter and operate in each country.

The health and safety of all involved will continue to be priority one and we will only go forward if we are confident we have reliable procedures to address both risks and possible issues.

The FIA, teams, promoters, and other key partners have been working with us throughout these steps and we want to thank them for all their support and efforts during this incredibly challenging time. We also want to recognise the fact that the teams have been supporting us at the same time that they have been focusing enormous and heroic efforts to build ventilators to help those infected by COVID-19.

While we have been moving forward with our 2020 plans, we have also been working hard with the FIA and the teams to strengthen the long term future of Formula 1 through an array of new technical, sporting, and financial regulations that will improve the competition and action on the track and make it a healthier business for all involved, particularly as we engage the issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

All of our plans are obviously subject to change as we still have many issues to address and all of us are subject to the unknowns of the virus. We all want the world to return to the one we know and cherish, yet we recognise it must be done in the right and safest way. We look forward to doing our part by enabling our fans to once again safely share the excitement of Formula 1 with family, friends, and the broader community."

Press release taken directly from the F1 webiste.

Silverstone Managing Director, Stuart Pringle, has said the race would take place behind closed doors given the challenges caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

F1 bosses are currently working on a revised calendar for 2020, after the pandemic forced a series of races of cancellations and postponements. Earlier today, organisers in France confirmed the 2020 French Grand Prix will not go ahead.

Several countries have restrictions on people’s movements and mass governments make it tricky to host events such as international sport, meaning discussions are focused on closed doors spectacles in a bid to get calendars back up and running.

Silverstone are currently in talks with the British government and F1 bosses regarding the viability of hosting the race, which was set for July, at some stage during the campaign but without fans.

Official announcement below from Stuart Pringle, Managing Director, Silverstone. 

“I am extremely disappointed to tell you that we are unable to stage this year’s British Grand Prix in front of the fans at Silverstone. We have left this difficult decision for as long as possible, but it is abundantly clear given the current conditions in the country and the government requirements in place now and for the foreseeable future, that a Grand Prix under normal conditions is just not going to be possible.

Our obligations to protect the health and safety of everyone involved in preparing and delivering the event, our volunteer marshals and Race Makers, and of course, you, the amazing fans, means that this is the best, safest and only decision we could make.

We have consistently said that should we find ourselves in this position we will support Formula 1 as they seek to find alternative ways to enable F1 racing to take place this year.

Following this weekend's news from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport we are now working with them on the viability of an event behind closed doors. Should this be possible, it will be of some small comfort for you to know that the 2020 Formula 1 Pirelli British Grand Prix will be available to watch live on Sky and Channel 4 (in the UK).”

Silverstone say ticketholders can either transfer their booking to the 2021 Grand Prix or take a full refund. They add they will be giving thousands of tickets to next year’s race to NHS and other key workers after their efforts on the front line fighting coronavirus.

Taken directly from the F1 website. 

These are difficult times for employers, apprentices and providers of apprenticeship training and assessment. As part of the cross-government efforts to respond to the impact of COVID-19, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is implementing new measures, until further notice, to make it easier for apprenticeships to continue and complete in a different way if they need to, or to break and resume an apprenticeship later when that becomes possible.

This document sets out guidance and some temporary flexibilities that the government are introducing to the programme during the pandemic, and provides answers to questions related to these changes and other common questions. Our information should be read alongside government’s COVID-19 guidance and support for businesses.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFATE) has also published new guidance on the delivery of assessment.

This document includes information on:

• delivering apprenticeships flexibly to those working at home
• furloughed employees continuing apprenticeship training and end-point assessment, or starting an apprenticeship
• applying the policy on breaks in learning
• delays to end-point assessment (EPA)
• alternative arrangements and flexibilities for EPA, external quality assurance, and certification
• funding audits and evidence

Specifically, the government is:

• confirming flexibilities to allow furloughed apprentices to continue their training, and to take their end-point assessment, and to all existing furloughed employees to start a new apprenticeship, as long as it does not provide services to, or generate revenue for, their employer
• encouraging training providers to deliver training to apprentices remotely and via e-learning as far as is practicable
• allowing the modification of end-point assessment arrangements, including remote assessments wherever practicable and possible. This is in order to support employers, providers and end-point assessment organisation (EPAOs) to maintain progress and achievement for apprentices
• clarifying that apprentices ready for assessment, but who cannot be assessed due to COVID-19 issues, can have their end-point assessment rescheduled. Apprentices whose gateway is delayed can have an extension to the assessment timeframe
• enabling employers and training providers to report and initiate a break in learning, where the interruption to learning due to COVID-19 is greater than 4 weeks
• clarification on how to record breaks in learning in March so that funding is not unnecessarily disrupted
• confirming that, where apprentices are made redundant, it is our ambition to find them alternative employment and continue their apprenticeship as quickly as possible and within 12 weeks
• confirming that, where apprentices are made redundant and are ready to go through gateway, providers and EPAOs are able to make the necessary assessment arrangements to support these apprentices

This guidance and these measures start immediately and apply until further notice.

Read more here.

• Grainger & Worrall receives a Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation in 2020
• Coveted award recognises the pioneering progress made by the company in developing “Next Generation” castings
• Third Queen’s Award for the Bridgnorth-based business Grainger & Worrall 

Castings specialist, Grainger & Worrall has been recognised for its pioneering “Next Generation” castings work with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation in 2020. 

The Award acknowledges GW utilising its expertise and technology in casting design & simulation, materials development, digital sand printing and dimensional & integrity validation to deliver the best castings service in the world.

Matthew Grainger, CEO, Grainger & Worrall, said: “We are exceptionally  pleased to be recognised by the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, especially as it is the third time we have received such an award and underlines our ongoing commitment to be a global leader within our industry. 

“The progress we have made towards establishing Next Generation castings has very much been a team effort, and the Award comes as a welcome bright spot of good news when so many of us have had our lives and work disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. We look forward to an opportunity, hopefully later in the year, when we are all in a better position to celebrate this achievement.”

Grainger & Worrall has developed Next Generation castings in response to the challenges faced by the global transport industry in terms of reducing emissions and fuel consumption. “The automotive market is moving towards ever more complex and structurally sound castings,” says Grainger. “This is particularly the case in high performance aluminium alloys, and our knowledge and experience combined with our state-of-the-art facilities means we have been able to develop the next generation of aluminium and non-ferrous castings. By blending digital manufacturing and 3D sand printing with our design and materials experience, we are enabling customers to design, produce and validate complex components within a compressed timescale.” 

Grainger concludes “Our Next Generation innovations deliver real benefits for component suppliers in reduced cost, improved efficiency and rapid turnaround. We look forward to working with the industry to maximise these benefits when current restrictions are lifted.”

For further information, contact:

Market Engineering Limited
Nevil Hall, Account Director
Bicester Heritage, 
Building 123, 
Buckingham Road, 
Bicester OX27 8AL. 
+44 1295 277050
+44 7711 861662
nevil.hall@m-eng.com

Sponsored by Innovate UK, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), NVN is pleased to announce that their annual Collaborative R&D competition, covering Proof of Concept and Production Readiness Projects is now open for applications.

The focus of this year’s competition will again be on low carbon vehicle technology, with emphasis on electrification, energy efficiency and lightweight vehicle structures.

Applications can only be submitted on-line through the NVN Funding Gateway which contains full guidance on how to apply, with links to provide specific help if required.

The Competition Briefing document including details on competition scope, timelines & deadlines, funding criteria, advice on how to prepare your bid, what makes a project fundable and application process is also available to view through the Funding Gateway and here. 

In case of difficulties with Funding Gateway registration or access please email technical@mg.nichevehiclenetwork.co.uk and their support team will provide assistance.

The deadline for bid submissions is Monday 8 June 2020.

As business goes on in the unprecedented time contracts will continue to be signed and agreements reached. Although signing documentation digitally is an ever-increasing trend and very familiar to some, if you are running or managing a business it is now imperative to be aware of the requirements of an effective electronic signature. 

Broadly speaking, an electronic signature can be used to execute all types of agreements, from basic contracts established via email to formal deeds, providing that: 

• The person signing (whether as the signatory or their agent) intends to sign and be bound by the document; and
• Any formalities relating to execution of that document are satisfied.

What can constitute an electronic signature? 

Examples include an individual:

• Typing their name or inserting their signature as an image into a digital contract or email containing contractual terms.
• Using a stylus pen to make their signature on an electronic device.
• Accessing a web-based platform (such as DocuSign or Zoho Sign) and completing the document signing process.
• Scanning their manuscript signature.
• Clicking on an icon on a website to confirm an order.  

If a document is a deed, the signature of each signatory must be witnessed. If any challenges are faced (more on this below) a key point to bear in mind is to ensure as far as possible that there would be overwhelming factual evidence to rebut any challenge that the deed was not legally executed. In this context:

• If the signatory is an individual, a person will be required to witness the electronic signature and that person can sign the attestation clause using an electronic signature in the same way as the signatory to the deed. Statute dictates that the witness must be physically present at the place at which the signatory signs the deed. The law, as it stands, does not permit 'remote witnessing’ via a video link. But with individuals working from home in the current climate, having somebody suitable and available to act as witness may be challenging. A cohabitant of the signatory can act as witness unless that person is a family member who is also a party to the deed, or a minor. If necessary, to add to the weight of evidence that the deed has been validly executed, a third party could observe the process through video link. Suitable record keeping would be essential. 

• If the signatory is a company, the Companies Act 2006 provides that two directors (or a director and the company secretary) may execute a deed (instead of a director in the presence of a witness). There is no requirement for the signatures to be applied at the same time, therefore the signatories on behalf of the company could be in different places and sign at different times. 

In either case, if a deed is executed via an e-signing platform, the digital audit trail should record the IP address of the signatory and witness, so steps should be taken to ensure that those signing use the same device or WI-FI network. This would provide evidence to suggest the signatory and witness were in the same physical location.

Clearly, it may be difficult for an individual or sole director to execute a deed when in self-isolation or lockdown. Any person in this scenario may wish to ask themselves:

• Can an attorney, acting under the authority of a power of attorney, execute the document on my behalf? 
• Should I appoint a secretary (or second director, if appropriate) who can act as the second signatory (the filing can be done online via the Web Filing service, and is free of charge). 
• Could a contract be entered into on a temporary basis and the deed executed at a later date? (i.e. after the period of self-isolation or lockdown).
• Does the document actually need to be a deed? Would a contract suffice?

If parties to a contract, or deed, are seeking to vary the arrangement, care should be taken to comply with any prescribed method in the document to achieve this. For example, it may be a requirement that a variation is made in writing, or the consent of a third party may be necessary.

It should be noted that some public authorities have specific requirements regarding the type of signatures they will accept. For example, HMRC and the Land Registry have typically required ‘wet ink’ signatures on original documents sent to them. Certain Companies House forms must be filed in paper form, but forms can be completed digitally, printed and posted. In our experience, Companies House will accept the electronic signature of a person authorised to sign on behalf of the company. In the current climate, it is possible that public authorities will relax their requirements, but individuals should seek guidance directly if uncertain.  

How can Blaser Mills Law help you and your business? 
In a commercial context, the good news is that electronic signatures are widely accepted in most scenarios as constituting a valid signature. However there is always a risk that a contract may not be upheld as valid if not executed properly and in the current climate, every contract with a customer or supplier could be essential to your business. As such, if you have any uncertainty please get in touch with the Corporate and Commercial team on 020 3814 2020 or contact Simon Stone at ses@blasermills.co.uk.  

MIA Member RoamingExpert offers support to fellow members.

At RoamingExpert we are supporting our fellow MIA members, with a variety of mobile voice & data solutions. With so much uncertainty at present, mobile connectivity, cost savings and flexibility are more important than ever.

Over the past month, we have seen mobile phone usage change significantly. As many users are working from home and cannot travel, we have seen mobile data increase by 25-30% and people are making a lot more international calls. These are the 2 main areas we are currently focusing on.

• International calls 
  By understanding your requirements, we are able to offer international calls up to 20 times cheaper than standard network rates.
• Mobile Data
  We can offer large shared data bundles or unlimited plans for some heavy users. We also set usage alerts to ensure users don’t exceed their allowance. In addition, we can supply separate MiFi devices or 4G routers to ensure connectivity whilst users are working from home

All plans available on Vodafone, O2, or EE or a combination of networks, on a 30-day rolling basis.

Our approach of continually monitoring usage will also ensure that when business returns to normal, and users start to travel again, we will ensure you are on the best tariff and network for the unique requirements of your business.

As a special offer to MIA members we are offering the first months’ line rental free of charge for all users. This will include unlimited UK calls and the required amount of UK data.

Click here today to see how we can help.

Suzie Hine
Business Development Manager
E: suzie@roamingexpert.racing
M: 07557 393344

As a part of its effort to support local care homes and NHS trusts, Ricardo has made deliveries of the first 2,000 of its purpose-designed protective face shields – an important part of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required by those working on the front line of the national effort to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

The deliveries of the first 2000 protective face shields is a major milestone in Ricardo’s effort to provide PPE to front line workers in care homes and the NHS. The shields are made to a bespoke Ricardo design and benefit from the company’s experience of high value, rapid response assembly and supply chain management. Local NHS doctors assisted the Ricardo design team by testing the new face shield for enhanced comfort and wearability over extended periods.

The face shield frames were manufactured by longstanding supply chain partner Stephens Plastic Mouldings, using tooling co-funded jointly with Ricardo. To ensure that the face shields reach care home and NHS staff as quickly as possible, facilities at Ricardo’s Technical Centres at Shoreham by Sea in West Sussex and Leamington Spa have been repurposed as assembly lines and logistics centres for this much-needed PPE.

Although the requirement for the face shields was urgent, Ricardo followed the usual industry standards and best practice for testing. Ricardo worked with the industry-leading test provider SATRA to secure fast-tracked testing of its protective face shield to EN166. Crucially, this testing enables the PPE to be NHS approved for Covid-19 emergency use.

Recipients of the first 2,000 face shields donated by Ricardo included Richmond Manor, Bedfordshire, of the Hamberley Care Homes group, Shelley Care Home in West Sussex, and the city and county councils for Brighton & Hove, Avon & Wiltshire and Warwickshire who are distributing PPE to care homes in their respective areas. In addition, supplies were also delivered to NHS teams including at the Avon and Witshire Mental Health Partnership, the Charter Medical Centre in Hove, and the Burgess Hill Covid Clinical Assessment Service.

“We are delighted to have received a donation of 250 visors from Ricardo and would like to thank them for their kind donation,” said Paul Hill, CEO of Hamberley Care Homes and Inspire Neurocare. “The safety and wellbeing of our residents and staff is our highest priority and I’d like to take this opportunity say a huge thank you to our care teams for their continued dedication and commitment during this challenging time.”

“We firmly believe that the correct and comprehensive PPE is absolutely key to delivering a robust service for patients, as we don’t want to shy away from clinical need, whilst keeping our staff safe,” commented Dr Esther Bird of the Burgess Hill Covid Clinical Assessment Service. “Ricardo’s assistance and foresight is very much appreciated.”

“The entire Ricardo team is committed to supporting our local communities in the fight against Covid-19,” added Ricardo Automotive & Industrial MD Stephen Dyke. “We are very proud to be able to help to protect those in the front line at care homes and in the NHS, and it has been humbling for us to receive very positive feedback on our efforts to provide PPE to staff in these absolutely crucial roles.”

In addition to the supply of face shields to care homes and the NHS, Ricardo announced earlier in the week that it is assisting healthcare technology company Isansys, which is facing an unprecedented demand for its advanced patient monitoring systems amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Ricardo is providing expert consultancy in supply chain development and manufacturing operations, with a view to enabling a rapid scaling up of production of these much-needed systems.

In further efforts to support the fight against Covid-19, Ricardo has also offered its services to government and to healthcare providers on the rapid design or conversion of vehicles for use as ambulances and as other support vehicles, and has offered the use of some facilities for testing or as logistic centres.

Read the article on Ricardo's website here.

MIA Member, Priority Freight, a leading time-critical logistics specialist, has been awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade 2020. Her Majesty The Queen and Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, recommended that Priority Freight receive the UK’s most significant award for business performance.

The awards celebrate the success of exciting and innovative businesses which are leading the way with pioneering products or services, delivering impressive social mobility programmes or showing their commitment to excellent sustainable development practices.

Neal Williams, Group Managing Director at Priority Freight commented, “We are delighted that the company has been recognised for its achievements in and contributions to international trade. Winning this award is great recognition for the company and a testament to our ongoing commitment to our customers. Our clients know they can trust us to deliver even when the options are limited or time-critical.

“This has been particularly apparent during the COVID-19 crisis where we have been supporting governments and companies to bring PPE in from around the world.”

The Queen’s Award comes after Priority Freight appeared in The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 league table for the fourth time in the last five years.

The remarkable growth has been during a period of uncertainty for British business due to Brexit, but Priority Freight has continued to adapt to the challenges and expand its skill base and physical presence. The company has also gained AEO certification across its operation. The logistics specialist is one of the few providers to be globally accredited for both Quality Assurance (ISO 9001:2015) and Environmental Management (ISO 14001:2015).

Priority Freight’s highly experienced multilingual logistics specialists are committed to providing the fastest, most cost-effective and reliable solutions, time and time again. With an industry-leading reaction time of under 15 minutes and an on-time delivery rate of 99.6%, it is this dedication that has seen the company achieve the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.

Neal Williams will be invited to Buckingham Palace where the accolade will be presented by HM the Queen during a royal reception for The Queen’s Awards winners.

Full press release taken from Priority Freight website. 

Vehicle transmission specialist Xtrac, whose energy-efficient gearbox designs are helping to influence radically different technology for future road cars, has received the Queen's Award for Enterprise.  The company has won the award for Innovation in its development of an Integrated Lightweight Electric Vehicle (ILEV) gearbox range spearheaded by Xtrac CEO Adrian Moore.  

Xtrac previously received a Queen's Award for Export and Excellence in 1992, less than a decade after it was founded to serve the motorsport industry.  Nowadays, as well as continuing to serve the industry globally, it has successfully reached out to the automotive mainstream.

"Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has affected us like all other businesses in our industry, in the UK and around the world," says Moore. "With international motor racing now at a standstill, it has been necessary to furlough some of our employees, and every single one of us has volunteered to take a pay cut to get us through these uncertain times.” 

"So, to receive such prestigious recognition for the highly skilled accomplishments of our people is a very welcome boost to morale for all of us.   And, it's particularly good news, of course, for our fast-growing High-Performance Automotive business unit, headed by James Setter, which led the implementation of the winning Integrated Lightweight Electric Vehicle transmission project."

Part of the UK's renowned high-performance engineering sector, Xtrac will attend a Royal reception later in the year.  Her Majesty, The Queen, personally approves the winners announced by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).  James Puxley, the Lord-Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire, will present the award, which will also be later in the year, at the company's newly expanded design and manufacturing headquarters at Thatcham in West Berkshire.

Xtrac has put intense research and development effort into its energy-efficient hybrid & electric vehicle transmission systems and more recently has further ramped up these efforts.  

"Xtrac was one of the early leaders in the inception of low carbon vehicle technologies," says Setter. "We first presented our ideas to policymakers at the Palace of Westminster in 2008 in response to the increasing interest in electric vehicles."

Initially, Xtrac worked with a consortium of automotive companies supported by Innovate UK to help develop new, highly efficient, propulsion and driveline systems. 

"We then realised that we could lead the market using lightweight materials and patenting ground-breaking gearbox designs that could be used by carmakers globally," says Setter, who represents the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) on the UK’s influential Automotive Council Technology Group, which is coordinating the development of new energy-saving and CO2 reducing technologies.

As well as supplying motorsport teams, Xtrac today also provides many different types of automotive clients with new technologies and a skill base that can adapt quickly to shifts in market conditions and regulatory changes, including requirements for environmentally-friendly road cars.

While global motorsport takes a temporary pause, Xtrac will defer its celebrations and instead has joined the UK motorsport industry's efforts to help tackle the Covid-19 pandemic, by repurposing parts of its factory and staff to rapidly manufacture medical ventilator components for the Ventilator Challenge UK initiative.

Full press release can be viewed on Xtrac's website. 

APC are now pleased to announce the new schedule for the APC 16 competition: 

Competition opens - 27/05/2020
Application briefing webinar - 28/05/2020
Application deadline - 08/07/2020
Interviews by assessors - 01/09/2020 to 04/09/2020

Please note that, due to the later opening of APC16, this competition has a shorter application window than most previous APC competitions.

Registrations for the important Application Briefing webinar will open in a future mailer, but in the meantime, you can catch up on the previous APC15 webinar by clicking here.

More details on the APC 16 competition will be announced in coming weeks. As always, the APC team are on hand to help applicants by offering advice and guidance. You can find the contact details for our Business Development team by clicking here. 

The current COVID-19 pandemic has caused both visible and invisible changes across the globe in the matter of a few weeks, and e-commerce is no different...

From stock issues and impacts on delivery time to changes in Amazon FBA policy and updates to advertising and messaging, there is lots to consider during this unprecedented time.

Join this webinar with ChannelAdvisor, industry leaders with 20 years of experience assisting more than 2,700 global customers across 100+ e-commerce channels, to make sense of what is going on in the industry right now. 

• Hear vertical trends observed during recent weeks with examples of how other brands and retailers are adapting in these times
• Understand changes on Amazon and other marketplaces, what this means for you and what you can do to protect your account health
• Take away actionable tips on what you can be doing to protect your business and adapt and thrive to succeed with your online strategy

ChannelAdvisor (NYSE: ECOM) is a leading e-commerce cloud platform whose mission is to connect and optimise the world’s commerce. For nearly two decades, ChannelAdvisor has helped brands and retailers transform the way they connect to the empowered consumer through marketing, selling, and fulfilment capabilities. Thousands of customers globally depend on ChannelAdvisor to securely power their sales and optimise fulfilment on channels such as Amazon, eBay, Google, Facebook, Walmart, and hundreds more. For more information, visit www.channeladvisor.co.uk.

• Chancellor announces new £1.25 billion coronavirus package to protect firms driving innovation in UK.
• The package includes a £500 million investment fund for high-growth companies impacted by the crisis, made up of funding from government and the private sector.
• SMEs focusing on research and development will also benefit from £750 million of grants and loans.

UK businesses driving innovation and development will be helped through the coronavirus outbreak with a £1.25 billion government support package, the Chancellor announced today.

Rishi Sunak said the targeted and tailored help would ensure firms in some of the most dynamic sectors of the UK economy – ranging from tech to life sciences – are protected through the crisis so they can continue to develop innovative new products and help power UK growth.

The comprehensive package includes a new £500 million loan scheme for high-growth firms, called the Future Fund, and £750 million of targeted support for small and medium sized businesses focusing on research and development.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, said:

"Britain is a global leader when it comes to innovation. Our start-ups and businesses driving research and development are one of our great economic strengths, and will help power our growth out of the coronavirus crisis.

This new, world-leading fund will mean they can access the capital they need at this difficult time, ensuring dynamic, fast-growing firms across all sectors will be able to continue to create new ideas and spread prosperity."

Alok Sharma, Business Secretary, said:

"The UK is a world leader in innovation and at this hugely challenging time, we know that young, fast-growing firms require tailored support to see them through.

This wide-ranging package delivers important help that will protect some of the most dynamic sectors of our economy."

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden, said:

"We are the tech and creative capital of Europe, and it’s crucial to maintain our place. This funding will protect high growth businesses and enable the unicorns of tomorrow to thrive so that tech is in pole position to drive our post COVID recovery."

The £500 million Future Fund has been designed to ensure high-growth companies across the UK receive the investment they need to continue during the crisis.

Delivered in partnership with the British Business Bank and launching in May, the fund will provide UK-based companies with between £125,000 and £5 million from the government, with private investors at least matching the government commitment. These loans will automatically convert into equity on the company’s next qualifying funding round, or at the end of the loan if they are not repaid. To be eligible, a business must be an unlisted UK registered company that has previously raised at least £250,000 in equity investment from third party investors in the last five years.

The government is committing an initial £250 million in funding towards the scheme, which will initially be open until the end of September. The scale of the fund will be kept under review.

The £750 million of targeted support for the most R&D intensive small and medium size firms will be available through Innovate UK’s grants and loan scheme.

Innovate UK, the national innovation agency, will accelerate up to £200 million of grant and loan payments for its 2,500 existing Innovate UK customers on an opt-in basis. An extra £550 million will also be made available to increase support for existing customers and £175,000 of support will be offered to around 1,200 firms not currently in receipt of Innovate UK funding. The first payments will be made by mid-May.

This package builds on the government’s existing support for innovative, high-growth firms including the £2.5 billion British Patient Capital fund, the upcoming £200 million Life Sciences Investment Programme, internationally competitive R&D tax reliefs and our major commitments to increase public R&D spending to £22 billion by 2024-25.

For more information please click here

*The above news piece was taken directly from the www.gov.uk

Bentley Motorsport has stepped into the world of esports by announcing entry into its debut sim racing championship – the six round SRO E-Sport GT Series . 

Bentley will field squads in the ‘Pro’ class race for real-world racers, the ‘Silver’ class race for elite sim racers, and show support for all Continental GT3 drivers around the world, in the ‘Am’ class events. 

Bentley’s director of motorsport, Paul Williams, says, “Whether a real world racer, a pro sim racer or a gamer who races for fun, if you choose to race in the Continental GT3, you are part of our esports family.  To support this growing family, we have entered as a manufacturer for the SRO E-Sport GT Series, and engaged our real-world race team to assist drivers with set-up and social media promotion.” 

To celebrate the announcement, the 2020 works team livery, worn by the Bathurst 12 Hours race-winning Continental GT3, will be available for all Assetto Corsa Competizione users to download. 

“We are working closely with our partners at Kunos, the developers of Assetto Corsa Compeitizione, to ensure we are prepared for the season ahead and are talking to professional sim racers who can not only represent us on track but can also assist our real world racers with in-game set-up and racing style. 

Paul adds, “We entered the SRO E-Sport GT Series Charity Challenge a few weeks ago and were incredibly impressed with the quality of the production and the racing. This is definitely the right place for us to be competing.” 

The six-round series mirrors events in the GT World Challenge Europe, with round one taking place at Silverstone on April 26. 

Read the full article here.

With strict containment measures continuing to be put in place globally by governments to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, Formula E together with the FIA have jointly decided to extend the season suspension until at least the end of June.
 
Formula E and the FIA continue to use its flag-based system to determine the status of each race. A red flag representing that no races will happen, a yellow flag indicating a time window to potentially restart racing and a green flag meaning we are ready to race again.
 
Formula E can now confirm that red flags have been applied to the months of May and June, meaning the Berlin E-Prix can no longer take place as originally planned on June 21.
 
July has now become a yellow flag month, with the opportunity to host events or reschedule races remaining open should the coronavirus situation stabilise.
 
Formula E aim to return to racing as soon as possible, but their priority in all decision-making must be the health and safety of their staff and the entire Formula E community of teams, manufacturers, partners, drivers and fans, as well as the citizens and residents of the cities in which they race.
 
Formula E are assessing all available options in order to finish the season with the highest number of races possible. This contingency planning continues to explore staging races behind closed doors, using permanent track facilities, introducing new double headers and extending the season beyond its original end date.
 
Ticket holders for the Berlin E-Prix will be contacted with further information in due course.

Read more here.

This webinar provides guidance on the Job Retention Scheme which will help support businesses and employers dealing with the economic impact of COVID-19 – including furloughed workers, scheme eligibility, how to calculate a claim and more.

This webinar will run at several time slots throughout Monday 20 - Wednesday 22 April.

To register please click here

Key Topic Areas:

• Understand how Leadership and Teamwork are used in Formula 1 to help achieve High-Performance within business.
  
• High Potential vs High Performance Relationships
• Thinking Under Pressure - The Pitstop and Race Strategy.
• The Mindset of a Champion – live discussion with Damon Hill OBE talking about Mindset, Leadership and Teamwork.
  

The halow project is a young, vibrant and growing organisation based in Guildford supporting around 170 young people from the ages of 16-35 with learning disabilities, with their programme's such as "A Reason to Get Up" and "Building Futures".

However the charity, who's co-founder and patron is 1996 Formula 1 World Champion Damon Hill OBE, now face uncertain times as due to the Covid-19 outbreak. This has seen fundraisers cancelled, along with the activities and programmes for the young people.

This one off session will take place on Tuesday 21st April 2020 at 10am, for the unique opportunity to hear an F1 World Champion speak about how he led and worked with his team to achieve his ultimate goal, with 75% of the ticket price going to raise much needed funds for this fantastic charity.

To register please click here. 

To find out more about halow or make a donation please visit www.halowproject.org.uk

Please note: When you have purchased your ticket - HRSP will send out link to the Zoom event and log in details the day before the event (20th April 2020).

You can submit any questions you have for Damon Hill around Mindset, Leadership and Teamwork, which we will select before the event. Due to time restrictions may or may not be able to do a live Q&A on the day.

Sponsored by Innovate UK, the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), Niche Vehicle Network (NVN) are delighted to announce that their annual collaborative R&D competition will be launched on Wednesday 22 April 2020 via their website portal, the NVN Funding Gateway.

The competition will provide funding to SMEs active in the UK niche vehicle, low carbon vehicle technology sector (e.g. niche vehicle manufacturers, design & engineering companies, system suppliers, technology and research organisations etc) for innovative, collaborative R&D activities covering:

• Proof of Concept Projects 
Providing grants for UK niche vehicle manufacturers and associated design and engineering companies to undertake R&D of early market low carbon technology demonstration projects

• Production Readiness Projects
Providing grants for UK SMEs and their supply chains to take existing low carbon vehicle technologies from demonstration through to production readiness in a compressed timescale, leading to significant economic benefits whilst reducing CO2 emissions

The focus of this year’s competition will again be on low carbon vehicle technology, with emphasis on electrification, energy efficiency and lightweight vehicle structures. 

Full details of the competition launch, application process and available funding will follow in due course.

• Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) playing a significant role in an Aerospace consortium to produce medical ventilators for use by the NHS 

• The aim is to quickly produce an initial batch of 5,000 Smiths ParaPAC300 ventilators; utilising speed of response and rapid processes derived from a motorsport background 

• WAE involved in developing 3D CAD models for the Bill of Materials, test equipment reengineering and manufacturing, procurement and rapid prototyping 

Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) is proud to be playing a significant role in a consortium of UK industrial, technology and engineering businesses from across the aerospace, automotive and medical sectors, who have come together to rapidly produce medical ventilators in response to the coronavirus crisis. On 19 March the company were engaged by the Ventilator Challenge UK Consortium to conduct re-engineering activity on the ParaPAC300 ventilator unit, producing a number of prototype ventilator components within 2 weeks. 
 
The VentilatorChallengeUK Consortium is led by the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, a group of manufacturing research centres in the UK and, as well as WAE, includes Airbus, GKN, RollsRoyce, PA Consulting, Thales, Siemens, Mclaren and BAE Systems. One of the projects is to rapidly produce an initial batch of 5,000 Smiths Group ParaPAC300 ventilators for the NHS.  
 
The majority of the work has been undertaken at WAE’s Grove facility or by personnel working remotely from home and to date, has involved over 50 staff members. 
 
Craig Wilson, Managing Director of Williams Advanced Engineering, said: “We are proud to be working with so many innovative partners on this project. Williams Advanced Engineering prides itself on speed of response and rapid turnaround; skills we can really maximise as part of the VentilatorChallengeUK Consortium. We are all determined that the results of our collective efforts will make a huge difference and save lives”. 

Read more here.

This group have access to highly capable light aircraft (e.g. HondaJet/TBMs/Cirrus Vision jet/SR22Ts) and have volunteered their time and aircraft to move medical personnel, supplies, tests or whatever is necessary, around UK and Europe to help combat the current pandemic. 

As the pilots and aircraft are ‘volunteers’ this is a fast, financially viable way of transporting essential supplies. The benefit of these aircraft, being smaller  than usual commercial transports, is that they have access to hundreds of local airfields throughout the country.
 
If you, or anyone you know, may need to move medical supplies, equipment or personnel urgently and want to know more of this offer, please contact Christopher Foster at Navigate Partners christopher@navigate.partners . This project is in collaboration with Elite Aero Service and Aviation Without Borders