Chairman's Message

Dear Motorsport colleagues,

It is my great pleasure to address you as the first Chairman of the IMechE Motorsport Committee.

As an engineer who has been working in the UK motorsport industry for over 13 years I have seen times of great change. From drawing boards to CAD screens, and teams with tens of people to teams of hundreds, the industry has changed almost beyond recognition. Humble garage workshops have been replaced with multi-million dollar glass palaces as ‘away’ teams of over 100 people traverse the globe to support just two racing cars. There is no doubt that the recent past has been a golden age for British motorsport, but what comes next?

Whilst there still seems to be money for the top teams it is clear that times are much harder elsewhere. Gone is the attitude of throwing people at the problem and even in Formula One we have to be more careful with the budget than before. So the focus moves to making sure things run efficiently, that the right people are employed doing the right things and that more of the development parts work first time.

For a while we have been using Computer Aided Engineering methods to guide vehicle development and more and more they are becoming an integral part of the process. But we should never forget that computers are dumb. They know only what we tell them and today, just as in the pioneering times of British motorsport, it is the bright engineers who really guide the development process. Today, more than ever, professional motorsport engineers need to keep up to date with emerging technologies from a number of fields. The IMechE calls this Continuing Professional Development (CPD) - for us it is the means to win!

So don’t let people think that we are just the lucky few who get to play with expensive toys all day, motorsport jobs usually involve long hours, lots of pressure and some measure of insecurity. If our cars are quick remind them it is because we did a good job, but don’t be complacent. No one knows everything, not even about their favourite subject. The professional motorsport engineer will use everything available to make their car go faster and at the IMechE there is a huge resource of information that can help. From library services to lectures and conferences there are many ways to find new inspiration for that next tenth of a second improvement.

So if you haven’t tried the new online library services, go take a look. If the last IMechE lecture you came to was an historical look back at past glories of a famous company, come again, they just aren’t like that any more. Senior figures now talk about up-to-date subjects using smart graphics and they really do let secrets slip.

The lectures are also a great place to meet other engineers and even old friends. Why not invite one of your colleagues from another department or from your competitor down the road to one of our lectures? It is a great excuse (if you need one) for a beer and a chat afterwards while furthering your career at the same time. Last year I even ended up employing a guy that I met at an IMechE lecture I was giving in the Midlands! Obviously, I can’t promise this will happen to you, but I do hope to meet you at an event in the future.

Jon Hilton BSc (Hons) FIMechE CEng
Technical Director – Engine Division
Renault F1 Team

Committee Members

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