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19^th February 2007 (Source: Motorsport Development UK )

Motorsport Development UK is pleased to announce the appointment of four new members to its Advisory Board. Sir Robin Miller, Brendan Connor, Stuart Higgs and Mark Hughes have joined the long-standing members of the Motorsport Development UK Advisory Board.

Motorsport Development UK’s Chairman, Mr. Bob Gilbert, said ‘I am delighted that we have been able to secure such high calibre additions to the Board. Robin, Brendan, Stuart and Mark bring with them a wealth of relevant experience which will reinforce the Board’s ability to provide valuable strategic input into the work of Motorsport Development UK’.

Profiles of new Board members

Sir Robin Miller

Robin Miller was Chief Executive (1985-98 and 2001-03) and Chairman (1998-2001) of Emap plc, one of the UK’s leading media groups with businesses including consumer and trade publishing, commercial radio and music TV channels and events. At Emap he participated in their entry into commercial radio with the acquisition of a stake in Kiss FM followed by the acquisition of Radio City, Transworld and Metro Radio.

Since 2003, Robin has been senior media advisor to HgCapital, a leading investor in the European private equity market with funds under management of some £900million, where he participates in the evaluation of media and music investments, and is currently Chairman of two of their recent investments, Boosey & Hawkes and Clarion Events. He has also been Non Executive Director of Channel Four Television, and is currently Chairman of their New Business Board, and has been Non Executive Chairman of HMV Group.

Robin is also currently a Senior Non Executive Director of Mecom Group plc, Chairman of Ibis Media VCT 1 & 2 plc, Chairman of Edge Performance VCT plc, a Non Executive Director of Arts Alliance Media, a Trustee of Riders for Health and Sport England’s Ambassador for golf and motorsport.

Brendan Connor

Brendan is Chairman of CENEX (The Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell Technologies) which is based at Loughborough University. CENEX is funded by the DTI and led by a consortium of UK automotive systems companies and representative bodies. Brendan is also currently on the Board of Advantage West Midlands (AWM).

He was Chief Executive Officer of Cosworth Racing between 2001 and 2003 during which it provided engines to Formula 1 teams (Jordan, Jaguar, Minardi), IRL (Chevrolet), CART and WRC. He has held senior general management positions in TRW and Lucas and currently holds a number of Non Executive Board appointments. He is a Trustee of the Royal Air Force Museum and a number of other charities.

Stuart Higgs

Stuart Higgs is the Series and Race Director for the British Superbike Championship.  He established MCRCB Events Limited (the events management operation of the Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board) in 2004 in conjunction with the Association of Motor Racing Circuit Owners. He is responsible for the general series management and the organisation of BSB, the world’s premier domestic motorcycle racing championship as well as the British rounds of the World Championships for MotoGP and Superbike. 

In 2001 Stuart was appointed Director of Racing for the Silverstone based British Racing Drivers’ Club. In this position Stuart was responsible for their race operations business which incorporated the British F3/GT Championship, FIA and FIM International events and the British Superbike Championship.

Prior to taking up a full time position within motorsport he was the Head of Information Technology for a major European bank based in the City of London.

Stuart is also a Director of Racesafe Ltd, a national organisation which he co-founded in 1995 for the recruitment, training and operation of marshals and safety services at national and international motorcycle racing events.

Mark Hughes

Mark Hughes is currently Operations Director for the Bahrain International Circuit. This diverse role has seen Mark work closely with the Bahrain Motor Federation (the Bahrain ASN) and various Ministries and Government bodies. Mark has been involved in establishing numerous domestic race series, developing championships within the Middle East region and creating a driver training academy.

Before his move to Bahrain Mark developed a strong career in motorsport in the UK. His career began when he took the position of Motorsport Manager for the CSMA, where he managed the CSMA/Frizzell Rally Team and established their Motorplex rally and driving activity centre. Mark then became Operations Manager at Brands Hatch. Before moving to Bahrain his final position in the UK was as Commercial Manager at International Motor Sport (part of the MSA), where he grew the sponsorship elements of Wales Rally GB, the British Rally Championship and the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.

Mark is passionate about all UK motorsport and has witnessed first hand the growing motorsport markets in other regions across the globe. Mark is a National C competition licence holder and competes at domestic level in Bahrain.

Notes for editors

About Motorsport Development UK

Motorsport Development UK is a private/public sector partnership responsible for spearheading and implementing a five-year investment programme in UK motorsport. It was established in 2003, as a direct result of the recommendations made by the Motorsport Competitiveness Panel report.

The Panel report was commissioned to aid the UK’s motorsport industry in maintaining its leading global position. The Motorsport Competitiveness Panel believed that a series of co-ordinated actions were required in order to ensure that this position was maintained and subsequently grown, in the face of increasing overseas competition and global economic pressures. Motorsport Development UK is working to implement these actions.

Motorsport Development UK’s vision is to:

“To ensure all parts of UK motorsport are developing their full potential, winning business globally and making a valued contribution to other sectors of the UK economy and to society as a whole”.

Motorsport Development UK’s core work is based on the delivery of 5 main programmes, namely:

• A Business Development programme aimed at sustaining, developing and transferring motorsport knowledge and capability
• A Motorsport Academy to further build upon the skills, knowledge and expertise in the UK and therefore drive up productivity and competitiveness
• A Motorsport Learning Grid of inspirational, education based activities, designed to encourage more young people to consider a career in engineering
• Development of Energy Efficient Motorsport (EEMS) in the UK by seeking out new forms of competition using alternative fuels and encouraging the appropriate development environment for road based applications
• A programme to Widen Participation in the sport by attracting more competitors, volunteers, officials and spectators

Motorsport Development UK’s programme is jointly funded by the DTI and four Regional Development Agencies: East Midlands Development Agency (emda); Advantage West Midlands (AWM); the East of England Development Agency (EEDA); and the South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA). Support and guidance is also received from other public sector partners including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Sport England.

Motorsport Development UK brings together the wide range of interests that make up motorsport. It acts as the principal liaison point between the public sector and sector stakeholders; is responsible for co-ordinating business support for the industry; providing advice to those formulating policy; and influencing other networks, agencies and public sector bodies to ensure that every opportunity is taken to support motorsport nationally, regionally and locally.

Motorsport Development UK’s Advisory Board first met in late 2003. The current Chair, Mr. Bob Gilbert, was appointed by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in August 2004.

For more information please visit www.motorsportdevelopment.co.uk or contact Motorsport Development UK on: or .

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