As we race towards the end of summer, it is now less than one month until the 2025 edition of CTS – the United Kingdom’s leading motorsport engineering and technology trade show hosted by Diagonal client the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) – takes place at The Wing at Silverstone Circuit on 15-16 October. To discuss the upcoming two-day event and all facets of the MIA’s pivotal role in the UK’s thriving motorsport sector, Diagonal’s Managing Director, Matt Bishop, sat down with the MIA’s CEO, Chris Aylett, for the latest episode of our ‘Up to Speed’ interview series.
Chris, 78, had an unlikely path into motorsport which all started with him washing the wheels of two vintage Aston Martin race cars. Having first admired them while he regularly hung over a gate post as he waited for his local bus, he plucked up the courage to ask the owner if he could be of any help, and was rewarded with a sponge and soapy water. Chris quickly rose through the ranks and, after a short while, he was entrusted with driving the cars to race meetings, and then taking the wheel on-track himself.
Speaking to Matt from the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Clubhouse, which overlooks turns six, Brooklands, and seven, Luffield, of Silverstone Circuit, Chris explained how he went on to spend time racing sports cars such as the McLaren M8, which was originally piloted by the founder of McLaren, Bruce McLaren, and the 1967 Formula 1 World Champion, Denny Hulme, before organising his very own race series, the Steigenberger Supersports Cup, and leading a sports industry association. Having developed a keen understanding of the motorsport and sports sectors at a wide variety of levels, he was approached to start a motorsport industry association and, along with five others, in 1996, the MIA was born.
The MIA, the UK’s only motorsport trade body, has since left a mark on the motorsport scene across the world. The UK is widely considered to be the home of global motorsport and Motorsport Valley®, which the MIA represents, is at the epicentre of that success. It works hard to support its hundreds of members, which include Formula 1 teams, WEC teams, WRC teams, race series such as fellow Diagonal client the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), and a vast panoply of suppliers who design, manufacture, and market high-tech systems and state-of-the-art componentry for use by race teams all over the world.
The success of its work, its impact on the UK motorsport industry, and the thriving health of Motorsport Valley® was outlined earlier this summer in a report conducted by Grant Thornton in collaboration with the MIA. It detailed immense growth, revealing that the UK motorsport and engineering services sector reached sales turnover of £16billion in 2023 – increasing from £9billion in 2012 – and now employs 50,000 people. Other findings included 89 per cent of UK motorsport businesses generating export revenue, and 93 per cent making international business decisions from within the UK, underlining the UK’s strategic role. That success has been recognised by the jewel in motorsport’s crown, F1, too. Today, seven of the 10 teams on the grid have bases in Motorsport Valley®, and the Cadillac Formula 1 Team has set up one of its bases here.
Chris and Matt went on to discuss the MIA’s forward-thinking role in shaping the motorsport industry’s strive towards carbon neutrality, better known as operating at net-zero. Having run the Energy Efficient Motorsport Conference for more than 20 years, the MIA has helped ensure that the UK is at the head of various environmental advancements made across the engineering scene, adding to its value, and fueling an industry-wide hunger for innovation.
Thus the prestige of Motorsport Valley® has not gone unnoticed by the UK government. Chris spoke about a recent visit he made to 10 Downing Street alongside various notable figures from the world of F1 – including the CEO of the Formula One Group, Stefano Domenicalli, legends of the sport such as Sir Jackie Stewart, and a plethora of current team principals and drivers – to celebrate 75 years of F1 and discuss the motorsport industry’s national value, especially regarding national investment and creating STEM opportunities for young people.
With CTS25, the MIA’s flagship annual event, on the horizon too, Matt and Chris spoke about its value to MIA members and personnel from across the motorsport industry. The event, which begins in less than four weeks, is free to attend and offers a rare opportunity for anyone who works in the motorsport industry – whether they are an MIA member or not – to connect with like-minded individuals, share expertise, and grow their network. It will feature around 100 exhibitors, a list of which you can find here, and will attract hundreds of representatives from global championships, manufacturers, and race teams.
Behind the scenes, our team managed the technical side of the interview production. We utilised a three-piece camera setup that featured professional-grade equipment, high-quality microphones, and a complex lighting setup to present Chris, Matt, and our fitting Silverstone background professionally.
Once filming was complete, we shifted our attention towards post-production and produced a primary 40-minute cut that exhibited all areas of the MIA’s journey, work, goals, and events, amplified its key comms messages, and reinforced its position as a revered national organisation. The full video, which we subsequently distributed on the Diagonal Comms YouTube channel, was joined by a compact cut that focused on the key attractions of CTS25, and an eight-minute highlight video to give a taste of what the MIA is all about.
