AUGUST 23, 2002

British organisations form body to promote the sport

The Motor Sports Association, the national governing body of motor sport in Britain, has joined forces with the Motorsport Industry Association to establish the Motorsport Strategy Development Group to combine the efforts of the sport and the industry in the years ahead. Alan Gow, the man who built up the Britsih Touring Car Championship to great success in the 1990s, has been named as chairman of the new body - despite the fact that he is an Australian.

The new body has been formed to look at the development of motor sport in the UK and provide the mechanism for achieving common goals.

"The sport and industry are inter-dependent," says Gow. "The action of one vitally affects the success of the other."

This body is expected to play a role with the Department of Trade and Industry, which is planning to establish a committee to help protect the British motorsport industry.