15 companies located in Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and the surrounding counties will receive a total of £1.14M from the UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board, to carry out 11 research and development projects as part of the Motorsport Valley Launchpad competition. Designed to enable companies within the cluster to collaborate and develop new energy-efficient technologies, the funding will facilitate and accelerate the economic growth of the winning companies and of the cluster as a whole.

Universities and science minister David Willetts said: “The UK is literally leading the global race in the motorsport industry, hosting some of the most innovative companies in the world. The Motorsport Valley business cluster is generating a range of exciting products that are revolutionising the sector as well as supporting growth and helping to create jobs. Through our industrial strategy, competitions such as Launchpad will allow businesses to take their technologies to the next level and keep them on top of the podium for years to come.”

A vibrant business community with global sales of £7bn and exports of £4bn, the Motorsport Valley cluster invests more than £1bn annually in R&D and is made up of 3,500 businesses. It is led by cluster champion the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA), which helps its members grow their businesses and acts as the voice of the industry to government and its agencies.

The 2013 Motorsport Launchpad winners are:

• Advanced Fuel Systems – manufacturer of lightweight flexible safety fuel tanks for vehicles used in vulnerable situations. This project reviews the feasibility of creating new lightweight fuel cells for the motorsport industry

• Axon Automotive – designs and manufactures lightweight vehicle structures and whole vehicles based on carbon fibre technology. The current project sees the company working with a large motorcycle manufacturer to develop a lightweight framework using ‘Axontex’, a specialist material, to deliver high performance

 • Equipmake – working with Delta Motorsport to design a new ‘inverter’ converting direct electrical current (DC) into alternating current (AC) to efficiently deliver electrical power for low-volume production applications. This will allow hybrid systems to be used in motorsport and low-volume niche vehicle manufacturing

• Flybrid Automotive – develops low carbon vehicle technology using a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). This project will develop an entirely new high-speed flywheel-based racing Kart that has no electrical connection to the vehicle.

• Lyra Electronics  – working with SMT Developments developing fast charging systems for race vehicles using either grid supply or stationary generators

• Juno Racing Cars – designs, manufacture and supply specialist racing cars. This project will deliver a composite chassis and crashbox that will be used in both a new sports prototype racing car and a roadworthy car that are both stronger, lighter than current vehicles

• KW Motorsport – developing a new approach to delivering a low cost Carbon Fibre intensive chassis platform making it more cost-effective to produce automotive vehicles

• Oxford nanoSystems (OnS’) – develops radiator systems for internal combustion engines for initial deployment in the motorsport industry. OnS’ project will apply new nanoengineering techniques to race car radiators in order to increase heat transfer, improve cooling, and reduce fouling

• Race Technology – designs and manufactures high technology electronic systems for vehicles and moving objects.  These products are primarily for use in motorsport and road car development, but have been used in applications as diverse as mammal tracking, helicopter tracking, elite sports performance measurement and the safe transportation of premature babies. It will be working with EPM Technology for this competition

• SS Tube Technology – designs and manufactures high performance exhaust systems and heat shields for the motorsport and automotive market. This project will develop a lightweight insulation product with high structural performance at low thermal conductivity and low cost

• Weald Technology – responsible for design, engineering, and lean manufacturing across a range of high-technology sectors, with a particular focus on sustainable transport. The system under development includes a udrivetrain that will deliver an almost instantaneous 1,000 horsepower in a Drag-Racing motorcycle. Its winning project has been in collaboration with GEM MC and Lyra Electronics.