The 2018 Motorsport Season Kicks Off in Style with Autosport International

Autosport International took place in the Birmingham NEC from 11th-14th January. Some 95,000 fans descended on the NEC’s halls to see a brilliant selection of cars as well their racing heroes such as Sébastien Ogier and Nigel Mansell.

The opening day of the show saw the launch of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship. The drivers and the teams were all present to unveil their 2018 cars and talk to the media. Defending world champion Sébastien Ogier said: “It was fantastic to launch the new WRC series at Autosport International in front of so many true motorsport enthusiasts.” The 2018 World Rally Championship kicks off with the icy alpine passes above Monte Carlo on Thursday 25th January. The first stage of the championship is the famous Thoard – Sisteron stage on Thursday night in complete darkness to provide the crews with an extra challenge to start the year.

The Ford Fiesta WRC of Sebastien Ogier is on show to the public.

Formula 1 World Champion and IndyCar Cart champion, Nigel Mansell CBE opened the show to the public on Saturday and Sunday. He also spoke on the Autosport Stage on both days.

On Saturday Nigel Mansell was joined on stage by Billy Monger; this was a very special moment for all present with Mansell turning to the eighteen year old and saying “When I raced for Ferrari, the called be ‘Il Leone’, the Lionheart. You are the young Lionheart Billy.” Billy Monger appeared in the Live Action Arena throughout the show as a member of a Mission Motorsport stunt team in specially-adapted Jaguar F-Types.

Billy Monger in the Live Action Arena.

The live action arena featured a vast range of cars, from NASCAR to Rallycross and Stock cars. The show was hosted by David Croft and YouTube star, Shmee150. The hour long show was very popular with thousands of fans filling the stand.

In the main hall fans were treated with a plethora of motorsport machinery. Several of the 2018 BTCC cars were on show including Rob Austin’s new Alpha Romeo. Five BTCC champions – Ashley Sutton, Matt Neal, Gordon Shedden, Colin Turkington and Andrew Jordan – were at the show to sign autographs and take interviews on the main stage.

Ashley Sutton in the autograph signing area.

There was also a large selection of Formula 1 cars on display including the Ferrari F1 car for 2017 which was situated within the Ferrari display. The Prancing Horse stand also featured the FXX-K Evo, the 488 Challenge cars as well as many other famous Ferraris.

As is common with the Autosport International show, there were many launches throughout the weekend. Ginetta unveiled its new LMP1 racer that is set to take on the Le Mans 24 Hours later this year as well as the Word Endurance Championship. Invictus Games Racing took the cover off its new Jaguar F-Type SVR GT4 which will be driven by a select group of wounded, injured and sick British Armed Forces veterans in the 2018 British GT Championship which will start at Oulton Park in March.

Invictus Games Jaguar F-Type SVR GT4 on display.

Also on display was the Bloodhound SSC, the car that will attempt to beat the world land speed record and in the process it will be the first land vehicle to reach a speed of 1000mph. A combination of very advanced technology from the Aerospace industry as well as the Automotive industry give the car over 130,000 horsepower.