How the UK helps Renault hear the Marseillaise

But there is one special ingredient that brings the mix to life – the UK’s expertise in motor racing technology.

The Renault Formula One team was launched in 2001. Renault chose to take over a team located in the UK: the Benetton Grand Prix team, in Enstone, Oxfordshire.

Why did Renault choose a UK-based team?

Patrick Faure, President of Renault F1 had a single objective in mind: performance.

“We knew we had to make use of the best possible international talent to build a strong team. When it comes to Formula 1 cars, that expertise is undoubtedly in England's 'Motorsport Valley',”

“Enstone has provided the expertise, talent and innovation we required to mount our current challenge for the championship."

Motorsport Valley is in pole position

‘Motorsport Valley’ is the area in Southern and central England where thousands of specialist motorsport firms have their research, design engineering and production facilities.

These companies’ precision engineering and advanced technology skills are increasingly exploited by the mainstream automotive industry.

Renault utilises testing expertise in the Valley

British testing expertise is one example of the technology available to teams located in the Valley.

Renault uses simulation facilities in Enstone to check the findings of Renault F1’s aerodynamics engineers.

The engineers use a perfect, half-scale replica of the racecar shaped to the nearest tenth of a millimetre.

These models enable Renault F1 to measure the aerodynamic performance of its cars in a variety of set-ups. The testing also validates bodywork evolutions prior to their use in races.

Avoiding error is key

This highly specialised work has been the life of Dave Moore, who manages the model shop, for more than 20 years.

“At the end of the day, if an error creeps into the model, it will be twice as big on the real thing,” he explains.

“All the members of Renault staff who come to work in our workshop are very experienced and what we look for more than anything else is a capacity to work repeatedly to the required level of precision.”

British motion simulation saves time and money

British testing technology means the car can also be driven as if in a Grand Prix while never moving a centimetre forward.

This is due to technology from specialist British companies such as Servotest.

They produce 7-post rigs. The system feeds in every input of the track, every bump and kink, every corner and gradient.

It doesn’t even need a driver, as all this information is already stored in the system as it zooms around the virtual track.

These tests are vital for examining the durability and capability of all the components of today’s Grand Prix car.

Simulated tests save the expense of conducting physical tests. The tests are being adopted by the wider automotive industry.

Engineering expertise takes many forms

Motorsport Valley is not just about testing technology. It acts as a global centre for the production of performance cars, chassis, engines, brakes, suspension and transmission systems, telemetry and more.

For example, when Renault won the Bahrein Grand Prix in 2005,– it was the 250th time that the British company AP Racing made the brakes that won a Grand Prix.

The very first car to win a Grand Prix with AP Racing’s brakes was a Ferrari 312B in the South African GP – in 1971.

And every Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship since 1967 has been won with cars that used its brakes, clutches or both.

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