Apex Circuit Design

Apex to attend PMW Expo

Clive Bowen presentation Q&A with Clive Bowen in the lead up to major European trade show

Clive Bowen Managing Director of Apex Circuit Design Ltd. is attending the Professional Motor Sport World Expo in Cologne, Germany next week. Sam Collins sat down with him to find out more;

You are presenting a paper at PMW what is it about?

I’m going to talk about the recently created FIA Institute Facilities Improvement Programme, funded by the FIA Motor Sport Safety Development Fund, administered by the FIA Foundation, run by the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety and Sustainability.

I know that sounds quite a mouthful, but the initiative is very generous and is relevant to race circuit project developments around the World, whether existing or planned. This grant funding should encourage commercially and environmentally sustainable projects in the future.

The FIA Institute launched three initiatives this year to provide support to the motor sport industry, of which the Facilities Improvement Programme is one. The other two initiatives seek to improve the quality of training for marshals and officials in motor sport and provide for additional and better mechanisms to develop and train young drivers, especially in emerging markets.

The idea is that grants will be awarded by the Motor Sport Safety Development Fund each year to a number of projects. Each will have to have qualified first with – and through - their national ASN [the sporting representative for the FIA in each country], who will then apply to the FIA Institute for a grant. Those projects that qualify will be provided with funding for a number of services to be provided to each project including a master plan, environmental sustainability advice and a commercial assessment by the Apex team acting as the FIA Institute's Facility Advisory Partner.

There’s a panel discussion too?

I'm chairing a panel discussion made up of a key group of people in this industry, which will be talking about the notion of planning and designing motor sport venues. The word sustainability has crept into the vernacular of motor sport and most people appreciate now that if motor sport is to have a future, it needs to be able to tick the right boxes to support itself. It also needs to inform its detractors that in fact there are mechanisms in place to reduce the impact the sport has and it needs to draw attention to the fact that the sport is not as bad as people would like to make out. Most importantly of all this discussion should explore the recognized strategies to ensure that there is some kind of long-term future for motor sport and motor sport destinations in particular. So it should be quite a lively discussion.

Will you and other Apex staff be available throughout the show?

Yes though we do not have a stand. We will be much in evidence, five of the design team plus our press officer will be there on Wednesday and Thursday to meet delegates and to discuss projects.

The PMW Expo runs from 3rd to 5th November at the Koelnmesse, Germany. It is strictly trade only. Clive Bowen’s paper entitled ‘FIA Facility Improvement Programme: an introduction’ will be presented as part of the Professional Motor sport Circuit Owners, Investors and Suppliers Forum, which will also include the panel discussion.

Registration and further details can be found here: http://www.professionalmotorsport-expo.com/