Looking back on this year at Bicester Motion is an exercise charged with emotion. There have been great highs, but it is punctuated by the most difficult and tragic period in the site’s modern history.
And it is at this time, when trips to see friends and family fill the calendar, that those close to Dave Chester, Jennie Logan and Martyn Sadler are at the forefront of all our minds at Bicester Motion. But not a day has gone by since Thursday 15 May without thinking of them and their loved ones, and it is clear that the community, both locally and in the automotive world, feel the same.
Our own community, those who come through the gate Dave created to go about their daily work, has changed a lot in the past 12 months, too.
We have welcomed new companies and many of our current specialists have recommitted to the site including Pendine, the historic and now modern classic sales expert, specialist fabricator Olliminium, award-winning distillery Sky Wave Gin and lubricant specialist Motor Spirit.
Meanwhile Kingsbury Racing, with its astonishing Bentley workshop, will soon grow to the entirety of the Main Workshops, Building 99, to double its footprint with its exciting expansion into more modern historic racing.
HiSpeed Ltd, the pioneering motor maker that majors on efficiency, has expanded in the past year to require the Armoury in Building 123 to develop its latest high-tech, bespoke offering. Watching the intricate technology come together has been fascinating.
The fast-charging – and fast growing – start-up TUAL, creator of a remarkable battery-integrated charging solution, has likewise moved from its office in Building 123 to the larger expanse of the Articulated Trailer Shed, Building 135.
We have officially welcomed auction and private sales expert Broad Arrow to the MT Yard, its dazzling array of metal and automobilia in its showroom changing regularly.
Sauber Motorsport, soon to be Audi Revolut F1 Team, opening its new technical centre here, its first UK base in Motorsport Valley, delivered a vested interest in the Formula 1 grid for Bicester Motion. It will be fascinating to see the influence of its technical hive in Motorsport Valley working with the teams in Hinwil as they pursue their fellow manufacturers.
Inward investment from our European friends is also brilliantly demonstrated by University of Oxford spin-out YASA. The axial flux motor pioneer of Mercedes-Benz Group AG has been a very engaged partner this year as its new headquarters grew up out of The Ranges on the edge of the airfield. It took 12 months to go from a sheet of paper to an impressive 90,000 sq ft cutting edge building, and YASA’s team has been busily planning and fitting out its interior since taking the keys in the summer. We look forward to welcoming their teams to their new home in 2026.
We also celebrated Skyports Infrastructure completing its new vertiport and terminal, the UK’s first testing ground and hub for electric vertical take-off and landing flights, while next year TeamSport will unveil an indoor two-level e-karting centre in Hangar 137.
Those activities will ramp up as the new year starts, and the end-of-year break is short at Bicester Motion. On Sunday 11 January the gates will be open for the first Scramble of the year and, like the site, the event continues to grow with more and more people scrambling for tickets quicker than ever.
Perhaps I’m biased but there is no better way to start the year – and it has quite the year to lead into. The Technical Site will celebrate its centenary in 2026 and Building 146/147, which overlooks Gate 1, will take a step closer to its regeneration. It is one of the last remaining unrestored buildings on the Technical Site, having been built in the Royal Air Force’s interwar years in 1926, a time known as the RAF’s great expansion.
We take great pride in being part of this history and we are committed to contributing to its legacy for the next 100 years. This place has always been about the people, their skills, and their friendship. On behalf of our whole team, thank you so much for your continued support.
May I wish your family and you a very Happy Christmas.