More than 700,000 people are expected to attend a British motorsport event in July as the UK celebrates its position at the forefront of the global motorsport industry.  

July is the most popular month for UK motorsport and spectator numbers have never been higher. Last year’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone attracted a record-breaking crowd of 480,000 F1 fans, and a similar number are expected for the 2024 fixture (4-7 July).  

The Goodwood Festival of Speed, Formula E London E-Prix, and British Touring Car Championship round at Croft that follow on consecutive weekends in July will take the spectator total beyond 700,000 – even before a busy schedule of more than 100 club events up and down the country are taken into account.  

National Motorsport Week (11-21 July) celebrates the UK’s position as a world leader in motorsport, and its far-reaching impact on all aspects of the sport from grassroots to world championship level competition, as well as on the UK economy and the nation’s communities.  

Community involvement is an integral part of the UK motorsport scene, and this year’s nationwide event will celebrate this by shining a spotlight on the role of volunteers whose valuable work ensures the sport continues to flourish.  

The UK is a breeding ground for top-tier racing talent. Lando Norris’s victory at the Miami Grand Prix in May extended Britain’s lead in the national standings for race winners to 309, while Britain’s seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton leads the all-time list of F1 race winners with a total of 103 victories.  

Away from the track, the UK is home to a thriving team and manufacturing base, with seven of the 10 F1 teams located within an hour of each other in the midlands region known as ‘Motorsport Valley’. These teams are part of a national network of around 4,500 companies involved in the motorsport and high-performance engineering industry that has an annual turnover of £9 billion and employs 40,000 people. This network continues to inspire future top-talent to consider motorsport as a rewarding and exciting career pathway.  

UK motorsport is underpinned by a thriving club-level scene, and 70,000 licence-holding competitors regularly take part in events run by 676 registered motor clubs.   

“Our unique combination of history, community and variety of competition is what makes the UK a leader in motorsport, and that’s something to be celebrated,” Hugh Chambers, CEO of UK motorsport’s governing body, Motorsport UK, said. 

“National Motorsport Week is an opportunity to recognise the strength of UK motorsport and the wealth of opportunities and benefits it brings at a professional, recreational and community level.   

“The engine that drives all of this is participation, and in the UK we are fortunate to have a motorsport scene that has never been more accessible. The visibility of our sport in July is the perfect time to inspire fans and spectators to get involved and maintain our position at the pinnacle of the sport. We hope that National Motorsport Week will serve to sow the seeds of inspiration for motorsport lovers, no matter their current level of participation or involvement.”