More geek than nerd. Less geeky than I like to think I am, but more nerdy than I wish I was. Father, F1 fan, veg grower, boardgame player & frequent traveller.
I'm taking a break from Twitter. It's not what it was. I joined Twitter as a more grown up and reasonable platform than the alternatives more than a decade ago. It's now full of porn bots, hate, click bait and manipulative content. It is not good.
@F1Chat@theparcferme At least the manufacturer championship is. Still feel it'll be a hard push for someone to beat Max. At least now it's not pure fantasy, to think of someone else winning. Nobody would have asked the question last year. #f1chat
A phenomenal couple of months for the UK's booming automotive industry:
▪️ British supercar manufacturer Gordon Murray Automotive opened a new £50 million factory and global headquarters at Highams Park in Surrey.
▪️ Caterham opened a new multi-million pound factory in Dartford which has increased the firm's production capacity by 50%.
▪️ Bentley Motors broke ground on a new multi-million pound Paint Shop facility as part of a wider £2.5 billion investment programme at its manufacturing plant in Crewe.
▪️ The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team is set to create 500 new jobs after securing approval for a £30 million expansion of its Brackley F1 factory.
▪️ Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is creating 250 new jobs in the West Midlands to support its £15 billion electrification programme. The roles are based at JLR’s Gaydon Engineering Centre in Warwickshire and the recently opened £250 million Future Energy Lab in Whitley, Coventry,
▪️ Aston Martin announced plans to create more than 400 new jobs at its Gaydon and St Athan plants to support the production of its next generation of sports cars and the DBX707 SUV.
▪️ Rolls-Royce Motor Cars secured planning permission for a major expansion of its Goodwood manufacturing plant in West Sussex.
▪️ Stellantis announced plans to build electric vans at its Luton plant from next year, securing the site's future and more than 1,500 jobs.
▪️ Ford Motor Company opened a new £24 million facility at its UK headquarters in Essex, reaffirming the Dunton Campus’ vital role in delivering Ford’s European electric vehicle plans.
▪️ Tata Group's new £4 billion manufacturing plant, which is expected to create 4,000 direct jobs and thousands more across the supply chain, will be built at the 620-acre Gravity Smart Campus in Bridgwater, Somerset.
▪️ Expected to create more than 2,500 jobs, a huge expansion of MIRA Technology Park - already home to over 35 major firms including Aston Martin, Polestar, Triumph, GKN and JLR - has been approved.
▪️ Production of the new, fifth generation MINI Cooper started at BMW's Oxford plant. Supported by a £600 million investment programme, the factory is also preparing to build two new all-electric MINI models from 2026.
▪️ American-owned motorsports giant Andretti Global opened a new 48,000 sq ft factory at Silverstone Park in Northamptonshire
▪️ British supercar manufacturer McLaren celebrated the 20th anniversary of its c£300 million McLaren Technology Centre in Woking - one of the most remarkable industrial buildings in the UK, if not the world. #UKmfg
@RBR_Daily@Motorsport What's the point of Renault being in F1? Market a minor brand in your group, running another companies engine. Team has sub par performance. It's crazy. Why? Sell to Andretti for goodness sake. #F1#f1chat
@RealTimVine Or in the box all players except the goalkeeper have to constantly chant their captain's name, if they run out of breath they have to leave the box. The Kabaddi rule!
@MrCarFacts I remember a PR stunt where I think it was South Yorkshire police had a dragster, wheely bars, all the decals and blues and twos. A car mag had a great photo of it pulling over a 911 and giving the guy a ticket. Took it to car shows as a PR exercise.