As the Royal Air Force sidecar racing team readies itself for its inaugural season in the British F1 championship, they’re thrilled to welcome Mecsia Group as their new title sponsor. This partnership builds on the solid foundation laid by Artic Building Services, who have been the team’s proud sponsor for the past two years. The Mecsia Group recently visited the Royal Air Force sidecar racing team at their home base in RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire to wish the team well as they embark on their first season in the topflight of British sidecar racing.

Showcasing their new Formula 1 sidecar alongside the older F2 style bike, Driver Rob Atkinson and Passenger Mark Middleton chatted with directors about their hopes for the upcoming season and their enthusiasm for expanding the Careers in STEM programme across all Mecsia Group companies. The expanded program will further support the group’s commitment to delivering tangible social value to our local communities through contracts and associations.

The sidecar team are also sponsored for this season by RAF Engineering and the Mecsia Group is looking forward to collaborating with them to further expand opportunities for young engineers within our apprentice programmes.

Rob and Mark will contest the 7 rounds of the British F1 sidecar championship with 4 of those staged with rounds of the British Superbike Championship – the premier domestic motorcycle series in the World regularly attracting over 50,000 spectators to each event and TV coverage on Quest channel. After a test event at Brands Hatch where the team learnt a lot about the new bike, the championship season starts in Pembury, South Wales on 13^th /14^th April and runs right through to the finale at Brands Hatch in October.

Ultimately, the team still have the world-famous Isle of Man TT races in their sights as the pinnacle of world motorcycling. The RAF have designated a path for the team to take on that journey which will be supported by the RAF Motorsport Association and senior personnel within the RAF. Mecsia and its group companies all wish the team success on the track and look forward to further social value collaboration off it.