William Kimberley says Richard Parry-Jones is in a unique position to assess how motorsport can assist the mainstream automotive industry, and help itself in the process.
The key topic on the Powertrain day at the World Motorsport Symposium was “How can Motorsport Secure its Future?” While most of the speakers were involved in the motorsport industry one way or another, there was also a presentation from someone who has had a motorsport involvement, both professionally and as a competitor, but whose whole career was in the mainstream automotive industry.
Some may remember Richard Parry-Jones for his involvement with the ill-fated Jaguar F1 team, but that was just a fringe job to his then day job which was as Ford’s chief technical officer. That role involved him heading a technical staff of 30,000 engineers, scientists, designers and business professionals in North America, Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region, including the Ford, Lincoln, Jaguar, Volvo, Land Rover and Aston Martin brands.
“How can the motorsport industry play a greater role in strengthening or contributing to the mainstream automotive industry?” asked Parry-Jones when starting his presentation. “It’s a really good time to ask that question. The industry is facing significant change which means fresh opportunities. Reflecting on this from an historical perspective, the last time this happened was just over 100 years ago when the same rate of technological change was going on in the industry as is going on today.
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Article taken from Race Tech Issue 124
(www.racetechmag.com)
