2 July 2025
No one would deny that Bicester Heritage has made a huge success of the airfield site, restoring its old buildings and building a centre for classic cars. But is the full Bicester Motion concept stepping too far from preserving the former WWI and WWII airfield?
The news today that Sauber Motorsport is to open a technology centre at Bicester Motion, as part of its Audi Formula One project, is welcome but the image provided with the story shows quite a different airfield.
The simple idea of the WW1 grass airfield was to allow aircraft to land and take-off into wind rather than have direction dictated by fixed runways. The Bicester Motion masterplan image is clear: not any more.
The rationale behind Sauber’s selection of the site is also clear: Bicester Motion’s 444-acre (179 hectare) ‘future mobility estate’ is located in the heart of the UK’s Motorsport Valley. That’s very helpful for the Audi F1 Project as it prepares to enter the Formula One World Championship in 2026. Sauber’s Audi F1 centre will be in Building 123.
Mattia Binotto, Head of the Audi F1 Project, said, “The opening of the Sauber Motorsport Technology Centre at Bicester Motion is a significant milestone as we prepare for Audi’s arrival in Formula 1.
“This facility will allow us to tap into the talent pool in Motorsport Valley and further strengthen our technical capabilities while being part of a thriving cluster at Bicester Motion where you live and breathe motorsport. The support it will play to Hinwil [Sauber’s Swiss base] will be important to our long-term success.”
Daniel Geoghegan, Chief Executive Officer, Bicester Motion: “It is thrilling that Bicester Motion has been chosen as their UK base connecting into their Swiss and German operations to support their vision to deliver sustainability, innovation, and maximum performance in motorsport. They join many other pioneering automotive and aviation companies, along with Motorsport UK, the governing body of this great industry, already based here.”
All very laudable and no doubt good for the UK economy. Motorsport, and all the attached industries, are very much part of the UK skillset.
But please, Bicester Motion, look after that precious site. After all, it’s thought that the first aircraft to touch down at the site was in 1911 and organised flying began in 1916. The Royal Flying Corps, predecessor of the Royal Air Force, set up a bomber base there in 1917. This is a very important airfield and we should go out of our way to retain its WW1 appearance. Heritage is also very much a part of that same UK skillset.
Sauber Motorsport
Bicester Motion
