31 March 2020
The Scottish Auto Cycle Union (SACU) and Motorsport UK today announced the conclusion of the Scottish Motor Sports (SMS) partnership.
The partnership was established in 2011 as a collaboration between the governing body of two-wheel
motorsport in Scotland, the SACU, and the governing body of four-wheel motorsport in the UK, Motorsport UK.
The collaboration benefited from historic funding from the Scottish Government through sportscotland which has allowed it to focus on a number of grassroots sports and club development initiatives.
Notwithstanding this, with the current investment cycle ending on 31 March 2020, Motorsport UK decided not to pursue an extension to the current cross-sport collaboration with the SACU via SMS.
The rationale for this decision was driven by Motorsport UK. The SACU are the controlling body of their own sport in Scotland and Motorsport UK is committed to achieving its own strategy for four-wheel motorsport throughout the UK. Motorsport UK do not wish to pursue a different strategy, agreed in collaboration with another sport’s controlling body, in Scotland from that which it pursues throughout the rest of the UK.
Motorsport UK are in discussion with sportscotland in respect of future funding opportunities.
For 2020-2021 sportscotland will focus its available resource on continuing to support development
through the SACU.
As SMS was a partnership between Motorsport UK and the SACU, the end of the collaboration, brings to an end the Scottish Motor Sports partnership.
Hugh Chambers, CEO of Motorsport UK, said, “The partnership through SMS was always likely to be interim, as two governing bodies of different sports will inevitably have different agendas, ambitions and strategies in the long term. I would like to thank our good friends at the SACU for their collaboration in the partnership and for sportscotland in their backing of the project. sportscotland have always been clear that the strategy must be the right one for the sport and we look forward to pursuing additional collaboration opportunities in the future that better align with our strategy that was developed part way through the existing funding cycle.”