21/08/2009
NEWS STORY
McLaren Applied Technologies (MAT) has announced its involvement in a not for profit partnership with UK Sport, English Institute for Sport, Scottish Institute for Sport and key GB medal winning sports, to supply Formula 1-style technology to British coaches and athletes in their quest for medals at World and European Championships as well as future Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
MAT will work closely with the UK high performance systems to provide instrumentation, telemetry, modelling, simulation and other technical advice to sports such as cycling, canoeing, rowing and sailing. These four sporting disciplines, and many others, will benefit from cutting-edge electronic technology that has been pioneered on the racetracks of the world, and used by Lewis Hamilton and the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The project has been designed with a longer-term view in mind, which will enable coaches to understand and use data telemetry with a view to developing programmes and working methods that will benefit future generations of athletes.
In addition, MAT will also engage in a detailed problem-solving initiative, using their high performance know-how and experience to help provide support in solving problems in a number of other key areas.
With Great Britain winning 47 medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 102 at the Paralympics – the country's greatest medal haul in 100 years – both parties are optimistic that this partnership will increase the considerable momentum as British sport seeks to compete and win more medals on the world stage.
Scott Drawer, UK Sport's Head of Research & Innovation, said: "We can all learn a tremendous amount from McLaren Applied Technologies; and they will also benefit from the experience and insights from the UK high performance sporting system. Their experience and knowledge of advanced instrumentation, telemetry and simulators is second to none and we're really excited about the future potential of this partnership. What's most exciting is that we're not only improving our chances of medal success now but simultaneously establishing a state-of-the-art technical coaching system for many future generations of young athletes – and that's got to be good news for British sport. This partnership involves many of our key partners in the UK high performance network and is a reflection of the common emphasis and sharing that will help the UK make further performance advances."
Dr Caroline Hargrove, Project Manager for McLaren Applied Technologies, added: "McLaren has been pioneering the use of electronic telemetry in Formula 1 since the 1980s and we have also developed the technology across a wide array of practical application away from the racetrack. Obviously, using telemetry to improve sporting performance is a natural fit for McLaren, but, as a British company, it's absolutely fantastic to be able to use our skills and expertise to help a future generation of athletes to achieve their very best."