Witham's Bourne High Performance Powertrains won GT races in Guyana in July and in Barbados. MP Priti Patel visited to meet the team and driver Will Redford.

A Witham company that builds racing engines has won GT races in Guyana and Barbados this year. Witham MP Priti Patel visited Bourne High Performance Powertrains to congratulate the team.

Witham is about nine miles north-east of Chelmsford along the A12.

Bourne HPP’s run of results included:

  • victories at the GT Challenge de las Américas at Guyana’s South Dakota Circuit in July
  • further GT3 success in Barbados

The races were won by driver Will Redford, her office said.

A Bourne HPP team member shows Priti Patel a folder outside the workshop as other staff look on
Priti Patel with Bourne HPP staff outside the workshop. Photo: supplied by the Office of Priti Patel MP

Who she met

Ms Patel met Terry Radbourne, the company’s chief executive and founder, members of the team and Mr Redford.

Mr Redford talked her through his training, his racing career and his plans. He also described the preparation, engineering and teamwork it takes to compete at international level.

Priti Patel and a man in a black Bourne HPP jumper stand either side of a racing engine with a blue rocker cover
A racing engine on the workshop floor during the visit. Photo: supplied by the Office of Priti Patel MP

What the company does

Bourne HPP develops and produces high-performance racing engines. It also offers:

  • specialist engine calibration
  • bespoke wiring
  • vehicle engineering
  • trackside support

Ms Patel toured the workshop and heard about the firm’s growth and its plans.

Priti Patel looks at a racing engine with four large intake trumpets in the workshopPriti Patel stands beside a red racing-simulator seat with a young man in a Bourne HPP jumper, the illuminated Bourne HPP sign on the wall behindA young man sits in the racing simulator as Priti Patel watches the screen

3 photos, swipe or scroll. Photos: supplied by the Office of Priti Patel MP

What the MP said

Talks also covered training the next generation of engineers. Ms Patel wants more young people to choose careers in motorsport, advanced engineering and manufacturing.

She said after the visit:

“It was fantastic to visit Bourne HPP and congratulate Terry, Will and the whole team on their outstanding success.

“To have a specialist motorsport engineering business based here in Witham competing and winning internationally is something we should be incredibly proud of.

“It was also great to meet Will and hear more about the training, discipline and commitment behind his success, as well as his ambitions for the future.

“Bourne HPP is continuing to grow and demonstrates the engineering expertise, innovation and talent we have here in the Witham constituency.

“We need to inspire more young people to consider careers in engineering and give them the skills and opportunities to succeed in sectors like motorsport, advanced manufacturing and automotive engineering.

“I will continue to champion Bourne HPP, support their ambitions for further growth and back the highly skilled jobs and opportunities businesses like this create locally.”

A Bourne HPP staff member talks to Priti Patel beside a blue sports car in a workshop bayPriti Patel and a Bourne HPP staff member beside black body panels stood upright in the workshopPriti Patel smiles as a Bourne HPP staff member talks to her inside the workshopA hatchback racing car in red, white and blue Bourne HPP livery with race number 432, parked outside the unitA Bourne HPP team member gestures as he explains something to Priti Patel at the workshop doorPriti Patel and a young man in a Bourne HPP jumper stand outside the industrial units

6 photos, swipe or scroll. Photos: supplied by the Office of Priti Patel MP

What it means for you

Her office did not say how many people Bourne HPP employs or whether it is hiring. For young people around Chelmsford weighing up engineering, it is a reminder that motorsport work goes on a short drive up the A12.

The company’s website is bournehpp.com.

Wide view of Priti Patel and the Bourne HPP team in a line outside unit 12, with a racing car parked to each side
The Bourne HPP team with Priti Patel outside unit 12. Photo: supplied by the Office of Priti Patel MP