Andrew Palmer, the president of Aston Martin, has written to First Minister Carwyn Jones urging him to give the go-ahead to the long-delayed £425 million Circuit of Wales project.
Last year, Aston Martin announced it would open a new factory at a former Ministry of Defence facility in St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan.
The race track was originally expected to be up and running by 2016, but it has twice been turned down by the Welsh Government, with a third bid currently under consideration. Although economy and infrastructure secretary Ken Skates had previously said he expected to be able to make a decision on the application in March, no decision has yet
been made.
In his letter, Mr Palmer said: “I understand you are close to a final decision on the Circuit of Wales investment. I wanted to add my full support for this project as another valuable tool to drive economic growth in Wales. St Athan will start production by the end of 2019.
From that time onwards, I can see Aston Martin using a facility like the Circuit of Wales for customer driving days, owners club meetings and potentially some high-speed and dynamic vehicle evaluation and engineering testing. I hope you are successful in bringing together the various constituents to realise the Circuit of Wales opportunity.”
This is the second luxury-car firm to back the scheme; TVR, which is opening a new facility in Ebbw Vale adjacent to the planned site of the Circuit of Wales, also urged the First Minister to give the scheme the go-ahead.
The Welsh Automotive Forum has also expressed its support for the project. The Welsh Government has said the revised bid is currently under consideration. The scheme was handed a £2 million Welsh Government grant in 2012, and later a £7.3 million loan guarantee.