From the Racetrack to the NEC: Supporting Jessica Fitch-Hall and the Automotive Community
This weekend saw a familiar Sunrise Technologies logo appear somewhere slightly different.
Sunrise-sponsored racing driver Jessica Fitch-Hall was invited to exhibit at Gravity Show 2026 at the NEC Birmingham, with her race car on display with EBC Brakes.
Held on 29 and 30 August, Gravity Show brings together some of the finest modified, performance, classic and race cars from around the world, alongside automotive brands, personalities and thousands of enthusiasts. And sitting amongst them this year was Jessica's race car, complete with a Sunrise Technologies logo on the bonnet, sides and roof.
For us, it was a pretty special thing to see.
A Season of Progress
Our support for Jessica has never just been about putting our logo on a race car. We've been following her progress throughout the season, watching her develop as a driver, gain experience and become increasingly competitive every time she gets behind the wheel.
Moving from karting into cars is a significant step, and this season has been about learning: understanding the car, developing racecraft, finding pace and becoming more confident with every round. What has been particularly exciting to watch is the progress. Jessica is continually improving, and every race weekend gives her more experience to take into the next. That's exactly why we wanted to support her.
Motorsport is competitive, technical and constantly evolving. Progress rarely happens overnight; it comes from learning, analysing performance and continually finding small ways to improve. There's actually quite a lot about that approach that resonates with us at Sunrise.
Taking the Race Car to Gravity Show
The weekend gave Jessica and the car an opportunity to step away from the circuit and into one of the UK's biggest celebrations of automotive culture. Gravity Show describes itself as bringing together vehicles from around the world, from custom builds and supercars to drift and race cars, alongside major automotive brands and personalities.
Jessica was invited to exhibit with EBC Brakes, putting her race car in front of thousands of automotive enthusiasts at the NEC.
Seeing the car there, surrounded by businesses, manufacturers, suppliers, drivers and people who simply love cars, was a brilliant reminder of just how broad the automotive community really is. Because automotive isn't one industry operating in isolation.
Behind every vehicle are manufacturers, component suppliers, engineers, technology businesses, logistics companies, dealerships, motorsport teams and countless specialist organisations working together. And increasingly, technology sits somewhere within almost every part of that chain.
Our Relationship With Automotive Is Growing Too
That's becoming increasingly important to Sunrise Technologies. We already work with organisations where technology, cyber security, productivity and compliance have a direct impact on day-to-day operations. Within automotive businesses, those conversations are becoming particularly interesting.
Modern automotive organisations depend heavily on technology. They handle commercially sensitive information, communicate across complex supply chains, operate increasingly connected systems and face growing expectations around information security.
For some businesses, those expectations can also include frameworks such as TISAX, where customers and supply-chain partners require greater assurance around how sensitive information is protected.
So while our name appearing on Jessica's race car is a visible connection to automotive, behind the scenes we're building something considerably bigger.
Sunrise Technologies Joins SMMT
That brings us to another important development.
Sunrise Technologies has officially joined theSociety of Motor Manufacturers and Traders(SMMT).
For us, joining SMMT is about becoming more involved with the automotive community that we're increasingly working alongside.
SMMT's membership spans virtually every part of the sector, including vehicle manufacturers, component businesses, aftermarket organisations, engineering companies, technology providers and other businesses supporting automotive.
Its membership also provides opportunities for industry networking, market intelligence, technical expertise and engagement with the issues affecting automotive businesses.
Importantly for Sunrise, SMMT also has dedicated working groups covering areas including Cyber Security and Data Protection, demonstrating just how closely technology and information security are now connected with the future of automotive.
We're looking forward to learning from the businesses within that community, contributing our own experience and developing stronger relationships across the sector.
More Than a Logo on a Car
There's a nice connection between everything that's happened over the last few weeks. We're supporting a young racing driver as she develops her career.
That support has taken the Sunrise name from race circuits to the NEC.
We're developing our expertise and services for automotive businesses. And we've now joined one of the UK's most established automotive trade organisations.
For Sunrise Technologies, supporting automotive isn't simply about sponsorship. It's about becoming part of the community.
We'll continue supporting Jessica throughout her season, and we're excited to see how far she can take both herself and the car.
At the same time, we're looking forward to becoming more involved with SMMT and meeting more of the manufacturers, suppliers and organisations that make the UK automotive industry what it is.
