Motrio UK has partnered with Edinburgh College’s Edina Ecosse Racing, with the aim to get young people into motorsport and car mechanics.
The team will be entering three cars into the Scottish C1 Cup, a spec racing series launched in 2019, to provide an affordable entry into car racing in Scotland.
The season takes place between the 4th of April and 12th of October across six events at two different tracks. The three Citroen C1 race cars will be using a host of Motrio parts, usually found in everyday vehicles. However, with the extremes of motorsports, these components will be pushed hard on track, with the partnership proving to be a harsh testing environment for Motrio.
The Automotive Engineering Curriculum at the college is designed to give those studying Level 4 Introduction to Transport Maintenance a more experiential learning opportunity. The course is unique in Scotland, providing students with an insight into the world of racing, in terms of both car design and building, as well as race day operations.
Whilst doing this, they are able to put into practice skills they have acquired in their studies, especially in the Scottish C1 Cup. They are also gaining an IMI backed qualification that can help them achieve whatever their chosen automotive vocation may be.
The Scottish C1 Cup
Launched in 2019, the Scottish C1 Cup provides budget entry level racing in Scotland.
To keep the racing exciting and to budget, the Citroen C1 Cup cars run to very simple but tight regulations. The race cars are formerly C1 road cars adapted to race car safety specifications.
“The opportunity to build cars, support drivers and work as part of the Scottish C1 Cup paddock and pit crew has brought amazing benefits and opportunities to our students,” commented Brian Alexander, Automotive Engineering Curriculum leader at Edinburgh College. “It has enabled them to apply their newly learnt skills in a practical and competitive manner.
“At the build stage, the students strip the cars down to a bare shell and then refurbish and rebuild them to a standard fit for the racetrack. As the C1s are essentially modified road cars, the experience gained stands our students in great stead for their future careers, whether that be working in motorsport or in an independent service centre.
“This year we are honoured to receive assistance from Motrio. As Motrio offers OE quality parts we are confident that, in using Motrio parts on our race cars, we can push our C1s to the limit, add greater performance value on track. These are our key reasons for choosing Motrio alongside quality and value for money.”
Three-car team
Edinburgh College will be running a three-car team in the Scottish C1 Cup this year, consisting of Kenny Dock, Henry Gillespie and Marc Nisbet. All three have previous racing experience in the Scottish C1 Cup.
Dock started in the Scottish C1 Cup back in 2019, initially to raise awareness of mental health in motorsport. As a specialist nurse living in Belfast, Dock was very successful in raising awareness and successfully finding funds to train over 40 motorsport marshals on Mental health and wellbeing. In addition, another 20 received specialist training in suicide prevention.
After two years of racing on his own Dock joined Edina Ecosse Racing in 2023 and has gradually worked his way up the grid.
Gillespie is a firefighter from Glasgow and has two previous years’ experience in the C1 cup, during that time he gained numerous new commers wins and one out right race win. Henry’s passion for motorsport was ignited at a young age by watching his dad compete at both Knockhill and Ingliston.
Nisbet spent many years supporting his son Kyle in Karting and Juniors Saloon car Racing before he made his debut in the 2023 C1 Championship alongside his son. A keen karter from the age of 16 Marc is often at the sharp end of the C1 grid and will be hoping to add to his two wins, three poles and multiple podiums this season.
“Given the driver talent we have at our disposal this year we are hoping to be consistently competing at the front of the grid for race wins and podiums,” added Alexander. “If we can achieve that then I would like to think a championship is possible although this will not be easy as the C1 grid is very closely matched.”
*Image copyright Jim Moir, 2025
