David Richards is waiting for news from the Continent. His racing team have been turning their way home from the Andalucia Rally in Spain, and have finally reached Calais after repeated hold-ups. “They haven’t got back yet because they’re still sorting out all the paperwork to bring the cars back into the UK,” he explained. “You’re stopped at every border now. It’s not a straightforward process any more.”
Richards is the chairman of Prodrive, a builder and racer of rally cars for the likes of Aston Martin. A former driver himself, he knows a thing or two about taking on rivals — and he does not think Brexit has done much for the UK’s competitiveness: “For the motorsport industry, it’s been a disaster on a