November 13th 2026

PMW 2026 Awards winners announced

As always, this year’s PMW Expo has been an unmissable opportunity for engineers in motorsport and high-performance automotive to come together and exchange ideas.

PMW Magazine Awards

The annual awards, this year sponsored by Motion Applied, are judged live at the show and celebrate technical and commercial achievements across the motorsport and high-performance automotive supply chain.

With nominations ranging from innovative data and electronics solutions to cutting-edge safety equipment and advanced powertrain technologies, the judging panel had its work cut out deciding the winners.

The panel this year featured experts in motorsport and automotive engineering, from former Le Mans-winning race car designers to Formula 1 and rallying engineers. The judging process was geared toward technical credibility rather than publicity.

Lawrence Butcher, the editor of PMW magazine, said, “As ever, the standard of entries in the various categories was exceptionally high, encompassing the full spectrum of engineering solutions – from the seemingly simple but perfectly executed through to intricate and complex ecosystems of products.”

Category winners

Data and Electronics Solution of the Year
Winner: Motec – PDM40 power distribution module

Powertrain Technology of the Year
Winner: JCB/Ricardo – JCB Hydromax hydrogen combustion engine

Chassis Technology of the Year – Mechanical
Winner: bf1systems – Porsche 992 GT3 Cup steering wheel

Chassis Technology of the Year – Bodywork and Aerodynamics
Winner: Honpe ProtoTec – Composite Toaster

Safety Innovation of the Year
Winner: Aero Tec Laboratories (ATL) – first fuel cell homologated to FIA 8875-2025

Pit and Support Equipment of the Year
Winner: Fortescue Zero – Pit Boost

Overall Engineering Innovation of the Year
Winner: JCB/Ricardo

Commenting on the results, Butcher said, “Looking across the category winners, the diversity of the motorsport supply chain was evident, with established players such as Motec bringing significant improvements to systems that are already familiar to race engineers, and small companies such as Honpe introducing innovative new solutions with a big impact.”

He added, “The judges were unanimous in their selection of the JCB/Ricardo Hydromax hydrogen ICE engine as both category and overall innovation winner. As an example of motorsport truly acting as a driver for production technology innovation, the project is unmatched in recent years.”

What the Overall Engineering Innovation of the Year winners had to say

JCB/Ricardo won the award for their JCB Hydromax hydrogen combustion engine.

The JCB Hydromax recorded an average speed of 400.623mph (644.740km/h) in its first run at the Bonneville Salt Flats in August and 412.135mph (663.266km/h) on its second run, giving an average of 406.320mph (653.908km/h) – the fastest a hydrogen internal combustion car has ever traveled. It also surpassed the 350.092mph (563.418km/h) world diesel land speed record set by JCB Dieselmax in August 2006.

The vehicle is powered by two of JCB’s own production-based hydrogen digger engines, producing a combined 1,600bhp.

Commenting on the win, Chris Ward, chief engineer at JCB, said, “I’m really blown away. It means a lot that the people and the judges think that we are good enough for the award.”

Richard Cornwell, team leader and performance development/technical specialist at Ricardo, added, “Winning this award is fantastic, and we are humbled. There are just the two here, but there’s a whole team behind this enterprise who put in many late nights and long hours on the testbed. This award goes to them as well. Massive kudos to everybody involved.”

PMW Expo will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year at the Köln Messe in Cologne, Germany, on November 10 & 11, 2027

For more Industry News, please Click Here