But do you know how long the show has been around? Here’s the history… At the turn of the 20th century, few saw a long-term future for the car. Small-scale motor shows existed but were dominated by several shady characters who did the industry’s reputation no good whatsoever. Then, Frederick R Simms, who would later become the founder of the Royal Automobile Club (now known as the RAC), called a meeting in London, inviting all those considered to be the more responsible individuals in the industry.

Simms’ idea was to bring some order to what had become a rash of events promoting the newfangled motor car. This meeting marked the founding of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and just six months later, in 1903, the doors opened on their first show with nearly 200 exhibitors.. There is something utterly masochistic about choosing to slide at 90 degrees while driving round a corner at 60mph. This occurs to me as the G-force slams my head into the side of the reinforced roll-cage for the fifth time in as many seconds. I’m at Goodwood for a day of drift racing, a saloon-car motorsport in which drivers slide or drift around bends. In other forms of motor racing this was a technique sometimes used to block an opponent’s racing line and stop them overtaking; in drift racing, it’s the whole point. In fact, the term “racing” is misleading – in competition, a panel of judges marks drivers not only for speed (usually between 80 and 100mph), but also for angle of attack, execution and style, so the winner is not necessarily the fastest..

It’s a combination destined to get the pulse racing: one Italian supercar, a difficult racetrack, heavy rain and clouds of spray. But stepping out of the 415bhp Maserati GranSport Trofeo and onto the winner’s podium was no race-hardened driver but British supermodel Jodie Kidd in only her third race. (The manic Gumball 300 Rally, which sees petrolheads and celebrities race expensive cars across Europe and of which Kidd is a veteran, doesn’t count.) She isn’t the only female celebrity to excel on the track. Vicki Butler-Henderson, best known as a presenter for channel Five’s car show Fifth Gear, started her racing career at the tender age of 12. By 17, she was working as a racing instructor at Brands Hatch and Silverstone, and in 2004 she became the first woman to win the Maserati Trofeo race at Silverstone.

Her top speed? 178 miles per hour in an Aston Martin Vanquish. If you fancy following in Vicki or Jodie’s screeching tyre tracks, then it’s worth contacting the Motor Sports Association ( www.msauk ) for details of your local club. The MSA also has details of job opportunities and runs a Women In Motor Sports focus group. And if you have four GCSEs at grade C or above, then colleges across the UK can train you to become a motorsport technician – just try the Motorsport Industry Assocation website, www.the-mia , for more.. I didn’t get any initial training as a forensic accountant, though I did go on to qualify as a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). The basic tools for the role are an accountancy qualification and the right mindset; you need to be able to think laterally. A forensic accountant needs to understand the legal system, types of fraud, relevant legislation, interviewing and analysis skills and how to apply them.

You also have to be able to get into the head of the fraudster, which is where the forensic accountant comes into their own Most are employed by the major accounting firms. They can also be found in many government departments, private investigation firms and police forces. The way I came into it was that I was working in an organisation that was the victim of a fraud. The police fraud squad investigating it didn’t have their own forensic accountant at the time so they asked my boss if they could borrow me. That gave me an interest in fraud and then three years later I got a job with the same police force, who had been given the budget to recruit its own forensic accountants.. When I finished my maths degree at Bristol University I took a year out.