The Race Group

29/10/2026

Our first ever Certas Lubricant Solutions Conference is fast approaching, and we’re looking forward to bringing colleagues together for a day of sharing ideas, shaping our future strategy and, most importantly, celebrating the people and teams who make our business what it is.

As part of the conference, we’ll be hosting the CLS Awards, giving colleagues the opportunity to nominate individuals, teams or themselves across six award categories.

But there’s an award where we think our customers should have their say!

🏆 The Customer Always Award

This award recognises an individual who puts customers first in their everyday decisions, listens to feedback and uses it to drive improvements, removes barriers and goes the extra mile to create better customer experiences.

We want to hear from you! Who in our team makes a real difference to your experience as a customer? Cast your votes here:
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=OYyNGvfpkkuCLtaUu74VSojYAnqzBPBAm0r3-eGbG_pUQk1aQlg4N0s2TDRXSFFWT1cyUzJCQlk1Mi4u

Votes close on 30th October 23:59

27/10/2026

The Top Awards are just around the corner and we’re excited to be heading to Delphi Academy in Warwick on Saturday 14th November for Finals Day!

💡 Did you know that this year’s Finals Day is open to the wider industry? Technicians and garage owners are welcome to come along, watch the competition in action and get involved in plenty of activities throughout the day.

Castrol & The Race Group will be crowning the day’s EDGE Champion, where visitors can put their strength to the test using our Grip Strength Dynamometer. Plus we’ll have our Castrol EDGE AI Photo Booth set up for plenty of snaps 📸

Among the competition sponsors joining the day are our partners, Garage Services Online, and automotive industry charity, Ben, so there’s plenty of reasons to come along and make the most of the event!

23/10/2026

2 weeks on from The Blend weekend, here are some of our favourite snaps.

It was great to catch up with some familiar faces and be introduced to new ones, sit in on numerous breakout sessions (some of which were led by Castrol Service owners!) and celebrate the best in the industry at this years Blend Awards.

Thanks to everyone who made it such a great weekend. We’re already looking forward to the next one!

The Blend Events Garage Hive Castrol

22/10/2026

Dave and Luke enjoyed a fantastic evening catching up with Kirsty and Mark from K and M Citroen & Peugeot, putting the world to rights about all things automotive!

From Castrol and the wider motor trade to the joys (and occasional headaches) of running an independent garage, there was plenty to talk about.

Of course, it wasn’t all work talk! It was great to hear about life outside the garage, catch up on family news and share a few laughs along the way.

It’s relationships like these that make the automotive industry so special.

21/10/2026

We were delighted to be invited to ALLDATA Europe GmbH's Repair Excellence Event at Nev'll Fix It on Saturday, and what a fantastic day it was!

The day kicked off with Tina Drayson, who explored the power of 1% improvements, demonstrating how small, measurable changes can make a big difference to workshop performance. Mick Shaikly followed, sharing how identifying and focusing on top-tier customers can help drive profitability.

Dave and Luke from The Race Group then delivered “Right Oil, Right Car," tackling the confusion surrounding oils that meet requirements versus those that are manufacturer approved.

With ever-changing specifications and regular updates, it’s clear that choosing the right oil can be a real challenge for independent garages. Sessions like these help cut through the confusion, giving workshops the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions and keep their customers’ vehicles running at their best.

A big thank you to ALLDATA Europe and Nev’ll Fix It for a brilliant event! 👏

20/10/2026

A huge congratulations to all of the Top Awards 2026 finalists! 👏

Castrol and The Race Group are proud sponsors and look forward to celebrating the talented technicians and outstanding garages raising standards across the UK automotive aftermarket on 14th November.

We’re especially proud to see so many Castrol branded workshops amongst the finalists!

We can’t wait to see who takes home the trophies!

13/10/2026

What a shortlist, and what an evening!

Congratulations to all of the winners at The Blend Awards this year - a huge achievement against some tough competition.

Castrol and The Race Group were proud sponsors of Staff Recognition Awards, and Dave was thrilled to be able to present the award to Salipa Mwelwa from VMB Autocentres 🎉

08/10/2026

A huge congratulations to The Race Group’s Ben and Ryan from Lindleys, who ran the Manchester Half at the weekend, both finishing with amazing times! 🏃

A great achievement for a great cause!

06/10/2026

An exciting opportunity to hear about Castrol Service from the garage owners that experience it every day.

If you’re at The Blend on 10th October and want real life insight into Castrol Service, come along to Castrol & Race’s breakout session, “From one garage to another” at 1:40PM.

Having been a part of the Castrol Service network for many years, Kirsty and Mark from K and M Citroen & Peugeot can share plenty of their experiences!

A little bit of exciting news from K&M! 😊

We’re heading to The Blend this weekend, and this year we’ve actually been asked to take part in one of the sessions!

The Race Group and Castrol Service have invited us to join “Behind the Brand: Meet the Garage Owners Behind Castrol Service”, where we’ll be chatting with other independent garage owners about our experience of being part of the Castrol Service network.

Thankfully, we’re not standing on a stage giving a big presentation! 😂 It’s going to be a much more informal discussion, answering questions and talking honestly about what being part of the network has been like for K&M.

After more than 40 years of running our own independent garage, it’s really lovely to have been asked to share some of our experiences with other garage owners.

We’ll let you know how we get on!
Kirsty & Mark

05/10/2026

Behind the Brand: Meet the Garage Owners Behind Castrol Service!

This year, during our breakout session at The Blend, garages are invited to hear about Castrol Service from the garage owners themselves. It’s set to be an informal drop in (think speed dating!) where there won’t be one person standing at the front talking to the room. Instead, there’ll be lots of conversations happening at once, giving you the chance to move around, meet different Castrol Service workshop owners and ask the questions that matter to you.

💬 Wondering what it’s really like to be part of the network?
💬 Got a question you’ve never thought was worth asking?
💬 Have you heard something about Castrol Service and want to know if it’s actually true?

So, grab a coffee and come and chat with garage owners who’ve already been there.

📍 The Blend | 10th October
⏰ 1:40PM