Team's Milton Keynes factory targeted on Saturday morning
Monday 8 December 2014 17:00, UK
Red Bull have been left "devastated" after more than 60 trophies were stolen during a break-in at their Milton Keynes factory.
Police were called to the team’s base at around 1:30am on Saturday December 6 after a group of around six men used a vehicle to drive through the front entrance and gain access to the building.
"Once inside, they stole over 60 trophies belonging to the Red Bull Racing team," said Thames Valley Police. "Night staff who were on the premises at the time were not physically harmed.
“Two cars were involved in the burglary. A silver 4x4 which was used to drive through the entrance and a further dark coloured, black or dark blue Mercedes estate car. Both are believed to have foreign number plates."
Team principal Christian Horner says while the trophies had immense sentimental value for Red Bull, they are of little market value.
"We are obviously devastated by this serious factory break-in, which saw offenders drive a vehicle through our front entrance and steal more than 60 trophies which took years and hard work to accumulate," Horner said.
"The break-in caused significant damage and was very upsetting for our night officers who were on duty at the time. The offenders took items that not only did not belong to them, but which represented the efforts of a group of dedicated, hard-working individuals.
"Beyond the aggressive nature of this break-in, we are perplexed why anyone would take these trophies. The value to the team is of course extraordinarily high due to the sheer hard work and effort that went into winning each and every one. But their intrinsic value is low; they would be of little benefit to those outside of the team and, in addition to that, many of the trophies on display were replicas.
"The actions of these men mean it’s likely that we will have to make our site less accessible in the future, which will be unfair on the hundreds of fans that travel to visit our factory each year to see our trophies and our Formula 1 car.
"We would like to appeal to anyone who knows any information on the whereabouts of these trophies or the offenders involved to contact Thames Valley Police."
The incident is similar to the burglary in September 2013 at successful junior formula team Carlin.
If you have any information that may assist the investigation, please contact Milton Keynes Force CID on the Thames Valley Police non-emergency enquiry centre number 101. If calling from overseas, please dial 0044 1865 841148 to contact Thames Valley Police from outside of the United Kingdom.
If you don't want to speak directly to the police, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.
