RML
Industry News
RML at Autosport International 2009
Issued January 12th 2009
RML
is Business of the Year
The undoubted highlight of RML’s 2009 Autosport Show
was the company’s receipt of the Motorsport Industry
Association’s prestigious Business Excellence Award
for “Business of the Year 2008”.
The MIA Business Awards were launched in
1995 to recognise excellence at all levels within the motorsport
industry. On the Thursday evening, January 8th, Ray Mallock,
founder of RML, was presented with the accompanying glass
trophy during the MIA Industry Awards Dinner, when over
five hundred representatives from the international motorsport
community were on hand to witness the event. “I’m
delighted to receive this award on behalf of the RML workforce,”
said Ray Mallock. “It is a reflection of the whole
team’s achievements during the last year.”
What makes this particular award so special
is that nominations are made by fellow members of the MIA,
who then vote for the company that they feel has achieved
something outstanding in their field during the course of
the previous year. Some evidence of that achievement graced
the MIA’s own stand in the form of one of the RML-engineered
McLaren Mercedes SLR 722GTs.
Performance
with Attitude
It
requires some degree of nerve to take what is one of the
world’s most exclusive (and expensive) supercars,
strip out its innards, and then rebuild it as an out-and-out
racecar, but Ray Mallock and his team of engineers had the
skill and imagination to do just that. The result is one
of the most awesome club racer yet created.
As
if the 722GT in standard form was not enough, RML uprated
some 400 components, boosting power from a very “ordinary”
626 bhp to almost 700bhp and 830Nm of torque, whilst simultaneously
shaving some 300 kilos off the overall weight of the car.
RML achieved this with some clever breathing on the 5.4-litre
supercharged V8 and the removal or replacement of some of
the Mercedes McLaren’s more weighty (or extravagant)
components, arriving at an all-up lightweight 1390kg. The
result is a car that is reputed to be capable of 0-60 in
less than 3.3 seconds and a top speed of around 200 mph.
Just 21 of the cars have been built exclusively for the
SLR Club Trophy; a one-make European race series.
Behind
the Barriers
A little over thirty feet away from the
722GT stood the RML AD Group’s MG Lola EX265 that
raced at Le Mans last year. This final evolution of the
original MG Lola chassis that first wowed spectators at
La Sarthe in 2001 was on hand to help promote the work of
the British Motorsport Marshals Club.
The
MG has proudly carried the badge of the BMMC ever since
it first raced in RML’s distinctive red, white and
blue livery in 2003, and for very good reason. Mike Newton
has a long and very close association with the club, having
been a member since 1977, and even now will still take time
out when he can to wear the orange overalls (now with AD
sponsorship on the back!) and stand behind the barriers.
Over the years he (and many other racing drivers) have had
reason to be grateful for the voluntary contribution of
so many dedicated and brave men and women who make motor
racing not only safer, but possible, by attending race meetings
and tests to see to the safety of drivers and spectators.
This support and dedication stretches back
to the very dawn of serious, supervised motorsport, and
this year sees the publication of the first book ever to
be dedicated solely to the story of motorsport marshaling
in the UK. Due to be published this spring, “50 Years
of Motorsport Marshalling” by George Copeland is a
worthy attempt to record the history of the BMMC from its
founding in 1957 through to the present day. Running to
nearly 300 pages, including a 16-page colour plate section
and numerous other illustrations, the hardback book will
retail for £20, plus carriage, and can be ordered
from the BMMC by phoning 01904 431213. We hope to be reviewing
a book here shortly.
Taking
to the Skies
As
well as the RML EX265, the stand also included an impressive
display by AD Group that included an interactive presentation
highlighting some of the video technology products manufactured
by the group.
Part
of this sequence included a replay of the on-board video
from Mike Newton’s alarming accident during the 2008
Le Mans 24 Hours. The footage can now be viewed on YouTube
. . . as well as here. Turn up the volume so that you can
hear Mike’s comments after the incident. Calm, or
what!
Breaking
Ten Tons
Heading
back through the stands towards the main Autosport stand,
now relocated in distant Hall 17, took visitors past the
MIA stand once again, where they could also gawp at the
Eurofighter Typhoon-sourced EJ200 jet engine that will power
the next British landspeed record attempt being prepared
for Wing Commander Andy Green by project director Richard
Noble. In 1997 Thrust SSC set the current record of 763
mph, but compared to the intended top-end of Bloodhound
SSC, that’s pedestrian. Nothing less than 1000 miles
an hour will satisfy the team now. Check out further details
at www.bloodhoundssc.com.
The
trek through nine interest-packed halls from one end to
the other, plus the Live Action arena, demanded several
hours and probably two days to do the Show justice, but
the final destination for anyone following RML’s fortunes
would have been the main Autosport stand in Hall 19. Sharing
a dominant position beside the main stage (with a race-soiled
Aston Martin DBR9) was one of this season’s RML-prepared
Chevrolet Cruze WTCC racecars carrying the name of Nicola
Larini.
Cruzing
in Style
Chevrolet
Europe’s all-new Cruze premiered at the Paris Motor
Show, and represents Chevrolet's ongoing presence in the
World Touring Car Championship, in which the marque so far
has won twelve world championship races. Testing of the
new racecar has already started and, according to RML, is
well on schedule. RML has retained the same driver line-up
for 2009; Larini, Menu and Huff, and with the experience
the team already has with the Chevrolet package, they should
be looking forward to similar, if not enhanced, speed, reliability
and success. The Chevrolet Cruze will make its competition
debut at Curitiba in Brazil for the opening round of the
2009 WTCC, with a further eleven tracks to look forward
to as the WTCC travels round the globe, from South and Central-America,
through Africa and Europe to the Far-East.
In
2008 the Lacetti gave Chevrolet third in race for the team
title, and also rewarded Rob Huff with third in the driver’s
championship. Alain Menu finished ninth and Nicola Larini
eleventh. 2009 sees the squad hungry for more wins, and
perhaps even a shot at the title. Their chances have never
looked better.
The
painting (above) was created by innovative artist
Ian Cook, who uses radio-controlled cars to paint his impressive
and very appealing artwork. Ian was at Autosport International
raising funds for Acorns at Home, a charity caring for sick
children, while simultaneously demonstrating his unique
talent.
Familiar
Face, New Title
Autosport International was an opportunity
for the new name in RML’s marketing department to
make himself known to the motorsport industry, although
Rupert Manwaring required little introduction. As if to
confirm the company’s bold and determined outlook
at a time when many teams and businesses are struggling
to cope with a down-turned economy, RML has appointed one
of motorsports big-hitters to the post of Sponsorship and
Marketing Director.
For
many years Rupert worked at the peak of motor racing; Formula
1. His name has been associated with a string of some of
the biggest and most evocative names in motor racing, starting
at the tender age of just 21 with Surtees F1. He moved from
there to Brabham, where he worked alongside the legendary
Herbie Bash for six years. A brief sojourn in the States
ended when Rupert joined Team Lotus, ultimately becoming
Team Manager in 1989.
A year later, and Rupert had been recruited
by Tyrrell, where he spent four years as team manager before
being appointed Head of Marketing in 1995. When the team
was taken over by British American Tobacco, Rupert left,
deciding instead to set his resources behind to Honda Racing
Developments operation, which he managed until Harvey Postlethwaite's
death. Plans to acquire Arrows came to nothing in the end,
so Rupert teamed up with Paul Stoddart instead, and helped
run Minardi until the minnows’ demise at the end of
2002.
That marked the end of Manwaring’s
association with Formula 1, and he became Managing Director
of Lola Cars. He guided the Huntingdon-based company through
to the celebrations last year of its 50th Anniversary –
an event that was also a significant event in RML’s
2008 season. Having witnessed RML’s success with the
MG Lola from close quarters, including two class wins in
the Le Mans 24 Hours, Rupert was well positioned to appreciate
the company’s prospects. He joined RML in November,
and is replaced at Lola by Robin Brundle.
A
review of sportscar and GT interests at the Show will follow
shortly.
RML
is Business of the Year
Performance
with Attitude
The
MG has proudly carried the badge of the BMMC ever since
it first raced in RML’s distinctive red, white and
blue livery in 2003, and for very good reason. Mike Newton
has a long and very close association with the club, having
been a member since 1977, and even now will still take time
out when he can to wear the orange overalls (now with AD
sponsorship on the back!) and stand behind the barriers.
Over the years he (and many other racing drivers) have had
reason to be grateful for the voluntary contribution of
so many dedicated and brave men and women who make motor
racing not only safer, but possible, by attending race meetings
and tests to see to the safety of drivers and spectators.
Breaking
Ten Tons
Chevrolet
Europe’s all-new Cruze premiered at the Paris Motor
Show, and represents Chevrolet's ongoing presence in the
World Touring Car Championship, in which the marque so far
has won twelve world championship races. Testing of the
new racecar has already started and, according to RML, is
well on schedule. RML has retained the same driver line-up
for 2009; Larini, Menu and Huff, and with the experience
the team already has with the Chevrolet package, they should
be looking forward to similar, if not enhanced, speed, reliability
and success. The Chevrolet Cruze will make its competition
debut at Curitiba in Brazil for the opening round of the
2009 WTCC, with a further eleven tracks to look forward
to as the WTCC travels round the globe, from South and Central-America,
through Africa and Europe to the Far-East. 
For
many years Rupert worked at the peak of motor racing; Formula
1. His name has been associated with a string of some of
the biggest and most evocative names in motor racing, starting
at the tender age of just 21 with Surtees F1. He moved from
there to Brabham, where he worked alongside the legendary
Herbie Bash for six years. A brief sojourn in the States
ended when Rupert joined Team Lotus, ultimately becoming
Team Manager in 1989.