RML Group

Last updated

Flag of the United Kingdom.svg RML Group
RML Group logo.png
Founded1984
Team principal(s) Ray Mallock
Michael Mallock
Current series BTCC
WTCC
Former series European Le Mans Series
ASCAR
WRC
South African Touring Car Championship
World Sportscar Championship
JWRC
Spanish GT Championship
British Rally Championship
Teams'
Championships		 1995 (BTCC)
1998 (BTCC)
1999 (BTCC)
2001 (ELMS -GTS)
2002 (ASCAR)
2003 (ASCAR)
2007 (LMS -LMP2)
2010 (LMS -LMP2)
2010 WTCC
2011 WTCC
2012 WTCC
2013 WTCC Y. T. Trophy
Drivers'
Championships		 1986 (Mallock, Leslie -C2)
1995 (Cleland -BTCC)
1999 (Aiello -BTCC)
2001 (McKellar, Lambert -GTS)
2007(Newton, Erdos -LMP2)
2010(Newton, Erdos -LMP2)
2010(Plato -BTCC)
2010(Muller-WTCC)
2011(Muller-WTCC)
2012(Huff-WTCC)
2013(Muller-WTCC)
Website rmlgroup.com
RML's former entry in the Le Mans Series, the MG-Lola EX265C Le Mans Prototype RML EX265C.jpg
RML's former entry in the Le Mans Series, the MG-Lola EX265C Le Mans Prototype

Ray Mallock Ltd., also known as RML Group, is a motorsports and high performance engineering company, based in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom.

Contents

Early history

Ray Mallock began building racing cars, alongside his brother Richard, as an assistant to his father, Major Arthur Mallock, who created the Mallock U2 chassis for Clubmans racing. After racing in Formula 3, Formula Atlantic and sports car racing, Mallock founded his team, Ray Mallock Atlantic Racing, in 1979, which he renamed RML in 1984.

Sports car racing

Ray Mallock, a driver for Viscount Downe Racing, helped develop the privateer Aston Martin-powered Nimrod NRA/C2 for Group C regulations in the World Endurance Championship in 1982, 1983 and 1984. In 1984, RML was contracted to build the Ecurie Ecosse prototypes for the C2 class, winning the class title in 1986.

In 1987, RML returned to the main class by developing the Aston Martin AMR-1. The project was closed in 1990, but RML found work with the works Nissan team instead. RML developed and prepared NPTI's Nissan R90CK programme for Le Mans. One of the cars manages to lead the race for five hours and set a new lap record.

In 1999, RML returned sportscars by producing the RML Mallock P20 Supersports Car, in association with Mallock Sports his brother Richard's company. The car won the National Supersports championships in 1999 and in 2000, when it was driven by Michael Mallock.

In 2000, RML created the Saleen S7 supercar initially as a road car, and then the racing version the S7-R, winning the European Le Mans Series in the GT1 class in 2001 and the Spanish GT Championship overall in 2002. In 2004 RML entered the FIA GT Championship with two cars.

Also in 2004, RML ran an MG-Lola EX257 in the Le Mans 24 Hours and Le Mans Endurance Series. After the design became obsolete with the onset of new LMP2 regulations, RML merged components from the EX257 into the Lola B05/40's chassis and bodyshell, creating the MG-Lola EX264, which won Le Mans in the LMP2 class in 2005 and 2006.

The team's car was further upgraded for the 2008 Le Mans Series season, using a new XP21 motor developed by MG, and renaming the car EX265. This car was then replaced before the season finale by a coupe bodystyle, based on the new Lola B08/80. Using components of the EX265, including the MG XP21 motor, the new car was christened the EX265C, and made its debut at the 2008 1000km of Silverstone. [1]

In 2009, the team turned to the Mazda MZR-R turbocharged engine in the back of the Lola B08/80, abandoning the MG moniker, but issues with the spec fuel caused several engine failures over the season, the car finishing only twice over the whole season. For the 2010 season, the team is retaining the Lola B08/80 chassis, but with a normally aspirated V8 engine developed by Honda Performance Development, the same engine used in the HPD ARX-01.

RML competed in the Le Mans Series in 2011 with a HPD ARX-01d LMP2 car, becoming the second team to run the ARX-01 in Europe after Strakka Racing. [2]

In 2012, RML developed a new engine on behalf of Nissan for the unique Nissan DeltaWing RML, as Nissans Motorsport Partner ran the car and provided engineering and technical support at Le Mans 24 hours and Petit Le Mans where it finished 5th overall.

For 2014, RML were engaged to design and build the Nissan ZEOD RC, an innovative racing car designed to run in Le Mans Garage 56. The car was the first to switch between Electric and Petrol powered Propulsion. RML were responsible for the whole vehicle, including developing a high performance lightweight powertrain. The engine was a new RML design, a 3-cylinder 1.5 litre weighing only 40 kg and producing over 400 bhp. The ZOED RC suffered a gearbox failure due to a new part with a material defect early in the 24 hour race, however in practice had achieved the first ever all electric lap of Le Mans and over 300 km/h on in Electric mode.

Touring car racing

British Touring Car Championship

Vauxhall (1992–1996)

Taking advantage of its relationship to Ecurie Ecosse, RML made its debut in touring car racing in 1992, by moving to the British Touring Car Championship. The team ran two semi-works Vauxhall Cavaliers for Ecurie Ecosse for two years.

RML built its first ground up Super touring car the Vauxhall Cavalier RML P7 in 1993, it took RML's maiden BTCC victory with David Leslie at the wheel at Thruxton.

Due to the team's success, RML was awarded with the works Vauxhall contract in 1994 taking over from Dave Cook Racing, winning the championship the following year. The RML Vauxhall Cavalier RML P11 won the 1995 in both the teams and Drivers standings. Vauxhall launched the new Vectra RML P12 for 1996. The season was a transitional year with the team scoring just one victory with James Thompson.

Nissan (1997–1999)

RML's association with Nissan in touring car racing began with the design of South African Touring car championship Sentra RML P8 in 1993. It grew in 1997 moving on from Vauxhall to become the works partner for Nissan in Super Touring, being responsible for the build, development and operation of the BTCC cars as well as the build of the cars for the German and Japanese series.

The team won the BTCC manufacturers' and teams' titles in 1998 & 1999 with RML project numbers P17 & P18 respectively and the drivers' championship in 1999 with Laurent Aïello.

SEAT (2004)

In 2004, RML contracted with SEAT Sport UK to run two SEAT Toledo Cupras in the BTCC with drivers Jason Plato and Rob Huff, at the end of the year RML moved into the WTCC with Chevrolet.

Chevrolet (2009–2011)

RML re-entered the BTCC in 2009, running their ex-WTCC Chevrolet Lacettis for 2001 champion Jason Plato, Mat Jackson since round two and James Nash since round four. Their 2009 campaign has brought good results, taking 11 wins and Plato taking second in the drivers championship. In 2010, RML ran the Works Chevrolet team in the BTCC, winning the drivers championship with Jason Plato. On 1 February 2012, Chevrolet announced that they will be pulling out of the BTCC to focus on the WTCC, therefore RML will not be taking part in the 2012 BTCC season.

World Touring Car Championship

Yvan Muller won his second Drivers' Championship and Chevrolet won the Manufacturers' Championship for the first time in 2010. Chevrolet trio 2010 WTCC Race of Japan (Qualify 1).jpg
Yvan Muller won his second Drivers' Championship and Chevrolet won the Manufacturers' Championship for the first time in 2010.

Chevrolet (2005–2012)

RML won the contract to build, develop and run the works Chevrolet Lacetti in the WTCC from the 2005 season. The Lacetti won 1 race in its first year, 7 wins in 2007 and 5 wins in 2008. In 2009 the new Chevrolet Cruze was introduced and took 6 wins in the first year. In 2010, the Chevrolet team won both the Manufacturers Championship by a substantial 74 points and, with Yvan Muller, won the Drivers Championship. [3] The RML Chevrolet team won the WTCC again in 2011 with Muller and again in 2012 with Rob Huff. On 4 July 2012, Chevrolet Europe announced that the 2012 season will be the last for the Chevrolet WTCC team. [4]

Independent entry (2013)

On 4 March 2013, RML announced they would enter the WTCC in 2013 as an independent two-car entry with Chevrolet Cruzes run for Yvan Muller and new recruit from the closed down Team Aon team, Tom Chilton. [5] Muller will win the 2013 WTCC championship & Chilton finishes 5th overall.

Since 2014, RML develops the Chevrolet Cruze to the new 2014 TC1 specs for various teams, but did not field a team.

South African Touring Car Championship

RML built the works Nissan Sentra for the South African Touring Car Championship.

Rallying

At the end of 1997, Opel decided to cut down its involvement in touring cars, and contracted RML to the develop the Opel Astra Kit-car for the Formula 2 regulations for them in the World Rally Championship and several national rallying championships in Europe. In 1999, the RML Astra won titles in Germany, Norway and Sweden.

In late 2000 Opel assigned RML to design and build the Opel Corsa for the new Super 1600 category, which replaced the F2 kit-cars. The car made its competition debut in the 2002 JWRC class of the Monte Carlo Rally and its first title the following year.

During this period RML were responsible for the build, development and customer support of all Opel Astra and Corsa Rally cars.

Formula One

RML considered lodging an entry for the 2010 Formula One World Championship, [6] however decided against it, citing the current uncertainty over 2010 regulations as their reason for doing so. They were to use Cosworth engines had they submitted an entry. RML have also said they are still considering an entry into Formula One in the future.

Other series

In 2002, RML entered the British ASCAR stock car series, based on ASA-type racing, winning the 2002 and 2003 titles with Nicolas Minassian and Ben Collins. Also in 2002, RML prepared Darren Manning's Team St. George car for the British Champ Car race at the Rockingham race track.

Road cars

RML's engineering skills were used in road-going cars for the first time in 1990, when the company built a small number of Ford GT40 replicas. In 1994, RML created several concept sketches for an undisclosed Japanese manufacturer.

In 1999, RML returned with two different projects, the Opel Astra Concept DTM, a road-going prototype based on the Opel Astra Coupé the German company would debut the following year, and the ground up design of the Saleen S7. [7]

In 2003, Nissan ordered a prototype based on the new Nissan Micra, powered initially by a 265 hp (198 kW) Touring Car race engine (with a 6-speed sequential gearbox), and later by a 309 hp (230 kW) Nismo tuned V6 engine and called Micra R. The car debuted in the Geneva Auto Show.

In 2011, RML showcased the Nissan Juke-R with Nissan announcing a limited production run of 'the worlds fastest crossover' in 2012.

In 2014, RML developed and built the Q50 Eau Rouge concept on behalf of Infiniti Motor Co.

RML Group produced a road-legal converted version of the Aston Martin Vulcan some time before 2018. [8] [9]

In 2021, RML showcased the Short Wheelbase, essentially a modern classic inspired by the famed Ferrari 250 GT SWB. [10] Only a few months later, more details surrounding it have been released. As such, only 30 units will be made and will go on sale at the end of 2021. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Touring car racing</span> Motorsport road racing competition

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Touring Car Championship</span> Auto racing championship in the United Kingdom

The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as the British Touring Car Championship for the 1987 season. The championship, currently running Next Generation Touring Car regulations, has been run to various national and international regulations over the years including FIA Group 2, FIA Group 5, FIA Group 1, FIA Group A, FIA Super Touring and FIA Super 2000. A lower-key Group N class for production cars ran from 2000 until 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rickard Rydell</span> Swedish racing driver (born 1967)

John Rickard Rydell is a retired Swedish racing driver. He won the 1998 British Touring Car Championship, the 2011 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, and has also been a frontrunner in the European/World Touring Car Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvan Muller</span> French racing driver (born 1969)

Yvan Muller is a French auto racing driver most noted for success in touring car racing. He is a four-time World Touring Car Champion, winning the title in 2008 with SEAT, in 2010 and 2011 with Chevrolet and in 2013 with RML. He was British Touring Car Champion in 2003 with Vauxhall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Thompson (racing driver)</span> British racing driver (born 1974)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Plato</span> British racing driver (born 1967)

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Alain Menu is a Swiss racing driver who is currently working for Team BMR as a driving coach. He was one of the most successful touring car drivers of the 1990s, winning the prestigious British Touring Car Championship twice. He drove for Chevrolet in the World Touring Car Championship between 2005 and 2012 with a best finish of second in 2012.

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The 2007 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship season was the 50th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season. It was won by Fabrizio Giovanardi with 10 race wins and 17 podiums. Going into the final race, Fabrizio Giovanardi was one point behind Jason Plato but a second place for Giovanardi and a fourth place for Plato resulted in Giovanardi taking the championship by 3 points. The Teams' championship was won by SEAT Sport UK, the Manufacturers' championship was won by Vauxhall, the Independents' Trophy was won by Colin Turkington and the Independent Teams' championship was won by Team RAC.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">MG-Lola EX257</span>

The MG-Lola EX257 is a Le Mans Prototype racing car built by Lola for the MG car company for their attempt to compete again at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2001. The car has had many years of mixed success since its introduction, even in privateer hands.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 British Touring Car Championship</span> Sports season

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 British Touring Car Championship</span> Sports season

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Next Generation Touring Car, also known as NGTC and by its Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) designation TCN-1, is an FIA and TOCA specification and classification for production based race cars. The specification covers national level touring car racing. The goal of the limited choices in engines and parts in the NGTC classification is to allow more manufacturers and privateers to race by reducing the cost of a competitive car and to reduce reliance on the increasingly expensive Super 2000 equipment. The only significant differences between different models is the external body shells and the use of front- or rear-wheel drive; the suspension, brakes and transmissions are common to all cars, and engines are of uniform performance.

References

  1. ↑ "RML moving to Lola Coupé as of Silverstone 1000km". Planet Le Mans. 4 September 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
  2. ↑ "Une HPD ARX-01d pour RML !". Endurance-Info. 15 January 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  3. ↑ "RML Motorsport News - RML Group - from Concept to Reality". Archived from the original on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  4. ↑ "Chevrolet to leave the World Touring Car Championship at the end of the 2012 season". gm.com. 4 July 2012.
  5. ↑ "RML Chevrolets for Muller and Chilton". WTCC . Eurosport. 4 March 2013. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  6. ↑ "RML decides against 2010 F1 entry". Autosport. 1 June 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
  7. ↑ "StackPath". www.machinedesign.com.
  8. ↑ Lovecars (26 December 2017), ONLY Road Legal Aston Martin Vulcan in the world, archived from the original on 15 December 2021, retrieved 30 December 2017
  9. ↑ King, Alanis. "What It Takes To Make An Aston Martin Vulcan Road Legal". Jalopnik. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  10. ↑ May 16, Semi-Valueon; Pm, 2021 at 12:34 (12 May 2021). "2021 RML Short Wheelbase - modern classic inspired by Ferrari 250 GT SWB with 5.5L NA Ferrari V12 engine - paultan.org".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ "RML Short Wheelbase - Ferrari 5.5L V12 mill detailed - paultan.org". 19 August 2021.
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