RML Motorsport

08/04/2008

In a strange twist  RML, the current LMP2 champions were "delighted" to finish in fourth place after six gruelling hours of motor racing in the Le Mans Series 1000 Kilometres of Catalunya in Barcelona yesterday.

Having won two out of five races last year, and successfully taken the Le Mans Series title, Mike Newton and Thomas Erdos might have been expected to feel disappointed to finish fourth in the new season's opening race, but far from it. After struggling for pace throughout two days of practice and qualifying, and carrying a significant power deficit forwards into the race itself, their hopes for a good result had not been high. In the end, excellent teamwork, strategy and characteristic RML reliability saw them through to a five-point tally that exceeded expectations.

"We didn't have the pace, but we had the reliability," said Phil Barker, Team Manager for RML. "To score five points is a great start to the season, under the circumstances." Thomas Erdos, who took the start for RML, admitted it had been "a very hard race. I drove my heart out today, but we were giving away so much of a deficit to almost everyone else in our class that we just have to be grateful for a good set of points at the finish. It's a credit to the chassis and the Michelin tyres that Mike and I were able to set anything like respectable times."

Right from the moment that the lights turned green it was evident that the MG Lola EX265's engine was down on power. Two days of practice had already revealed engine management issues, but this was never more apparent than when the moment came to start racing. "I pushed the pedal to the floor, and not a lot happened!" said Erdos. A slight exaggeration perhaps, but it was apparent to everyone viewing the race that the svelte MG was not as fast as it should be. "The straight-line speed was very disappointing," agreed Mike Newton, co-driver of the MG. "We were having to brake so late into the corners, just to keep ahead – and that was against the GT cars!"

Fortunately, for what the car lacked in pace it more than made up for in handling and mechanical grip. Through the tight and twisty sections the MG was without peer. "Over the winter, we've done two major developments on the car," explained Newton. "The engine is something everyone knows about, but we kept quiet about the chassis, and that detailed work has certainly proved its worth today." Everyone concerned was keen to give credit to the RML personnel who had worked so hard to build a reliable, confidence-creating car. "What we did today was make sure we'd produced a car that would go the distance," said Phil Barker. "The guys put it together really well, and the drivers were able to secure some very valuable points."

The RML team, in association with engine specialists AER, have made great strides forwards in the few weeks since the official test at Paul Ricard in March, when two engines failed. "It's a very new unit, and to be reliable first time out is a big plus for us," said Thomas Erdos after Barcelona. "I'm really chuffed with the result, but we do need to go a bit quicker!" The opportunity to achieve that will come on April 27th in three weeks' time, when Round 2 takes place at Monza in Italy.

Notes to Editors:

High quality copyright free images are available for download at:

www.mg-lola.com

For further information please contact RML Group:

Chris Burke-Martin – Sales and Marketing Manager

Tel:  +44 (0) 1933 402440 

Email: chrisbm@rmlmallock.co.uk

RML Group Background

RML was founded by Ray Mallock in 1984.

RML Group comprises six divisions; Motorsport, Automotive, Engines, Historic, Events and X-Pro.

Based in Northamptonshire, England, the company's 4,300 square metre facility includes full design, development, manufacturing and operational support for automotive engineering projects.

RML has achieved success throughout motorsport categories including GT/sportscars, touring cars, rally cars, single seaters and oval speedway cars. In 2008 RML is again competing in the FIA World Touring Car Championship, the Le Mans 24 Hours, and will defend their LMP2 Le Mans Series title. Last year RML produced the spectacular Mercedes Benz Mclaren SLR 722 GT. 

RML work together with a number of specialist official suppliers and technical partners including Autoglym - www.autoglym.co.uk, Beissbarth UK - www.beissbarth.co.uk, DuPont Refinish - www.dupontrefinish.com and Chicago Pneumatic - www.cp.com.

More information on RML is available at www.rmlmallock.co.uk

AD Group Background

The AD Group is the principal sponsor to the RML Le Mans Series and Le Mans 24 Hour LMP2 team. 

AD Group with its headquarters in Warrington, England, was established in 1997, its primary objective being to create and bring to market leading edge CCTV solutions. The pioneering nature of the Group's products, with the emphasis very much on R&D, has undoubtedly been a critical element in AD's success to date.

AD's growth has been remarkable, with turnover soaring from £930k in 1998 to £93 million in 2004, a fact recognised when the Group came out on top in the prestigious Deloitte Indy 100 award for the UK's fastest growing companies.

The principal shareholder of AD is Mike Newton who founded UK CCTV giant Dedicated Micros in 1982 which ranks No1 globally for multi channel digital video recorders. In 2001 Dedicated Micros became an integral part of AD Group. Since that time all AD companies have been able to take advantage of a shared technology base, offering the potential for flexible CCTV solutions on the ground, in the air and on the move. Members of AD Group include: AD Aerospace, AD Aviation, AD Network Video, ChipWrights, Dennard, Dedicated Micros, D-Tec, RemGuard, TSS and TES.  More information on AD is available at www.ad-group.co.uk.

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