RML Team News
RML Drivers take on Britcar 24 Hours. Issued September 6th 2006

RML Trio in Britcar 24 Falcon

Three regulars from RML's sportscar team take on the challenge of the Britcar 24 Hours at Silverstone this weekend. Mike Newton and Thomas Erdos - more familiar as the driving duo aboard RML's MG Lola EX264 - will be joined by Adam Wiseberg, Motorsport Director at AD Holdings, as well as one other as-yet-unconfirmed fourth driver, in Mike Newton's Ford Falcon GT3.

The car last saw active service, albeit briefly, in the 2003 Nürburgring 24 Hours (above), when the Falcon was an early retirement after only one session of free practice. On that occasion the fourth driver was the unfortunate Chris Maries, whose untimely relationship with the Armco rendered the Australian Ford unfit for purpose - at least as far as a 24 hour race was concerned. With a V8 ripped out of its mountings by the impact and the engine block cracked in two places, there was no going on. "That was our second engine," said a disconsolate Mike Newton, overseeing the repair attempts, and with no spare and no time to source one, the Falcon was quietly put to sleep.

Since 2003 the Falcon has been fully reshelled around an all-new monocoque and the massive V8 engine rebuilt to generate over 600 bhp once again. Soon after Newton and Erdos took victory in the Donington Park round of the Le Mans Series in the MG EX264, they were back on track in the Falcon - a very different kind of car, as Erdos soon rediscovered. "It's great to see Mike's Falcon resurrected once again!" he said, apparently with genuine enthusiasm. "Last time I saw the OZ Tourer, it was looking a bit the worse for wear. It doesn't do to argue with the Nordschleife barriers . . . and the Falcon certainly came off worse! I was supposed to drive it that weekend but never even got a chance, so I had only done three laps around Spa in the Falcon until last Thursday, when we tested at Croft."

This particular Ford Falcon is a little over ten years old, having been built in 1995 by (and for) Dick Johnson, the Australian Touring Car legend. "The engine has a lovely tune to it," purrs Erdos. "It's spectacular too, and it's great watching the car under braking, when flames shoot out of the exhaust pipe after the downshifts. There are no fancy electronics, no sequential gearbox, no downforce . . . and frankly none of that matters. It's great fun to drive !" Over 60 cars are entered for the Britcar 24, and the Falcon will be up against some serious opposition, including the likes of the Rollcentre Mosler and Adam Sharpe's much newer Falcon, but that's of little consequence to the RML trio. "We know the car won't be a competitive machine amongst the current Britcar entry," conceded Erdos, "but that's not what this is all about. This is an exercise in going back to why we all got involved in motorsports . . . to have bags of fun!"

Mike and Tommy have been racing together for almost five years now, and expectations of what the two-times Le Mans winning partnership can achieve shouldn't be coloured by their exploits in the MG EX264. The Falcon is a very different beast, although it could yet pull a few surprises. It will, however, be another opportunity for the two to co-drive. "Sharing with Mike is something that comes second nature to me now," said the Brazilian, "but for this race I am delighted that I'll also be sharing with Adam Wiseberg. He has been a key player in all our racing activities since 2002 and he's also a very competent driver." Wiseberg has raced occasionally in the British GT Championship, as a co-driver in the Emotional Engineering Vauxhall Monaro (recently withdrawn from the Britcar 24 line-up), but perhaps enjoyed his most successful contemporary GT race aboard an RML Saleen S7R in the 2004 Spa 24 Hours, co-driving with father-and-son Ray and Michael Mallock.

As yet the team, known for the weekend as Vision View, is being tight-lipped about the name of their fourth driver, but the squad will be complete in time for practice and qualifying on Friday. We leave the last word to Erdos. " This is going to be lots of fun but, make no mistake, we will do our best to bring the Old Falcon across the finish line on Sunday . . . and who knows, we may upset a few people in more modern machinery!"

More information on the Britcar 24 is available at www.eerc.co.uk, and if you fancy attending the event, print out a copy of the voucher below and then hand it across at the gate. You should then receive £5 off the normal admission price of £25. Better still, book tickets in advance by telephoning Silverstone Circuit on 08704 588260 and quoting Brit 06 in order to gain admission for just £15, courtesy of www.dailysportscar.com.