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Le Mans Series & Le Mans 24 Hours 2007
Round 1, Monza 1000 Kilometers, April 14th-15th 2007
Official RML Press Release. Issued April 12th 2007

Monza - The Countdown Begins

This weekend will see the opening round of the 2007 Le Mans Series at Monza in Italy. After two successful tests this year, the team is eager to get to grips with the season ahead.

RML Group Chief Executive Ray Mallock said “Monza is very much a prelude for Le Mans. We have made a number of changes to the car over the winter months which have been successfully tested but now need to be proved in race conditions. It’s fortunate that the set up requirements for Monza are very similar to Le Mans, so the specification of the car is very much how we expect to be racing in June”.

“We are looking forward to the first round of the season," said Phil Barker, team manager and Director of Race Operations at RML. "This year looks like it will be very competitive, with new cars coming into the championship. However, we have had two very good tests at Valencia and Paul Ricard, and we have learned considerably more about the car, but we are now looking forward to getting started in Monza this weekend”.

“It's hard to believe the Le Mans Series season is starting all over again," said Thomas Erdos. "This year the competition is much stronger and therefore we face a much bigger challenge than in previous seasons. However, I can only feel confident about the season ahead. We have such a strong team in RML. Our LMP programme is now in its fourth year, and this continuity can only make us stronger for 2007. Mike [Newton] and I have been driving together now for the last four years and we have a great deal of experience in the 1000 kilometer races. The MG Lola and the AER engine, as a package, is a very potent and reliable combination. Of course, the challenge coming from Zytek, Radical and the Quifel Lola will be very strong indeed. We may not be in the same position we were last year, where we were very competitive in qualifying, but I am confident our package will be very reliable and over the 1000 kilometers we should be stronger than most."

"Monza is a very fast circuit," he continued, "so we will need to run a very low aerodynamic set-up. The Retifilio and Roggia chicanes are very tight corners where the approach speed is in excess of 180mph. That means we also need a stable car under braking . . . and that's not so easy to achieve when running a low aero set-up! Above all, we must finish the race and score points. The podium is our aim, and we are all very focused on the task ahead. The weather forecast is good, so it should be another Classic Monza 1000kms!”

Monza - Back on Course
The images accompanying this item are from the Monza 1000 Kilometers race gallery from 2005 (visit here). The race was scheduled to be run again in September last year, but as a result of complaints from a small number of local residents - who objected to the noise generated by the motor racing circuit - all events except the Italian Grand Prix were cancelled in 2006. Thankfully these issues have been resolved, and the historic circuit is due to host a full calendar of races again this season. For the latest images of the RML MG Lola EX264, please visit our recent Paul Ricard Test gallery.

RML Group Background
The RML Group comprises seven divisions; Motorsport, Automotive, Engines, Events, Historic, X-Power and X-Pro. Based in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, the company’s 4,300 square metre facility includes full design, development, manufacturing and operational support for automotive and motorsport engineering projects.

RML has achieved success in a diverse range of motorsport categories including GT and sportscars, touring cars, rally cars, single seaters and oval speedway cars. In 2007 RML teams are competing in the FIA World Touring Car Championship, the Le Mans 24 Hours and the Le Mans Series.

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

AD Group Background
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. Dedicated Micros now ranks No1 globally for multi channel digital video recorders, and in 2001 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 by visiting our sponsorship page.