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.