This page is a dedication to
the hard-work and determination of the RML mechanics
and engineers who worked so hard to keep the team's
MG EX264 running during the Le Mans 24 Hours of 2005.
Despite a succession of dramas, starting with the
very first lap of the race, and going right through
to the final hours, these men never even considered
giving up, although others might well have sat back
defeated. Thanks to their resilience, Mike Newton,
Tommy Erdos and Warren Hughes were able to press on
to the chequered flag, winning LMP2 against all the
odds.
More
than half these people have returned in 2006 for another
season with RML and their profiles appear in more
detail in the 2006 Team Listing. A few, however, have
moved on, but their contribution is not forgotten.
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Phil
Barker – Team Manager & Race Operations
Director
Under
the prevailing circumstances of Le Mans 2005,
Phil might have been forgiven for losing just
a bit of his cool, but not this man. Ever the
professional, Phil Barker keeps his head while
others in the pitlane might be losing theirs,
and under his guidance the team overcame some
quite remarkable obstacles to secure what must
have seemed an unlikely victory.
His
full profile can be read under the new 2006
Team Listing.
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Alastair
Macqueen – Race & Development Engineer
Alastair
is one of those who has now left RML, but his
expertise was vital to the team's success in
2005.
He
has extensive experience of prototype sportscars
and endurance racing. His motorsport career
began in the late 1970’s and in 1980 he
joined Eddie Jordan Racing. A successful partnership
with Martin Brundle in Formula 3 followed before
he moved to TWR Jaguar in the late 1980’s.
He became part of the successful team that took
the Le Mans 24 Hours race honours in 1988 and
1990.
Further
successful Le Mans and British GT programmes
followed before Alastair took the role of Project
Manager for the hugely successful Le Mans Bentley
programme in 2003. He joined RML at the start
of the EX264 programme, but moved on to fresh
pastures at the end of the 2005 season.
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Michael
Jakeman (Jakey) - Chief Race Technician
Michael
remains with the team in 2006, but was a lynchpin
to RML's Le Mans victory in 2005. As
well as his technical work between sessions,
Jakey is the guy who steps out into the pitlane
whenever the driver is heading back to the garage.
Whether it's to refuel, take on new tyres, or
complete a driver swap, it's Jakey's job to
oversee the smooth running of each pitstop and
release the car back into the race when the
stop has been completed successfully.
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Vince
Mitchell – No 1. Race Technician
Vince
has been with RML for years, and is back again
in 2006 for more of the same.
Like
Paul Smallcorn, Vince seems to be permanently
in a good mood, and when his duties permit,
he'll usually make time to explain technical
aspects of the car and talk to the team's many
supporters.
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Paul
‘Chirpy’ Smallcorn – Fabricator/Race
Technician
Paul
has been with RML for more than a decade, working
for Ray Mallock's outfit through thick and thin.
During that time's he's seen the highs and lows
of motorsport - the frustration of those wins
that "get away", and the others that
come back despite the adversities. Chirpy by
nature as well as by name, he takes it in his
stride, and remains at the heart of the team
in 2006.
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Lee
Webb – No 2. Race Technician
Lee
remained with RML for just one season - but
what a year to choose! His previous prototype
experience had been gained in a number of roles,
including a stint with Creation in 2004.
In
2002/2003 he worked as a mechanic for Lister
on their FIA GT, LMES and ALMS programmes.
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Adam
Hughes – Junior Race Technician
The
baby of the team, nineteen-year-old Adam joined
RML in 2001 as a trainee mechanic. He came to
the team to fulfil an element in the diploma
in Mechanical Engineering he was studying at
the time, and he's been part of RML’s
LMES, FIA GT, Le Mans and ASCAR programmes ever
since.
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Teddy
doesn't like
having his picture
taken . . . and we
never did manage
to catch him unawares
in 2005. Perhaps we'll
have beter luck in 2006! |
Teddy
Pedersen - Sub Assembly Technician
2006
will be Teddy's twelfth year with RML, making
him one of the longest-standing members of the
squad. Originally from Denmark, Teddy started
out as a mechanic, completed a stint as truckie
between 2001 and 2003, and is now predominantly
employed as Sub Assembly Technician.
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Jon
Wedlake - Electronics/Data Engineer
Jon
joined RML at the start of the 2005 season after
a number of years in the rallying field, where
he worked as a Data Engineer for Rallyart. Previously
he had worked for Motec as a European Support
Engineer, Data Systems. He left the squad at
the end of the 2005 season.
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Dave
French – Transport
Dave
already had many years of Le Mans and endurance
racing experience before he came to join RML.
He seemed to have brought good luck to many
of the teams he'd worked with, having been part
of the second-placed Veloqx team in 2004 and
the winning Bentley squad in 2003, so perhaps
RML's remarkable LMP2 victory in 2005 wasn't
purely down to chance.
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James
Plummer – Transport
James
also has many years of Le Mans and endurance
experience and has worked alongside Dave for
most of them. He was also a member of Team Veloqx
in 2004 and the winning Bentley team of 2003.
Prior to that James worked for the Nordic Racing
F3000 squad and was with the team when they
won the title in 2002.
James
and
Dave have now both moved on from RML, but we
wish them luck through 2006.
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Support
– Team & Engine
Chris
Notley and Damon Fuller,
both pictured left, provided
extensive ‘gofer’ services throughout
the Le Mans weekend. Many visitors to the pitlane
on the Friday before the race will have met
Chris, as his duties included handing out herocards
and answering questions about the MG EX264.
The
team was further supported at Le Mans by Steve
Jones and John Judd Jnr,
providing engine support.
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Jason
Stone
As
well as being a civil aviation pilot, and flying
members of the team to far-away places, Jason
is also very up-to-speed on many of TransVu's
technical equipment. He is responsible for the
in-car CCTV installations and the live feed
giving additional telemetry and visual information
to the team back in the garage. |
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Michell
Seaman - PR and Liaison
Michell
is the face of RML that the team's many guests
and supporters will often meet first. She also
handles RML's PR and marketing, writing news
items and informing the media of new developments
back at Wellingborough and in the many other
areas of motorsport where RML is now active.
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