Ram Racing (endurance racing team)

This article is about the British endurance racing team. For the defunct Formula One team, see RAM Racing
United Kingdom Ram Racing
Team principal(s) Dan Shufflebottom
Current series 24H Series, British GT Championship
Former series FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series
Noted drivers India Cheerag Arya
Germany Thomas Jäger
United Kingdom Tom Onslow-Cole
United Kingdom Adam Christodoulou
United Kingdom Lewis Plato
United Kingdom Alistair MacKinnon
Teams'
Championships		 2013 ELMS GTE

Ram Racing is a British endurance racing team based in Northamptonshire, England. The team was founded in 2012 by Dan Shufflebottom, whose motorsport background includes working as lead mechanic for Michael Schumacher during his time with Mercedes. Funding for the venture was provided by an anonymous backer located in the Middle East,[1] later revealed to be Cheerag Arya,[2] and the team is located in a 1,200 square meter facility on the edge of Silverstone Circuit.

History

2013

Ram's debut was in the 2013 European Le Mans Series, with two Ferrari 458 Italias fielded in the GTE class. The No. 52 car took victory at Imola, the Red Bull Ring, Circuit Paul Ricard, and second place at Silverstone and the Hungaroring.[3] At the end of the season, the No. 52 and No. 53 cars had earned 114 and 63 points respectively.

2014

The No. 52 Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 at Silverstone

2014 opened with an 11th-place finish by a Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 at the Dubai 24 Hour. Ram Racing's effort in the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship season was brief, with their Ferrari 458 Italia GT2s starting only at the 6 Hours of Silverstone and 24 Hours of Le Mans. The No. 52 car earned 8 points with one sixth-place finish and a retirement, and the No. 53 car earned 26 points with fifth and sixth-place finishes. The team announced an official withdrawal from the championship on 11 June, with only a skeleton crew remaining in employment. A six-month hiatus from racing was ended by an announcement in late December that a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 would be fielded at the 2015 24H Dubai. The goal of the switch to Mercedes-Benz was to reduce cost and gain a foothold for budgeting. On 9 December, the FIA granted the six-round 24H Series championship status.[4]

2015

Ram Racing began the 2015 season with an announcement of a full foray into the 24H Series, continuing to field the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. The opening race in Dubai resulted in a second-place finish 4 laps behind the Black Falcon Mercedes-Benz. This ended a six-month drought started by the team's financial trouble during the 2014 WEC. On 11 March, the team entered the 2015 British GT Championship with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, driven by Lewis Plato and Alistair MacKinnon. During round 2 of the 24H Series, the No. 30 car finished in second place at 12H Italy-Mugello after delays in the pits and multiple Code 60 periods.

References

  1. ↑ Gary Watkins (2012-12-12). "New British team, RAM Racing, to compete in European Le Mans Series". Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Gary Watkins (11 July 2014). "Ram Racing Ferrari withdraws from World Endurance Championship". Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "ELMS 2013 3 Hours of Paul Ricard Final Classification" (PDF). 2013-09-28. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  4. ↑ John Dagys (9 December 2014). "FIA Grants 24H Series International Status for 2015". Retrieved 6 March 2015.
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