RAM Racing

RAM Racing was a Formula One racing team which competed during the racing seasons of 1976 to 1985. The team entered other manufacturers' chassis from 1976 to 1980, then ran March's team from 1981 to 1983, only entering a car entirely their own in 1984 and 1985.

The team was formed in 1975 by Mike Ralph and John Macdonald, with RAM derived from their names. After running Macdonald in a GRD in British Formula Three, they entered Alan Jones in a Formula 5000 March for 1976. They also bought a pair of Brabham BT44B Formula One cars, and entered the 1976 World Championship, running Loris Kessel and Emilio de Villota for the Spanish Grand Prix, where neither qualified. However, both Kessel and another pay-driver, Patrick Nève, qualified for the Belgian Grand Prix, with Jac Nellemann, Damien Magee, Lella Lombardi and Bob Evans all making appearances in the cars. There were few finishes, and the pay-drivers meant the team were frequent non-qualifiers.

For 1977, Boy Hayje drove a RAM-entered March with little success, and a second "rent-a-car" did no better later in the year when driven by Andy Sutcliffe, Mikko Kozarowitzky or Michael Bleekemolen. However, they had some success running Guy Edwards in the Shellsport Group 8 Championship in Britain, finishing 2nd overall. For 1978 the team switched to the British Aurora Formula One series, with Edwards placing 4th overall that year in a March, and 5th overall the following season in a Fittipaldi F5A. For 1980, RAM made an investment in a pair of 1979-spec Williams FW07s, with Emilio de Villota winning the title. Sponsorship included American men's magazine Penthouse. They then entered one of these cars for Rupert Keegan in the British Grand Prix. Kevin Cogan and Geoff Lees would guest in another car in the last two rounds, but their best finish was Keegan's 9th place at the United States Grand Prix.

Ram Racing (Great Britain)

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, later revealed to be Cheerag Arya, 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. At the end of the season, the No. 52 and No. 53 cars had earned 114 and 63 points respectively.

2014

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.