Reynard Motorsport
Encyclopedia
Reynard Motorsport was at one time the world's largest racing car manufacturer. Initially based at Bicester
Bicester
Bicester is a town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of northeastern Oxfordshire in England.This historic market centre is one of the fastest growing towns in Oxfordshire Development has been favoured by its proximity to junction 9 of the M40 motorway linking it to London, Birmingham and...
and latterly at Reynard Park, Brackley
Brackley
Brackley is a town in south Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Oxford and miles form Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the intersecting trade routes between London, Birmingham and the English Midlands and between Cambridge and Oxford...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
the company built successful cars in Formula Ford
Formula Ford
Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing....
1600, Formula Ford
Formula Ford
Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing....
2000, Formula Vauxhall Lotus, Formula Three
Formula Three
Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers...
, Formula 3000
Formula 3000
The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter the Formula One championship...
and Indy Car
IndyCar Series
The IZOD IndyCar Series is the premier level of American open wheel racing. The current championship, founded by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George, began in 1996 as a competitor to CART known as the Indy Racing League . Citing CART's increasing reliance on expensive machinery and...
.
History
Founded by Adrian ReynardAdrian Reynard
Adrian Reynard was the founder of Reynard Motorsport, which was a successful racing car manufacturer before it went bankrupt in 2002....
in 1973 as Sabre Automotive Ltd, the company built on its success in lower formulae (particularly Formula Ford
Formula Ford
Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing....
and its variants; Reynard himself was a top driver in Formula Ford 2000 in the late seventies) to progress in March 1994 to Champ Car
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
racing and collaborate with British American Racing
British American Racing
British American Racing was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year...
from 1999 in the design of its early Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
cars. Adrian Reynard formed a very effective working partnership with friend and Formula Ford rival Rick Gorne, who looked after the sales and commercial side of the business. Gorne was one of the first people to bring a commercial mindset to the sale of racing cars - he worked out pricing models for cars and spares (basing this on research into how often cars were damaged) and started "networking" with young drivers early in their careers so that they would be favourably disposed towards Reynard later.
Reynard acquired a reputation for being a marque whose cars won in their first race - they achieved this on their debuts in Formula Ford 1600, Formula Ford 2000, Formula Three
Formula Three
Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers...
(1985), Formula Atlantic, Formula 3000
Formula 3000
The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter the Formula One championship...
(1988) and Indy car
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
(1994). Reynard effectively wiped March
March Engineering
March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...
, Lola and Ralt
Ralt
RALT was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex-Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s under the RALT name...
out of F3000 and Lola out of Indy Car - Lola recovered by securing the one-make contract for F3000 and reviving themselves in Indy Car in the late 1990s. Reynard were also involved with various special projects; the first competition versions of the Panoz Esperante
Panoz Esperante
The Esperante is a sports car made by Panoz, an American car manufacturer.There are several models of the Esperante: the base model, the GT, the GTLM, the GTS, and the JRD . Additionally, Panoz is more than willing to work with the buyer to make special modifications to any of the stock models...
, the Dodge Stratus
Dodge Stratus
The Dodge Stratus was a mid-size 4-door sedan introduced in 1995. It was based on the Chrysler JA platform Cab forward . The Stratus, Breeze, and Cirrus were all on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1996 and 1997. It received critical acclaim at launch, but ratings fell over time...
touring car, the highly successful Dodge Viper GTS-R GT car and an unraced and highly innovative LNG gas-turbine powered hybrid sports prototype for Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
known as the Patriot. Naturally given Reynard's involvement with BAR there were high expectations for the team's F1 debut, which were not met.
Reynard's success in F3 was transitory, with Dallara
Dallara
Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993...
and a revived Ralt
Ralt
RALT was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex-Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s under the RALT name...
obliterating them from the market in 1992; Adrian Reynard sought to buy Ralt but the company ended up in the hands of March
March Engineering
March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...
. Their success in ChampCar and F3000 was more lasting, though.
Outside motorsport, in the 1990s the company became involved in a project to build lightweight carbon-fibre seats for Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
's Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited is a British airline owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Singapore Airlines...
airline. The deal came about through friendship between Reynard and Branson. The joint-venture company that built manufactured these seats was located at Reynard HQ in Brackley
Brackley
Brackley is a town in south Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Oxford and miles form Northampton. Historically a market town based on the wool and lace trade, it was built on the intersecting trade routes between London, Birmingham and the English Midlands and between Cambridge and Oxford...
.
As a result of its success the company was awarded the Queen's Awards for Export Achievement in 1990 and 1996.
The company started preparing a Formula 1 program in 1989, to debut in 1992. Engineers were hired, such as Rory Byrne
Rory Byrne
Rory Byrne is a South African engineer and car designer, most famous for being the chief designer at the Benetton and Scuderia Ferrari Formula One teams....
from Benetton
Benetton Formula
Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from to . The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000 the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for...
. In 1991, Reynard was not able to push through, so the entire program, including the Enstone factory, was sold to Benetton. Reynard's research data was sold to Ligier. Some Reynard components (mostly F3000-based) were used by Keith Wiggins' Pacific Racing
Pacific Racing
Pacific Racing was a motor racing team from the United Kingdom...
in their unsuccessful F1 car (built for the 1993 season, but not raced until 1994 for budgetary reasons). It is unlikely that the putative 1992 Reynard would have been a significant success even had the money been available to develop it - the only works engine the team could obtain was the Yamaha
Yamaha Motor Company
, is a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company. Yamaha Motor is part of Yamaha Corporation and its headquarter is located in Iwata, Shizuoka. Along with expanding Yamaha Corporation into the world's biggest piano maker, then Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized...
unit that subsequently gave Jordan Grand Prix
Jordan Grand Prix
Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team is named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan...
so much trouble that year. Reynard was also involved in the construction of the DAMS GD-01
DAMS GD-01
The DAMS GD-01 was an unraced Formula One car used by the French motorsport team, Driot-Arnoux Motor Sport . The GD-01 was designed and built by a collaboration of DAMS and Reynard engineers from 1994 to 1995, and was intended to establish the team—which had achieved considerable success in...
car, which never raced due to the DAMS
DAMS
Driot-Arnoux Motorsport is a racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsports. DAMS was founded in 1988 by Jean-Paul Driot and former Formula One driver René Arnoux. It is headquartered near Le Mans, only 2 km from the Bugatti Circuit.- History :The year after its foundation,...
team deciding not to enter the championship.
Toward the late 1990s Reynard was primarily involved in Champ Car
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
, Formula Nippon
Formula Nippon
Formula Nippon is a type of formula racing and the top level of single-seater racing in Japan.Formula Nippon evolved from the Japanese Formula 2000 series begun in 1973 by way of the Japanese Formula Two and Japanese Formula 3000 championships...
and Barber Dodge
Barber Pro Series
The Barber Pro Series was an entry-level open-wheel auto racing series from 1986 to 2003. The races were primarily on road and street courses in North America, although the schedule did sometimes include a few ovals....
racing series. The company also engineered sports and touring cars.
The success in Champ Car
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
was highly profitable and led the company to diversify. In 1999 Reynard purchased Gemini Transmissions and US racing car manufacturer Riley & Scott
Riley & Scott
Riley & Scott Cars Inc. was a racing constructor and racing team that primarily provided chassis for various forms of motorsport, but worked primarily in sports car racing. It was founded in 1990 by Bob Riley and Mark Scott.-Sports car racing:...
. The company also opened an R&D facility in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
called the Auto Research Center (ARC) under the guidance of Bruce Ashmore
Bruce Ashmore
Bruce Ashmore is a race car designer who designed and developed 11 championship winning IndyCars with two different race car manufacturers, first with Lola Cars and then with Reynard Motorsports....
. This facility soon came to house a 50% scale wind tunnel and seven post shaker rig. Adrian Reynard
Adrian Reynard
Adrian Reynard was the founder of Reynard Motorsport, which was a successful racing car manufacturer before it went bankrupt in 2002....
is still involved with ARC.
Adrian Reynard and his chief designer Malcolm Oastler
Malcolm Oastler
Malcolm Oastler is the former technical director of Formula One team BAR, former chief engineer for Jaguar Racing, and designer of many race cars....
became involved with the BAR
British American Racing
British American Racing was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year...
F1 team, with Reynard Motorsport providing some design services to the F1 outfit.
Bankruptcy
Following an aborted IPO on the NYSE and the costly purchase of Riley & Scott, the company was bankrupted in February 2002. Around 120 jobs were lost.In 2002 the assets were distributed among three buyers. BAR
British American Racing
British American Racing was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year...
acquired the buildings at Brackley and the Advantage CFD
Computational fluid dynamics
Computational fluid dynamics, usually abbreviated as CFD, is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate the interaction of liquids and gases with...
aerodynamics engineering business. International Racing Management of Guildford acquired the Formula Nippon
Formula Nippon
Formula Nippon is a type of formula racing and the top level of single-seater racing in Japan.Formula Nippon evolved from the Japanese Formula 2000 series begun in 1973 by way of the Japanese Formula Two and Japanese Formula 3000 championships...
and sports car racing
Sports car racing
Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars....
operations, with the sports cars being licensed Zytek Engineering
Zytek
Zytek Group Ltd is an automotive and motorsport company founded in 1981 and based in Fradley and Repton, United Kingdom. Zytek Group has two main division: Zytek Automotive, which is based at Fradley, Staffordshire; and Zytek Engineering, which is based at Repton, Derbyshire.-Zytek Automotive:Zytek...
for construction. Walker Racing
Walker Racing
Walker Racing is a racing team founded by Derrick Walker in 1991 racing originally in the CART Championship Car series. Presently the team competes in the Firestone Indy Lights series.-Early success:...
, a team in the Champ Car World Series, acquired the rights to the Champ Car chassis. Finally, Walker Racing sold these package to a business man in Ecuador, Alex Salazar, who tried to recreate a series in Ecuador, without success. He is the final owner of the package.
Given the lack of success of the Reynard sports prototypes in their original guise, it is interesting to note that derivatives of the Reynard 2KQ and its 01Q upgraded continued to be race and later upgraded by teams such as ProTran and Nasamax. The unfinished Reynard 02S
Reynard 02S
The Reynard 02S was a Le Mans Prototype race car built by Reynard Motorsport in 2002. Intended to replace the failed Reynard 2KQ prototype, the 02S would end up becoming the final new design from Reynard as the company went bankrupt prior to the project's completion.International Racing Management...
became hugely successful when RN Motorsport took over the car as a DBA4 03S, followed by Zytek
Zytek
Zytek Group Ltd is an automotive and motorsport company founded in 1981 and based in Fradley and Repton, United Kingdom. Zytek Group has two main division: Zytek Automotive, which is based at Fradley, Staffordshire; and Zytek Engineering, which is based at Repton, Derbyshire.-Zytek Automotive:Zytek...
offering a variant termed the 04S, while Creation Autosportif
Creation Autosportif
Creation Autosportif, Ltd. is a sports car racing team based in Oxford, England. It was founded in 2003 by Ian Bickerton and Mike Jankowski and has raced in the FIA GT Championship, FFSA GT Championship, American Le Mans Series, Le Mans Endurance Series, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans...
offered their own variant known as the CA06/H, which continues to race today.
The Grand Prix Masters
Grand Prix Masters
Grand Prix Masters was a one-make motor racing series featuring retired Formula One drivers. The inaugural event, at the Kyalami circuit in South Africa, took place on 11–13 November, but the series folded after a 2 race season in 2006....
car is essentially a development of the last generation of Reynard Champ Car chassis, although fitted with slightly different bodywork and a larger normally aspirated Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
V8 engine.
Adrian Reynard
Adrian Reynard
Adrian Reynard was the founder of Reynard Motorsport, which was a successful racing car manufacturer before it went bankrupt in 2002....
commented, "It is the worst day of my business life and in the history of the company. Reynard has had so much success over the last three decades and I'm devastated that it has ended this way, but we had no choice."
Some senior employees went on to start up new motorsport businesses, notably Simon Dowson with Delta Motorsport
Delta Motorsport
Delta Motorsport is an engineering consultancy. They are based near the Silverstone Circuit.They are most well known for designing and building the cars that competed in the Grand Prix Masters series....
and Kieron Salter with KW Motorsport. KWM supplied a range of engineering consultancy services in Champ Car and Le Mans Series
Le Mans Series
The Le Mans Series is a European sports car racing endurance series based around the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and run by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest . The series was originally named the Le Mans Endurance Series, but changed its name prior to the 2006 season...
including the design of the Nasamax, Protran and Creation Autosportif
Creation Autosportif
Creation Autosportif, Ltd. is a sports car racing team based in Oxford, England. It was founded in 2003 by Ian Bickerton and Mike Jankowski and has raced in the FIA GT Championship, FFSA GT Championship, American Le Mans Series, Le Mans Endurance Series, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans...
chassis that are based on Reynard's original products. Delta Motorsport were responsible for the design and construction of the Grand Prix Masters chassis.
Revival
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
levels of downforce.
External links
- www.reynardracingcars.com
- www.bccorporacion.com Reynard Champcar designs and property rights
- Reynard Racing Cars in Autosport News Article
- Auto Research Center
- KW Motorsport
- Champ Car World Series
- Advantage CFD