Ralt RT4

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 (standing for Ron and Austin Lewis Tauranac). Tauranac won the 1954 NSW Hillclimb Championship in the RALT 500.

As a constructor, Tauranac acquired a reputation for building safe, simple, strong cars that were manufactured to very high standards -- he tended to invest his firm's profits in high-quality machine tools and Ralts acquired an enviable reputation as the best-built "customer" cars of their era.

The Cars[link]

The early Ralts[link]

Built with the assistance of Tauranac's younger brother, Austin, in Australia. Mk1 Powered by a 1932 pushrod Norton ES2. Tauranac made his own flywheel, connecting rods, cylinders, and so on. The Mk2 was a sports car built by and for Austin, with a Ford 10 engine, Standard 10 gearbox, and Morris 8 rear axle. The Mk3 was purchased from the Hooper brothers when they retired. Tauranac designed a new chassis for it, and the car was primarily driven by Austin. The Mk4 began as a special, using a Vincent-HRD 1,000 cc (61 cu in) V-twin and a de Dion rear suspension. The car took two years to develop in Tauranac’s spare time. After just two events, somebody insisted on buying it, so plans were made for a production run of five. The Mk5 was planned by Austin as a Peugeot-engined car, but abandoned so he could assist Tauranac with the production Mk 4s.^[1]

The modern RALTS[link]

RT1 at the DAMC 05 Oldtimer Festival Nürburgring

Tauranac founded Ralt in 1974 and the first product was the RT1, a simple and versatile car used in Formula Two, Formula Three and Formula Atlantic racing between 1975 and 1978. The RT2 was a Formula Two car for 1979 with three cars being built for the Toleman team. Later three more cars were built for private owners including one exclusively for the revival of the CanAm series. The Toleman Group built their own (TG280) cars for 1980 based somewhat on the RT2 design and later licensed Lola to build it as the T850. Further-modified Tolemans appeared in F2 as Docking-Spitzleys. Two of the original Toleman RT2 team cars ended up in the Can-Am series. The third one ended up in South Africa where copies called Lants were made. Related cars have appeared in hillclimb and sprint events in the UK as Romans and SPAs. RT3 was a Formula 3 car derived from the RT2. RT4 was a Formula Atlantic car based on the RT2. Some RT4s did occasionally appear in F2. RT5 was a Formula Super Vee car derived from the RT2 and very similar to the RT3. The RT4 was the choice of car in Australian Formula 1 and Formula Mondial, winning the Australian Grand Prix from 1981-84 and the Australian Drivers' Championship in 1984, 1985 and 1986.

Works F2 cars[link]

RH6 was the start of Ralt's association with Honda in Formula Two (but not Ron Tauranac's - he had been Jack Brabham's partner when Brabham introduced Honda to F2 in the 1960s). The RH6 designation was used for works cars between 1980 and 1984, with the 1980 and 81 cars being a development of the RT2 theme and 1982-4 cars being further developed around a new honeycomb tub.

Formula 3000 cars[link]

RB20 was the marque's first Formula 3000 car, and in keeping with most of the Formula 3000 grid in 1985, it was essentially a further development of the last generation of the RH6, fitted with a Cosworth DFV engine. (The 'B' was for Bridgestone, Ralt's main sponsor)

RT23

RT20 was a cheaper, more economical Formula 3000 for 1986, with a traditional aluminium tub - easier to maintain. The works team used John Judd/Honda V8s, but customers used Cosworths. RT21 was a further development for 1987, this time again incorporating honeycomb elements in the monocoque. RT22 (1988) was Ralt's last season as an independent constructor in Formula 3000. The RT22 was its first carbon-fibre Formula 3000, but little success was achieved. RT23 (1991) was designed partly by Tauranac but manufactured under the auspices of the March Group who had bought out the team; there were major chassis problems with this and it was not at all successful. A couple of cars were developed for 1992 as the RT24 (by Simtek), to no avail.

Formula Three Cars[link]

RT3

RT3 has a long history - a 1979 ground effect Formula Three car which was enhanced every year until 1984, becoming the dominant car in the formula. RT30 was introduced for the flat-bottom rules coming into effect in 1985. This was notable mainly for being very asymmetric - it had only one sidepod containing a radiator, and a deformable structure panel on the other side. The RT30 was, like many Ralts, developed over several seasons, evolving by the 1985-6 seasons into a highly competitive car, although some teams converted their old RT30s into flat-bottom cars and enjoyed a measure of success with these. ^[2]

RT34

RT31, the 1987 car, applied some of the honeycomb ideas from the RT21 F3000 car; it was fairly competitive but Gary Brabham's experiments with lowering the engine showed the way ahead. RT32: for the 1988 season, Gary Brabham's modifications were incorporated and a honeycomb/carbon tub was adopted. The RT32 theme saw Ralt through to the end of Ron's time with them, subsequent RT33 (1989)-RT35 (1991) cars essentially being developments of this basic model. The 1992 RT36 was designed by Andy Thorby and lightly revised by Tauranac for 1993 as the RT37. These cars were not particularly successful in Formula Three (in part because many teams switched to Dallara chassis and therefore did not develop them) but the basic monocoque continues to be extremely successful as a hillclimb car nearly fifteen years later. The Ralt 94C was designed by Chris Radage and was not a success.

Later Formula Atlantic variants[link]

RT40 and RT41 were FAtlantic derivatives of the later Formula Three cars; RT40 was the last Ralt with which Ron was involved. Many Champcar World Series and Indy Racing League drivers past and present, honed their skills in these cars, including Jacques Villeneuve the 1995 Indy 500 winner and 1997 F-1 World Champion. After being phased out of the Pro Atlantic series in 1998 in favor of the Swift 008a, the Ralt RT40 and 41s are still being raced competitively (2007) in the Sports Car Club of America, some 13-14 years after the RT40's debut, winning the SCCA Championship as recently as 2003.

Originally equipped for Pro Atlantic racing with a highly tuned variant of Toyota 4AGE twin cam engine displacing 1.6 litres and developing approximately 250 bhp; several of these chassis have been converted both with bodywork to compete in C Sports Racer (CSR) and with other engine packages such as the twin rotor 13b Mazda, Honda and Cosworth 1600.

Ralt in other hands[link]

Ralt's 1988 Formula 3000 car was proving a challenge to develop; the works drivers' backers (for the first time, Ron was running paying drivers rather than paying his own!) encouraged them to leave the team and not pay up; the company was also suffering from loss of its American markets for RT4s (Swift were upping the stakes dramatically) and RT5s (SuperVee was on its last legs in the USA as a major category). Reynard's aggressive marketing was cutting into the F3000 and F3 markets. Tauranac was looking to sell the company and ultimately ended up selling out to March for just over a million pounds; they had concentrated on high-value bespoke racing cars and allowed their customer cars to atrophy so the merger appeared to be a good move.

The subsequent history of Ralt as part of March is complex, but can be summarised as - operated as March's customer car division for a couple of years, was part of a management buyout when the March Group board decided to divest itself of all its motor racing interests; bought by enthusiasts Andrew Fitton and Steve Ward in 1993. Ron Tauranac left from the firm soon after. Fitton and Ward wound March up, but Ward continued operating Ralt independently - the Ralt name continues, and Ralt F3 cars have occasionally appeared.

Ron Tauranac post-Ralt[link]

Ron has remained involved with various aspects of the sport since departing from Ralt, including racing-school cars for Honda, a Formula Renault car, consulting work for the Arrows formula one team, and continuing his relationship with Honda that goes back to their early Formula Two days as engine supplier to Brabham in the 1960s. RALT Australia was run by New Zealander Graham Watson until his death in 2009. ^[3]

References[link]

• Current British Website
• Flicker - Ralt Images

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (June 2009)

David Brabham

David Brabham in 2007
Born	(1965-09-05) 5 September 1965 (age 46)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Australian
Active years	1990, 1994
Teams	Brabham, Simtek
Races	30 (24 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	1990 San Marino Grand Prix
Last race	1994 Australian Grand Prix

David Brabham (born 5 September 1965) is an Australian racing driver and one of the most successful and experienced specialists in sports car racing. He has won three international Sports Car series and is one of four Australians to have won the Le Mans 24 Hour sports car race, winning the event in 2009. Brabham is the reigning American Le Mans Series champion and also won the title in 2009. He also competed in Formula One, racing for the Brabham and Simtek teams in 1990 and 1994 respectively. David is the youngest son of three-time Formula One world champion Sir Jack Brabham.

Early life[link]

Brabham, who was born in Wimbledon, London, spent his childhood in Australia. Despite his father's motor racing fame he took little interest in motor racing until after he left school. As a child he played the more accessible sport of soccer up until the age of twelve and then took up Australian rules football when the family moved to Sydney. Growing up, Sir Jack did not force David into racing, and it was only after discovering go-karts at 17, that he became enthusiastic enough to purchase a second-hand go-kart with his next-door neighbour and begin racing.

Motor racing career[link]

Early career[link]

Brabham's professional racing career began in Australia in 1983, racing karts for two years, after which he moved into the Ford Laser "one make" series for 1985. In 1986 he switched to Formula Ford 1600 and subsequently to Australian Formula 2, winning the 1987 Australian Drivers' Championship in that category. He also competed in the New Zealand Formula Atlantic series, the American Formula Atlantic series and in the South American Formula 3 Championship during the 1987 season.^[1] A move from Australia to Europe under sponsorship from Camel in 1989 saw him joining the Bowman team and winning the British Formula Three Championship.

Formula One career[link]

Brabham's break into Formula One with the Brabham team met with little success. In 14 races he only managed to qualify the uncompetitive Judd-engined car six times. This led to him being replaced at the end of the season. Brabham joined the Tom Walkinshaw Racing Jaguar team in 1991 and also in that year won the Spa 24 Hours for Nissan. Brabham won the 24 Hours of Daytona for Jaguar in 1992.

Brabham returned to Formula One in 1994 with the under-funded Simtek team who suffered the blow of the death of Roland Ratzenberger whilst in qualifying for the San Marino Grand Prix. Traditionally the other team driver would withdraw in such a situation, but seeing the demoralisation around him, Brabham decided to race on, only to crash out after a suspension failure of his own. In Ratzenberger's memory the team made a collective decision to see out the season.

Touring Cars[link]

Brabham quit Formula One at the end of that year to begin touring car racing. 1995 in a BTCC BMW was not a success, but subsequent successes included winning the 1996 JGTC GT500 championship in McLaren F1 GTR (so far the only non-Japanese team car to win this), and the Bathurst 1000 in its Supertouring era in 1997 with brother Geoff.

He won the Professional Sports Car Championship in the United States with the Panoz racing team in 1998, and the 1999 Petit Le Mans race also with Panoz.

GT racing[link]

Brabham joined Sumo Power GT for the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship, teaming with Jamie Campbell-Walter in a Nissan GT-R. The duo finished 10th in the driver's championship. He will join the Blancpain Endurance Series in 2012, driving a McLaren MP4-12C for United Autosports.

Le Mans racing[link]

Since 1999 he has been a regular in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), having raced for teams such as Panoz and Prodrive Ferrari 550 Maranello; he currently races an Acura ARX-02 for Highcroft Racing. He won the Sebring 12-hour race in 2005. In Australia, he has contested the Bathurst 24 Hour race and continued to make occasional appearances in the Bathurst 1000.

Brabham has won a total of 23 ALMS events across all 4 classes in the series. He is a two-time champion in the series, winning the LMP1 title in 2009 and LMP title in 2010.

In 2003 Brabham finished 2nd at the 2003 24 Hours of Le Mans driving for Bentley. In 2005 he started the first of 4 consecutive Le Mans starts racing Aston Martin DBR9's. He finished 9th overall and 3rd in the GT1 Class for Aston Martin Racing. At the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans, Brabham scored a 4th in the GT1 category (9th overall) driving for Russian Age Racing. Brabham won the GT1 class of the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans and again in the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans driving a for Aston Martin Racing. Driving for Peugeot, he won the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans outright with co-drivers Alexander Wurz and Marc Gene.

Brabham won the 2009 and 2010 American Le Mans Series LMP championship, driving for Highcroft Racing. For 2012, he will compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship in a JRM Racing Honda Performance Development ARX-03a.

Family[link]

Brabham's two older brothers Geoff and Gary also pursued motor racing careers. His wife Lisa (sister of Mike Thackwell) also raced and his nephew Matthew Brabham now races in junior Formulae.

Racing record[link]

Career summary[link]

Complete Formula One results[link]

(key)

Complete International Formula 3000 results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete British Touring Car Championship results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete GT1 World Championship results[link]

24 Hours of Le Mans results[link]

Year	Class	No	Tyres	Car	Team	Co-Drivers	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1992	C1	7	G	Toyota TS010 Toyota RV10 3.5L V10	Toyota Team Tom's	Geoff Lees Ukyo Katayama	192	DNF	DNF
1993	GT	50	D	Jaguar XJ220 Jaguar JV6 3.5L Turbo V6	TWR Jaguar Racing	John Nielsen David Coulthard	306	DSQ	DSQ
1996	GT1	34	M	McLaren F1 GTR BMW S70 6.1L V12	Gulf Racing GTC Racing	Pierre-Henri Raphanel Lindsay Owen-Jones	335	5th	4th
1997	GT1	55	G	Panoz Esperante GTR-1 Ford (Roush) 6.0L V8	David Price Racing	Perry McCarthy Doc Bundy	145	DNF	DNF
1998	GT1	45	M	Panoz Esperante GTR-1 Ford (Roush) 6.0L V8	Panoz Motorsports	Andy Wallace Jamie Davies	335	7th	7th
1999	LMP	12	M	Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S Ford (Élan) 6.0L V8	Panoz Motorsports	Éric Bernard Butch Leitzinger	336	7th	6th
2000	LMP900	11	M	Panoz LMP-1 Roadster-S Élan 6L8 6.0L V8	Panoz Motorsports	Jan Magnussen Mario Andretti	315	15th	8th
2001	LMP900	12	M	Panoz LMP07 Élan (Zytek) 4.0L V8	Panoz Motorsports	Jan Magnussen Franck Lagorce	85	DNF	DNF
2002	LMP900	11	M	Panoz LMP01 Evo Élan 6L8 6.0L V8	Panoz Motor Sports	Jan Magnussen Bryan Herta	90	DNF	DNF
2003	LMGTP	8	M	Bentley Speed 8 Bentley 4.0L Turbo V8	Team Bentley	Mark Blundell Johnny Herbert	375	2nd	2nd
2004	LMP1	22	M	Zytek 04S Zytek ZG348 3.4L V8	Zytek Engineering, Ltd.	Andy Wallace Hayanari Shimoda	167	DNF	DNF
2005	GT1	59	M	Aston Martin DBR9 Aston Martin 6.0L V12	Aston Martin Racing	Stéphane Sarrazin Darren Turner	333	9th	3rd
2006	GT1	62	M	Aston Martin DBR9 Aston Martin 6.0L V12	Russian Age Racing Team Modena	Antonio García Nelson Piquet, Jr.	343	9th	4th
2007	GT1	009	M	Aston Martin DBR9 Aston Martin 6.0L V12	Aston Martin Racing	Darren Turner Rickard Rydell	343	5th	1st
2008	GT1	009	M	Aston Martin DBR9 Aston Martin 6.0L V12	Aston Martin Racing	Antonio García Darren Turner	344	13th	1st
2009	LMP1	9	M	Peugeot 908 HDi FAP Peugeot HDi 5.5L Turbo V12 (Diesel)	Peugeot Sport Total	Marc Gené Alexander Wurz	382	1st	1st
2010	LMP2	26	M	HPD ARX-01C HPD AL7R 3.4L V8	Highcroft Racing	Marino Franchitti Marco Werner	296	25th	9th

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: David Brabham

• David Brabham's official website
• Interactive David Brabham Statistics - compare David with other F1 drivers

Paul Ricard (9 July 1909 – 7 November 1997) was a French entrepreneur and founder of an eponymous company which merged in 1975 with its competitor Pernod to create Pernod Ricard.

In 1970 Ricard built the Circuit Paul Ricard, a race track near Marseille, France, that hosted 14 Formula One Grand Prix races between 1971 and 1990.

References[link]

• Obituary: Paul Ricard

This French business-related biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

John George Chalmers (c. 1880 – c. 1962) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at Franklin & Marshall College (1902), the University of Iowa (1903–1905), Columbia College in Dubuque, Iowa, now known as Loras College, (1907–1914), and the University of Dubuque (1914–1924), compiling a career college football record of 100–47–8. Chalmers was also the head men's basketball coach at Iowa for one season (1904–1905), tallying a mark of 6–8, and the baseball coach at Iowa for two seasons (1904–1905) and at Columbia College from 1915 to 1921.

Background[link]

Born in New York, Chalmers was one of the most successful athletes in Lafayette College history. He graduated in 1902. In 1901, his coaching career began at Dubuque High School in Dubuque, Iowa. He led the D.H.S. football team to the state title in the championship game against West Des Monies High School;^[1] the final score read 12–0 in favor of D.H.S. Chalmers then served as athletic director at Franklin & Marshall College for a year before being hired to replace Alden Knipe as head football coach at the University of Iowa in 1903.

Coaching career[link]

Franklin & Marshall[link]

Chalmers was the head college football coach for the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He held that position for the 1902 season.His coaching record at Franklin & Marshall was 7 wins and 2 losses. As of the conclusion of the 2010 season, this ranks him #16 at Franklin & Marshall in total wins and #4 at the school in winning percentage (.778).^[2] He was hired from Lafayette College to replace John C. Hedges who had resigned the previous year.^[3]

Iowa[link]

Iowa had a 9–2 record in 1903 under Chalmers. Those nine wins were a school record that stood for 82 years. The record was tied in 1956 and 1983, but it was not until 1985 that an Iowa team surpassed Chalmers' nine wins in 1903.

The highlight of the 1903 season was a home victory over Illinois. The Hawkeyes had not yet won a home game against a Western Conference opponent, and Illinois had humiliated the Hawkeyes 80-0 in 1902. But the Hawkeyes pulled out a 12–0 victory in 1903, Iowa's first conference victory since 1900.

Iowa had a 7–4 record in 1904 and an 8–2 record in 1905. The 1905 team was led by captain Earle McGowan, one of the most prolific scorers in Hawkeye history. He scored 114 points in 1905, and the 1905 Hawkeyes shut out seven of their ten opponents. But losses to Minnesota and Chicago kept Iowa in the cellar in the Western Conference.

Chalmers served as Iowa's basketball coach during the 1904–1905 season, coaching the team to a 6–8 record. He also coached baseball at Iowa for two years in 1904 and 1905. Chalmers wanted to leave the university after the 1905 football season and begin his law practice in Dubuque. However, school officials convinced him to stay for one more year. Mark Catlin from the University of Chicago, the heir apparent to Chalmers as head coach, was hired that season to assist Chalmers. Although Catlin was actually an assistant coach, many Iowa records consider Catlin, not Chalmers, the official coach of the 1906 Hawkeyes.

TheWestern Conference meetings of 1905 led to two significant rule changes. Conference members were not allowed to play more than five games per season. Also, freshmen were now ineligible, and players were allowed a maximum of three years of eligibility. These rule changes were made in response to growing criticism over player injuries and deaths during games at that time.^[4]

These changes greatly hampered play in 1906. Conference players who were to be seniors were all ruled ineligible, because they had already played three years of competition. Players who were to be freshmen also sat out. Only players who were to be sophomores and juniors were allowed to play.

Iowa finished with a 2–3 record in 1906. Coaches Chalmers and Catlin worked well together but had contrasting coaching styles. Chalmers learned the eastern style of play at Lafayette, coaching players as individuals and devising conservative schemes to maximize their talents. Catlin learned the western style of play from Amos Alonzo Stagg at Chicago, coaching schemes rather than players and advocating an open, aggressive style.^[5]

Chalmers left Iowa with a record of 24–8 over three years. Official records indicate that he has the highest winning percentage of any Hawkeye coach that coached more than one year. However, Iowa won just one Western Conference game with Chalmers, the 1903 victory over Illinois.

Columbia and Dubuque[link]

Chalmers left Iowa for Dubuque in 1907. He set up his law practice, and he also became the first ever football coach at Columbia College. He coached Columbia from 1907 to 1914, compiling a 28–16–4 record. His 28 wins for official Columbia football squads has only been surpassed by current Loras coach Bob Bierie.

Chalmers, who considered coaching to be an enjoyable hobby, then became the first football coach in the history of the University of Dubuque. He coached football at that school from 1914–1924 and was also their first baseball coach from 1915–1921. The University of Dubuque has named their football field "Chalmers Field" in honor of him. In 1992, Chalmers was inducted into the University of Dubuque Athletic Hall of Fame.^[6]

Chalmers was a prominent lawyer and later a judge in Dubuque for 56 years.

Head coaching record[link]

Football[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• John Chalmers at the College Football Data Warehouse
• John Chalmers at College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com