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Adrian Reynard built his first
racing car in 1973 as a student project whilst at British Leyland
as a Project Engineer. At that time, his major assets were a passion
for design (trained and disciplined by Oxford Polytechnic), and
a portable welding kit.
Dr Reynard has created or been closely involved
with the design of every Reynard car ever since. He is one of the
most successful proprietor engineers in racing car manufacturing
and under his leadership Reynard Motorsport grew into one of the
leading producers of racing car chassis in the world. Reynard had
an outstanding reputation for technical innovation and excellent
after sales support.
In 1977 Adrian Reynard took up a full-time position
as CEO of Sabre Automotive/Reynard Racing Cars Ltd, and tasted his
first success in 1979, when his cars won the European (driven by
him personally) and British Formula Ford 2000 Championships. The
company also helped pioneer carbon fibre monocoque technologies
in the 1980’s.
Reynard’s development strategy was to design
a car capable of winning its first race in whichever category the
company targeted. When Reynard entered Formula 3 in 1985, it won
it’s first race from pole position; in 1988 Reynard won it’s
first race and went on to win the international F3000 title at their
first attempt. But in March of 1994, Reynard re-wrote the history
books when they entered the IndyCar World Series scoring a debut
win from the front row of the grid.
Adrian Reynard’s insistence on maintaining
a consistent approach to the company’s development programs
and to the servicing of its customers enabled the company to achieve
sustained success. Reynard designs won the British Formula 3 Championship
in 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1992; the international F3000 series in
1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1995. In the Formula Atlantic
category, Reynard won the 1992 and 1993 Pacific Series.
In 1990, the company was awarded the Queen’s
Award for Export Achievement and in 1992 Adrian Reynard was awarded
the Sir Henry Royce Gold Medal for Excellence in Engineering. In
1993, Adrian Reynard was elected a Fellow of the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers.
In 1995 Reynard dominated the PPG IndyCar
World Series by winning the Constructor’s Championship, the
Driver’s Championship, the Indianapolis 500, and Rookie of
the Year - Gil de Ferran was driving a Reynard 95I. This was the
company's second year in Indy Car racing.
In 1996 Reynard won the Motor Industry Association’s
Award for Export Achievements for a second time, securing a place
in the history books as the first racing car manufacturer to be
honoured with this prestigious award twice. The Manufacturing Division
achieved ISO 9002 in a record six months.
The success story continued in 1996, 1997,1998,1999,
2000 and 2001. Reynard again dominated the FedEx Championship Series,
winning the Constructor’s Championship, the Driver’s
Championship and Rookie of the Year titles. 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000
and 2001. Reynard also dominated the Japanese F3000 Series during
this era.
Reynard designed cars also have the distinction
of having won the fabled Indianapolis 500 twice.
In 1997, Adrian Reynard was elected a Companion of the Royal Aeronautical
Society, in recognition of his company’s pioneering technologies,
and today consults as Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences
at Cranfield University.
In 1999 Adrian Reynard was elected a Fellow
of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
The Special Projects Division, which was formed
in 1996, provided consultancy and commissioned designed and built
projects for customers. Projects included the Panoz GT car, Ford
Mondeo Touring Car, the Strathcarron SportsCar, the Virgin Atlantic
Upper Class lay-flat seat and the Reynard 2KQ-LM Sports Racing Car.
This car went on to be a Class Winner in the 2001 Le Mans 24 hr
race.
In addition, Reynard was a founding partner
in British American Racing, with the principals taking key roles
in the management structure of the company. It is with credit to
the long association of Reynard with Honda, that Honda are the engine
supplier to the British American Racing Formula One team. Dr Reynard’s
role of Technical Development Director of British American Racing
between 1999 and 2000 was another exciting challenge. After amassing
one of the most successful records in motor racing during the 1980s
and 1990s, the move to Formula One was “the logical next step”.
In 2000 Adrian was appointed as Visiting
Professor in Motorsport Design to Oxford Brookes University.
In 2001, Adrian Reynard was awarded “The Most Outstanding
Contribution to the UK Motorsport Industry” by the MIA and
elected for the role of MIA Committee Member & Ambassador for
the Education and Skills Initiative.
In 2002, Adrian Reynard was awarded the Crompton
Lanchester Prize by the IMechE for Outstanding Contribution to Mechanical
Engineering in Motorsport in 2001 and Adrian Reynard joined the
Society of Automotive Engineers.
On March 18th 2002 Reynard Motorsport Ltd went
into receivership as a consequence of a severe drop-off in sales
of Champcars for the USA CART market.
Adrian Reynard however bought a controlling interest
in the Auto Research Centre LLC previously owned by the company.
This is a unique wind tunnel and research facility in Indianapolis
serving the major manufacturers and the motor sport industry and
has thrived and expanded. The client base includes Honda,
GM, Ford and Chrysler as well as many Teams in IRL and NASCAR.
The company has forged collaborative links with the Motor Industry
Research Association in the UK and is investing in simulation techniques,
rapid prototyping, scanning and
CFD.
Adrian Reynard sold his shares in BAR F1
Team in February 2005 which was subsequently re-named Honda Racing
F1 Team. Honda F1 became Brawn GP for the 2009 season and won both the Drivers Championship with Jenson Button and the Constructors Championship. For 2010 Mercedes GP took over the operation to contest the season with Mchael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg driving. Adrian Reynard continues his participation with the team as landlord of the 15 acre site in Brackley which now encompasses a $50M full-scale moving ground wind tunnel and advanced engine dynamometer cell.
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