RML AD Group's Mike Newton and Andy Wallace -
the two British-born drivers in the team's
driver line-up at Le Mans this season - received
this year's Woolf Barnato Trophy from the
BRDC (British Racing Drivers Club) at a glittering
ceremony held at the recently refurbished
Savoy hotel in London on Monday.
Entrepreneur
and long-time racing driver Mike Newton - the
CEO of CCTV specialist AD Group - shared the
prestigious Woolf Barnato
Trophy with veteran sportscar racer
Andy Wallace. The imposing award, presented
by Sir Jackie Stewart OBE, recognises the highest-placed
British or Commonwealth driver, in a British
car, in the Le Mans 24 Hours Race. Mike Newton
and former RML teammate Andy Wallace, together
with Brazilian Thomas Erdos, returned to the
famous Le Mans 24 Hours, the scene of two previous
class wins, and finished in
a very credible third-place in LMP2, 8th overall.
They did so aboard the team's Lola HPD Coupé
- built in Huntingdon, and prepared by RML
in Wellingborough.
It
was a memorable finish to the race for Newton;
a Le Mans 24 Hours veteran with eight appearances
to his name. He had the distinction of
driving the final stint to take the chequered
flag in front of 200,000 spectators, securing
the all-important podium spot.
The
team has had an extremely successful 2010
season, going on to celebrate a
second LMP2 (Le Mans Prototype) class title
in the Le Mans Series, which saw
the team battling through five gruelling six-hour
endurance races and achieving strong
results in every round, including a notable
win in the Algarve.
Mike Newton's passion for motorsport is a longstanding
one and stretches back to the
late 1970's. In fact his first real taste
of motorsport was as a marshal -
the unsung heroes of racing - and he was appointed
Vice-President of British
Motorsport Marshals Club (BMMC) in 2008. As a
driver he started out in Formula
Ford 1600 in 1985.
Since then, his personal landmarks include: Le
Mans 24 Hours class wins in 2005 and 2006, as
well as this year's podium finish; two
Le Mans Series Championships
(2007 and again this year, 2010); and driving
his Ford Falcon EL to class victory in the 2001
Nürburgring 6 Hours. Newton has also raced on
tracks across the globe, with one
of the memorable highlights for him being his
GTS class victory in Florida in the 2002
Daytona Grand-Am finalé driving
an RML-designed Saleen S7-R.
Andy
Wallace will always be associated with his
debut win in the 24 Hours with Jaguar in 1988,
and he has gone on to become one of the most
experienced and successful sportscar racing
drivers in the history of the sport. As well
as co-driving the RML Lola HPD at Le Mans this
year - his third outing in the 24 Hours with
RML AD Group, including the class win in 2006
- Andy also shared the #25 Lola for the opening
two rounds of the 2010 Le Mans Series. He has
competed 21 times at Le Mans.
Mike
Newton "I'm
delighted to have been honoured by the BRDC
as the joint winner of the Woolf Barnato Trophy,"
said Mike Newton, "Our result
in the Le Mans 24 Hours was a real team effort.
It is certainly a privilege to follow in the
footsteps of all the famous drivers who have
flown the flag for Britain in the
Le Mans 24 Hours over the years. Joel
Woolf Barnato - the three times
winner at Le Mans (right) and after whom the
Trophy is named - was the first recipient in
1928. It serves as a real inspiration to us
all. He was one of the original
BRDC-founding Bentley Boys and famously
beat ‘Le
Train Bleu’ in the
car-versus-train race from Cannes to London."
Andy Wallace
"It's always an honour to be recognised by the
BRDC, and I'm thrilled to have received this
wonderful award. It was a pleasure to drive
with Mike and Tommy this year at Le
Mans, and to share in this memorable result.
Credit must also go RML for giving us, as always,
a fast and reliable car."
For
more information on AD Group please visit www.ad-group.co.uk. For
more details on this year's Le Mans, please
check our full race coverage here: Le
Mans 2010
"I'm
delighted to have been honoured by the BRDC
as the joint winner of the Woolf Barnato Trophy,"
said Mike Newton, "Our result
in the Le Mans 24 Hours was a real team effort.
It is certainly a privilege to follow in the
footsteps of all the famous drivers who have
flown the flag for Britain in the
Le Mans 24 Hours over the years. Joel
Woolf Barnato - the three times
winner at Le Mans (right) and after whom the
Trophy is named - was the first recipient in
1928. It serves as a real inspiration to us
all. He was one of the original
BRDC-founding Bentley Boys and famously
beat ‘Le
Train Bleu’ in the
car-versus-train race from Cannes to London."
