MIKE
NEWTON
Those
who don't get paid to race are often termed 'gentlemen
drivers'. They represent a select group that has,
over the years, included some of the finest talents
in motor racing. Mike Newton, the highly successful
CEO of the AD Group and founder of Dedicated Micros,
entered those ranks in 2003 and is now widely
recognised as one of the best. Indeed, he frequently
puts so-called professional drivers in the shade
with his consistent lapping and fast times.
He
first paired up with Thomas Erdos to contest the
FIA GT Championship in 2003, sharing a Saleen
S7-R prepared and managed by RML, and they've
raced together ever since - Le Mans, Bathurst,
Daytona and the Spa 24 Hour races included.
Until
the start of the 2009 season, Mike and Tommy
had shared a succession of MG Lola sports
prototypes, all prepared by RML. That relationship
began with the the EX257 in the Autumn of
2003, when the team competed in the inaugural
round of the Le Mans (Endurance) Series, and
ended in September 2008 as the MG EX265c made
its one and only racetrack appearance in the
LMS season finalé at
Silverstone. In 2009 Mike co-raced the
team's Mazda AER powered Lola B08/86, but from
the start of 2010 the RML AD Group Lola has
been re-engineered to employ the naturally
aspirated HPD LM-V8. This change was rewarded
with a string of good results and the Le Mans
Series LMP2 drivers and team titles.
Newton's
two major passions are flying and motor racing.
He began racing Formula Ford 1600 in 1985, and
between 1995 and 1997 was a regular top-placed
finisher. His innovative all-wheel steering Formula
Ford was so successful that it was subsequently
banned, but not before Mike had established something
of a reputation, not only as a promising driver,
but also as a man with engineering and technical
acumen.
Mike
has raced seven times in the Le Mans 24 hours,
claiming 6th in class in 2003 (Saleen) on his
debut, then helping the EX257 to its most enduring
24-hour run ever in 2004, before winning LMP2
in 2005 and again in 2006. He has also completed
the Spa and Bathurst 24 Hour races, and has been
a regular competitor in the Daytona 24 Hours,
with a best finish of 4th in the Daytona Prototype
class.
Following
on from a pair of class wins at Le Mans, Mike
then took the LMP2 driver's title in the Le Mans
Series in 2007. Other personal motorsport landmarks
include: victory in the 2002 Daytona Grand-Am
finalé (GTS class) in a Saleen S7-R; driving
his Ford Falcon EL to class victory in the 2001
Nürburgring 6 Hours; and finishing sixth
overall in the Super Touring feature race at Bathurst
in 1999.
In
2010 Mike shared the RML Lola HPD at Le Mans
with Tommy Erdos and Andy Wallace. In a race
that saw just about all records for distance
and speed broken, the threesome finished in
an impressive 8th position overall, fifth
petrol-engined car home, and took third in
LMP2. The result also placed Mike and Andy as
the highest-finishing British (or Commonwealth)
drivers in a British car in the 2010 24 Hours,
and the two were subsequently awarded the Woolf
Barnato Trophy from the BRDC (British Racing
Drivers Club).
Mike
was back at Le Mans again in 2011, co-driving
the RML AD Group HPD ARX-01d to fourth in LMP2.
It was the high point in a season that was
marred by debilitating technical regulations
that denied the HPD the speed it deserved,
and left Mike frustrated by a lack of results.
Mike
Newton was named Britain's Top Entrepreneur
by Management Today magazine in 2005,
in association with RBS, and the AD Group is
one of the UK's fastest-growing companies. Dedicated
Micros - the company Mike founded in 1982, celebrated
25 years of cutting-edge technology in 2007,
and AD Group, was ten years old in 2008.
Mike
is married to Ann. They live in Cheshire, and
have twin girls. |