Roger Dowson Engineering, also known as RD Motorsport, is an
automotive engineering
Automotive engineering, along with aerospace engineering and naval architecture, is a branch of vehicle engineering, incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software, and safety engineering as applied to the design, manufactu ...
company, and an
auto racing
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
team run by
Roger Dowson
Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...
. The company was founded in 1982, and was most notable for running the works
MG Metro
MG, Mg, or mg and variants may refer to:
Organizations
* MG Cars, an automotive marque of the now defunct MG Car Company
* MG Motor, a present-day car manufacturing company
*MG JW Automobile, a Pakistani automobile manufacturer
* Champion Air (IA ...
s in the
British Saloon Car Championship
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...
in 1983 (and running them until 1985, after
Austin Rover
The Austin Rover Group (abbreviated ARG) was a British motor manufacturer. It was created in 1982 as the mass-market car manufacturing subsidiary of British Leyland (BL). Previously, this entity had been known as BL Cars Ltd (formerly Leyland C ...
had withdrawn their support) and the works
Mazda
, commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan.
In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...
teams in the
British Touring Car Championship
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA
TOCA, formally trading as BARC (TOCA) Ltd, is an organiser of motorsport events in ...
from 1992 until 1994.
History
Roger Dowson Engineering was established in 1982 by
Roger Dowson
Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...
, initially to build
Group A
Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...
specification
MG Metro
MG, Mg, or mg and variants may refer to:
Organizations
* MG Cars, an automotive marque of the now defunct MG Car Company
* MG Motor, a present-day car manufacturing company
*MG JW Automobile, a Pakistani automobile manufacturer
* Champion Air (IA ...
s (in
naturally aspirated
Naturally may refer to:
;Albums
* ''Naturally!'', an album by Nat Adderley
* ''Naturally'' (Houston Person album)
* ''Naturally'' (J. J. Cale album)
* ''Naturally'' (John Pizzarelli album)
* ''Naturally'' (Sharon Jones album)
* ''Naturally'' ...
and
turbocharged
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
form.)
The turbocharged Metros had a claimed maximum power output of . They ran the cars in the
British Saloon Car Championship
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...
in
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
under the "
Unipart
Unipart Group is a multinational logistics, supply chain, manufacturing and consultancy company headquartered in Cowley, Oxfordshire, England. It has operations in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan and works across a variety of sector ...
with
Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
" banner, initially entering
Patrick Watts
Aubrey Patrick Watts (born 21 November 1955 in Farnborough, Kent) is a British auto racing driver. He excelled in single make series in the eighties and competed in saloons in the nineties, mainly in the British Touring Car Championship. He sti ...
in a naturally-aspirated MG Metro in round two, before entering
Tony Pond
Tony Pond (23 November 1945 – 7 February 2002) was a British rally driver.
Career
His first outings in a rally car were on the then regular (in the early '60s) Saturday night road rallies in the home counties around London, driving a Mini C ...
in a Metro Turbo from round four onwards. Watts switched to the Metro Turbo from round eight onwards, whilst
Martin Brundle
Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver, best known as a Formula One driver and as a commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011, and Sky Sports since 2012.
Brundle contested the 19 ...
was entered in the final round in a Metro Turbo.
Watts took two fourth places in Class C whilst driving the naturally-aspirated Metro, whilst Tony Pond took a Class B victory in the Metro Turbo.
For
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
, the team entered two Metro Turbos for the first six rounds of the series, driven by
Robin Brundle and Watts under the "
Computervision
Computervision, Inc. (CV) was an early pioneer in Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/ CAM). Computervision was founded in 1969 by Marty Allen and Philippe Villers, and headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, United States. Its early ...
Racing with
Esso
Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (the phonetic p ...
" banner, although
Austin Rover
The Austin Rover Group (abbreviated ARG) was a British motor manufacturer. It was created in 1982 as the mass-market car manufacturing subsidiary of British Leyland (BL). Previously, this entity had been known as BL Cars Ltd (formerly Leyland C ...
had withdrawn their works support. Watts took three Class B victories in the first four races, with Brundle taking the other.
The team only competed in the season opener of the
1985 BSCC season, with
Steve Soper
Steven Soper is a racing driver from Surrey, England, born in 1951.
He raced in major sports car and touring car categories in the 1980s and 1990s. He won the 24 Hours Nürburgring in 1987, the 24 Hours of Spa in 1995 and the Guia Race in ...
driving a Metro Turbo. He failed to finish, due to a carburettor issue.
In 1987, Roger Dowson Engineering ran the
ESSO Metro Challenge, a one-make series for MG Metro Turbos.
They also made the kits used to prepare the cars for racing.
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
also saw Roger Dowson Engineering enter the new
British Touring Car Championship
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA
TOCA, formally trading as BARC (TOCA) Ltd, is an organiser of motorsport events in ...
, running
Jerry Mahony
Jeremy John Mahony (pronounced Marny) (born 1955) is a former British auto racing driver, best known for driving a Ford Sierra RS500
The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth is a high-performance version of the Ford Sierra that was built by Ford Europe from ...
in a Class A
Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth is a high-performance version of the Ford Sierra that was built by Ford Europe from 1986 to 1992. It was the result of a Ford Motorsport project with the purpose of producing an outright winner for Group A racing in ...
in round six and round seven. The venture was not initially successful, as Mahony retired in both races. The team remained in the series for
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
, now under the "Arquati Racing Team" banner, with Mahony entering all 12 events in a
Ford Sierra RS500
The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth is a high-performance version of the Ford Sierra that was built by Ford Europe from 1986 to 1992. It was the result of a Ford Motorsport project with the purpose of producing an outright winner for Group A racing in ...
. Mahony won the season opener at
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
,
his first, and only, overall BTCC victory. Mahony also took four third-place finishes, and finished second in Class A (seventh overall) at the end of the season. The team entered Mahony under the "Arquati Racing Team" banner again for
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
, but with less success; Mahony took one solitary podium, and finished 15th in class (41st overall). Mahony left the team for
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
, and joined
BRR Motorsports, leaving Roger Dowson Engineering without a driver (or main sponsor - Mahony took the Arquati sponsorship with him.) For 1990, Roger Dowson Engineering built the cars used in that year's
Mazda MX-5 UK Cup, a series won by Patrick Watts.
In
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
, Roger Dowson Engineering ran the works
Mazda
, commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan.
In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...
cars in the
British Touring Car Championship
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA
TOCA, formally trading as BARC (TOCA) Ltd, is an organiser of motorsport events in ...
, under the "Shell Mazda Racing Team" name. Watts was entered in a
Mazda 323F
The , also marketed prominently as the Mazda 323, Mazda Protegé and Mazda Allegro, is a small family car that was manufactured by Mazda between 1963 and 2003. The Familia line was replaced by the Mazda3/Axela for 2004.
It was marketed as the '' ...
, but the season would not prove to be particularly successful; Watts finished 18th overall in the driver's standings, and Mazda finished sixth, and last, in the manufacturer's standings. For
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
, the team replaced the 323F with a
Xedos 6
The Mazda Xedos 6 and Eunos 500 are compact executive cars that were produced between 1992 and 1999, with the Xedos 6 being sold in Europe by Mazda, and the Eunos 500 being sold in Japan and Australia by Eunos. The cars were not sold in North A ...
, under the "Mazda Racing Team" banner. It would be a much more successful partnership; Watts finished in 15th place, with 24 points more than he'd gained the previous season, although Mazda still finished last in the manufacturer's standings. Watts also qualified on pole for the first, and only, time in his BTCC career, in the
Snetterton
Snetterton is a village and civil parish in Norfolk, England. The village is about east-northeast of Thetford and southwest of Norwich. The civil parish has an area of . The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population o ...
round of the championship. For the
1994 BTCC season
The 1994 Auto Trader RAC British Touring Car Championship season was the 37th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season.
Changes for 1994
*The number of double header meetings were increased from three to eight
*Double headers now awarded f ...
, Dowson collaborated with
Team Dynamics
Team Dynamics Motorsport is a UK-based motor-racing team based in Droitwich, Worcestershire; best known for their successes in the British Touring Car Championship, including winning the Overall Drivers title in 2005, 2006 and 2011 with Matt Nea ...
to run the works Mazdas, and expanded to a two-car effort; with
David Leslie and
Matt Neal
Matthew Neal (born 20 December 1966) is a British motor racing driver. Neal is a triple BTCC Champion having won the British Touring Car Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2011. Neal is also a record 6 time BTCC Independents Champion having won the ...
driving under the "Team Mazda" banner. 1994 would prove to be less successful than 1993 had been; Neal was forced to withdraw from the series, after suffering injuries from a big crash in the sixth round at
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
,
whilst Leslie withdrew halfway through the season due to budgetary problems.
Leslie's best finishes were a pair of eighth positions at the first two rounds,
whilst Neal's was a tenth at Snetterton.
Neal finished 23rd in the championship, level with privateers
James Thompson and
Nigel Smith, whilst Leslie finished 20th.
Mazda were classified tenth, and last, in the manufacturer's championship.
Following the withdrawal from the BTCC, Team Dynamics and Roger Dowson Engineering fitted the running gear from the Xedos 6 into a
Mazda 323F
The , also marketed prominently as the Mazda 323, Mazda Protegé and Mazda Allegro, is a small family car that was manufactured by Mazda between 1963 and 2003. The Familia line was replaced by the Mazda3/Axela for 2004.
It was marketed as the '' ...
, with the intention of encouraging Mazda to return to the BTCC.
Matt Neal was entered in the car for that year's
FIA Touring Car World Cup, but without any real success - Neal finished 22nd, and a lap down on the leader.
Slim Borgudd
Karl Edward ''Tommy'' "Slim" Borgudd (born 25 November 1946) is a Swedish musician and former Formula One driver who raced for the ATS and Tyrrell teams.
Biography
Borgudd was born in Borgholm, Öland.
His first career was as a drummer, mainly ...
, who had won the
Nordic Touring Car Championship in a Xedos 6 entered by Roger Dowson Engineering that season, fared little better - finishing 21st.
For
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
, Roger Dowson Engineering built another 323F, and intended to enter Borgrudd in the BTCC with the car, under the "Team Magic" banner.
However, the car never raced in the BTCC, and sat in storage until 2000, when Nick Cresswell bought the car, and entered it in that year's
Northwest Sports and Saloon Car Championship
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
.
In 2002, Roger Dowson Engineering prepared the first ever
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
rally car, based on a
Toyota Prius
The is a car built by Toyota which has a Hybrid vehicle drivetrain, hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door Sedan (automobile), sedan, it has been produced only as ...
, for Nik Berg and Tim Bampton.
The car was entered in that year's
Midnight Sun to Red Sea Rally, an event that ran from
Östersund
Östersund (; sma, Staare) is an urban area (city) in Jämtland in the middle of Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-largest lake, Storsjön, ...
in Sweden to
Aqaba
Aqaba (, also ; ar, العقبة, al-ʿAqaba, al-ʿAgaba, ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative centre of the Aqaba Govern ...
in Jordan.
The car finished in 15th, and became the first hybrid to finish an
FIA
FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used.
Fia or FIA may also refer to: People
* Fia Backst ...
-sanctioned event.
References
{{Automotive industry in the United Kingdom
British auto racing teams
British Touring Car Championship teams
World Touring Car Championship teams
Auto racing teams established in 1982