Sergio Rinland (born 17 March 1952) is an
Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
engineer best known for his work in
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
. He is currently owner and managing director of the automotive engineering and
management consulting
Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...
company
Astauto Ltd.
Career
Born in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
on March 17, 1952, Rinland studied
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...
at Argentina's
Universidad Nacional del Sur
The National University of the South (in Spanish: ''Universidad Nacional del Sur'', UNS) is the largest national university in southern Argentina. Its motto is ''Ardua Veritatem'', which means "through the difficulties to the truth".
The univers ...
, graduating in 1978. His thesis was a vehicle suspension system mathematical model and computer simulation and the design of a F2 car as its application, his mentors were Prof. Jose Santamarina and Prof. Walter Daub. After two years working in Argentina's F2, he moved to England in 1980, where he soon found a job as a designer for PRS, a small
Formula Ford
Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...
constructor owned by Vic Holman, where he designed their Formula Ford 1600 and Formula Ford 2000 cars for the 1982 and 1983 seasons, with success in the UK, Europe and US. After a short spell working for
Ron Tauranac
Ronald Sidney Tauranac (13 January 1925 – 17 July 2020) was a British-Australian engineer and racing car designer, who with Formula One driver Jack Brabham founded the Brabham constructor and racing team in 1962. Following Brabham's retireme ...
at
Ralt
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 t ...
, Rinland was hired by the
RAM
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* Ra ...
F1 team in to work on the design team, first with Dave Kelly and in 1985 with
Gustav Brunner
Gustav Brunner (born 12 September 1950, in Graz) is an Austrian Formula One (F1) designer and engineer. He started his career in racing car design at the German-based constructor McNamara. He first entered F1 in a brief spell working for the AT ...
where they produced the
RAM 03
The RAM 03 was an open-wheel Formula One race car, designed, developed and built by British racing team and constructor RAM, to compete in the and Formula One world championship.
In 1986 an updated version called 03B was introduced and was driv ...
. For , he moved on to
Williams and was part of the design team of the very successful
FW11, led by
Patrick Head
Sir Patrick Michael Head (born 5 June 1946) is a British motorsport executive who is the co-founder and former Engineering Director of the Williams Formula One team. For 27 years from Head was technical director at Williams Grand Prix Engineer ...
and
Frank Dernie
Frank William Dernie (born 3 April 1950) to James Harold Dernie and Monica Dernie (née Pacey) is a veteran British Formula One engineer with extensive Formula One motorsport experience.
Career
Dernie was brought up in Lancashire and educated at ...
.
In , Rinland joined
Brabham
Brabham () is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won four ...
where he designed the
Brabham BT56
The Brabham BT56 was a Formula One car designed by John Baldwin and Sergio Rinland and raced by the Brabham team in the 1987 Formula One season. It was driven by Andrea de Cesaris, Riccardo Patrese and Stefano Modena; both de Cesaris and Patres ...
together with David North and John Baldwin. At the end of 1987, Brabham temporarily withdrew from F1 allowing Rinland to moved to
Dallara
Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...
to design its first F1 car raced by
BMS Scuderia Italia
BMS Scuderia Italia SpA (sometimes referred to as simply Scuderia Italia) is an Italian auto racing team founded by Italian steel magnate and motorsports enthusiast Giuseppe Lucchini in 1983. Initially named Brixia Motor Sport (BMS) the team br ...
in . Brabham returned in calling Rinland back as Chief Designer, a position he kept until the end of 1991. There, Rinland designed the
Brabham BT58
The Brabham BT58 was a Formula One racing car designed by John Baldwin and Sergio Rinland for the Brabham team which raced in the season. The teams cars were driven by Italian Stefano Modena and the 1988 World Sportscar Champion, the returnin ...
,
Brabham BT59
The Brabham BT59 was a Formula One racing car designed by Sergio Rinland and Hans Fouche for the Brabham team which raced in the and Formula One World Championships. It made its debut at the 1990 San Marino Grand Prix and continued until the ...
and the ground-breaking
Brabham BT60
The Brabham BT60 was the final series of Formula One racing cars built for the Brabham Formula One motor racing team. Designed by Sergio Rinland, they raced in the 1991 and 1992 Formula One World Championships. The car brought to a close Brabh ...
-
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
.
Rinland then established his own design company, Astauto Ltd in Tolworth, England. Astauto was then hired to design and build the F1 cars for
Fondmetal
Fondmetal S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of alloy wheels, founded in 1972 by Gabriele Rumi.
A Formula One constructor of the same name, also owned by Rumi, competed in the and seasons, scoring no championship points. The company also spon ...
. The car only did few races in 1992 before the team closed down due to financial difficulties. The
Fondmetal GR02
The Fondmetal GR02 was a Formula One racing car designed by Sergio Rinland and his Astauto studio for the 1992 Formula One season. Built to replace the Fondmetal GR01, as Fondmetal's team boss Gabriele Rumi had never been impressed by that car or ...
was hailed as a very innovative design by reputable publications.
[Racecar Engineering Nr11 Nov 1992]
Rinland then was hired by
Dan Gurney
Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner who reached racing's highest levels starting in 1958. Gurney won races in the Formula One, Indy Car, NASCAR, Can-Am, ...
's
All American Racers
All American Racers is an American auto racing team and constructor based in Santa Ana, California. Founded by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby in 1964, All American Racers initially participated in American sports car and Champ Car races as well as ...
in the U.S. where he worked in the feasibility study of the Toyota Champ Car for CART.
Returning to Europe in 1995, Rinland worked briefly for the new
Forti
Forti Corse, commonly known as Forti, was an Italian motor racing team chiefly known for its brief and unsuccessful involvement in Formula One in the mid-1990s. It was established in the late 1970s and competed in lower formulae for two decades. ...
team and soon after was hired to work in the
German Touring Car Championship with Opel by
Keke Rosberg
Keijo Erik Rosberg (born 6 December 1948), known as "Keke" (), is a Finnish former racing driver and winner of the Formula One World Championship. He was the first Finnish driver to compete regularly in the series, as well as the first Finnish ...
for the remaining of the 1995 season.
From to , Rinland worked for
Benetton Formula 1 Team. At the end of 1999 Rinland was head-hunted by the
Sauber
Sauber Motorsport AG is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in . After operating it u ...
F1 team to become their Chief Designer. As a Chief Designer he was responsible for the
C20, Sauber's most successful F1 car to that point. This car featured several innovations, the most notable being the "Twin Keel" front suspension.
By September 2001 Rinland was tempted to join
Arrows as a Chief Designer but one year later the team ran into financial difficulties and closed down.
After Arrows, Rinland decided to develop his consultancy company Astauto Ltd, doing work for Pankl GmbH, the Austrian F1 supplier, VLR Touring Car Team, Red Bull Cheever Racing in
IRL
IRL may refer to:
Places
* Republic of Ireland (ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code)
* Irlam railway station (National Rail station code IRL), England
Organizations
* International Rugby League, the governing body for the sport of rugby league
* I ...
, Coloni and Trident Racing in
GP2 and Team Modena in the
Le Mans 24 Hours
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...
and the
Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...
for 2006 and 2007. In 2006 he also gained an MBA degree from Kingston University London.
From December 2007 to January 2011, Rinland was Engineering Director of
Epsilon Euskadi
EPIC Racing (Euskadi Phil Imanol Claudio Racing) was a racing team from Spain. The team's headquarters were located in Vitoria ( Alava). It was the second major motorsport team from the Basque Country, (Euskadi). Epsilon Euskadi was the bigg ...
in Spain as well as developing his consultancy companies in Europe and the US. In his capacity at Epsilon Euskadi, Rinland was responsible for the 2008 Le Mans campaign as well as other racing and non-racing projects of the company.
From February 2011 Rinland is involved in running his consultancy company
Astauto Ltd in Europe, US and South America.
Of late Rinland has been heavily involved in simulation and alternative energy for motorsports with the research and development of a Formula 1 performance electric race car and as a spin-off a development of an FIA Formula E which will be unveiled once the FIA officially announces Formula E.
In the simulation area Rinland has been advising Hertfordshire University on their recently acquired Driver in the Loop Simulator as well as performing the simulations of the revolutionary Delta Wing Le Mans car.
Recently now working at Oxford Brookes University to help teach and develop student skills with AVL VSM Lap Time Simulation Software. He has also been working with Oxford Brookes Racing Formula Student Team to help develop an accurate lap time simulation model.
References
* Grandprix.co
biography retrieved December 7, 2006.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rinland, Sergio
People from Bahía Blanca
Living people
1952 births
Argentine engineers
Argentine motorsport people
Formula One designers
Argentine people of German descent
Universidad Nacional del Sur alumni