ram f1 / f1 teams / f1 | thebiggarage

The team was formed in 1975 by Mike Ralph and John Macdonald, with RAM derived from their names.

RAM Racing was a Formula One racing team which competed during the racing seasons of 1976 to 1985. The team entered other manufacturers' chassis from 1976 to 1980, then ran March's team from 1981 to 1983, only entering a car entirely their own in 1984 and 1985.

1983 saw the RAM name make itself onto the chassis for the first time, with Dave Kelly's RAM March 01 design.

Mike Ralph and John Macdonald bought a pair of Brabham BT44B Formula One cars, and entered the 1976 World Championship, running Loris Kessel and Emilio de Villota for the Spanish Grand Prix, where neither qualified. However, both Kessel and another pay-driver, Patrick Nève, qualified for the Belgian Grand Prix, with Jac Nellemann, Damien Magee, Lella Lombardi and Bob Evans all making appearances in the cars. There were few finishes, and the pay-drivers meant the team were frequent non-qualifiers.

The team planned to enter a single updated RAM 03 for the 1986 season, but the funds could not be found, and the team folded over the winter of 1985.

Headquartered: Silverstone, United Kingdom, 1976-1985

ram 03 s4t

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 1985 and 1986 Formula One world championship.

The RAM 03 was the team’s last car before folding at the end of 1985.

The engine was a Hart 415T (1.5-litre turbocharged straight-4) with 750–800 hp in qualifying and 650 hp in race trim.

Unfortunately the car never finished in the top 6, which was required for points back then. The Hart engine was underpowered compared to the TAG-Porsche, BMW, and Honda turbos.

After repeated failures and financial strain, RAM Racing withdrew after the 1985 season. The team never returned to F1.

In 1986 an updated version called 03B was introduced and was driven by New Zealander Mike Thackwell during the pre-season testing for the 1986 season held at Jacarepaguá.

Later in 1986 one of the 03 chassis was converted into a Formula 3000 car, the 04. The car contested a number of races in the 1986 Formula 3000 championship.

The RAM 03 is remembered as one of the “backmarker” cars of the turbo era — underfunded but still part of the brutal, exciting mid-’80s F1 scene.