Mike Newton (racing driver)

Mike Newton

Newton signing autographs at the 2009 1000 km of Spa
Nationality	British
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Participating years	2003 -
Teams	GNM & RML
Best finish	8th (2006, 2010)
Class wins	2 (2005, 2006), LMS Titles 2 (2007, 2010)

Newton driving at the 2009 1000 km of Spa.

Mike Newton (born 14 April, 1960 in Manchester) is a British businessman and racing driver. He is the founder and CEO of the AD Group of companies. He races in the Le Mans Series and 24 Hours of Le Mans in cars prepared by the RML Group. Newton was named Britain's Top Entrepreneur by Management Today magazine in 2005.^[1]

Racing career

Newton began in motorsport as a marshal in 1977.^[2] In 1985, he took part in his first circuit race in Formula Ford. He was a regular competitor in Champion of Oulton Park Formula Ford series from 1985 through 1997, and had top three championship finishes between 1995 and 1997. In 1999, he finished sixth in the Bathurst 500. In 2001 he finished first in class at the 6hr Langstreckenpokal (VLN) at the Nurburgring on the Nordschliefe in an ex-Dick Johnson ATCC Falcon EL, and repeated that feat at the 2002 Grand Am Finale GTS Class in a Saleen S7R at Daytona.

In 2002 Newton made his GT debut at both the Daytona 24 Hours and British GT in a Porsche 996 GTR with Graham Nash Motorsport.

In 2003 he made his debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, racing a Saleen S7-R for Graham Nash Motorsport alongside Thomas Erdos and Pedro Chaves, the car being sponsored by some of Newton's companies. The team finished sixth in the GTS class. Newton and Erdos also raced the car in the FIA GT Championship.

For 2004 Newton and Erdos continued to race the Saleen in FIA GT for RML. They also raced in the Le Mans Series for the team in an MG-Lola EX257. They also raced the car at Le Mans, but retired from the race. In 2005 the team moved from the LMP1 category to the LMP2 category, winning the class at Le Mans and finishing second in the Le Mans Series. They repeated this feat in 2006. In 2007, Newton and Erdos won the Le Mans Series LMP2 category.

In 2010, Newton, Erdos and Wallace finished third in the LMP2 Class at Le Mans in a Lola HPD Coupe, and Newton and Erdos won the Le Mans Series LMP2 Drivers Title, with RML winning the LMP2 Team title, accompanied at different races by both Andy Wallace and Ben Collins.

In 2008 Newton was elected Vice President of the British Motorsport Marshals Club. Newton has been a BRDC member since 2008.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Class	No	Tyres	Car	Team	Co-Drivers	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2003	GTS	64	D	Saleen S7-R Ford 7.0L V8	Graham Nash Motorsport Ray Mallock Ltd.	Pedro Chaves Thomas Erdos	292	28th	6th
2004	LMP1	25	D	MG-Lola EX257 MG (AER) XP20 2.0L Turbo I4	Ray Mallock Ltd. (RML)	Thomas Erdos Nathan Kinch	256	DNF	DNF
2005	LMP2	25	M	MG-Lola EX264 Judd XV675 3.4L V8	Ray Mallock Ltd. (RML)	Thomas Erdos Warren Hughes	305	20th	1st
2006	LMP2	25	M	MG-Lola EX264 AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4	Ray Mallock Ltd. (RML)	Thomas Erdos Andy Wallace	343	8th	1st
2007	LMP2	25	M	MG-Lola EX264 AER P07 2.0L Turbo I4	Ray Mallock Ltd. (RML)	Andy Wallace Thomas Erdos	251	DNF	DNF
2008	LMP2	25	M	MG-Lola EX265 MG (AER) XP21 2.0L Turbo I4	Ray Mallock Ltd. (RML)	Andy Wallace Thomas Erdos	100	DNF	DNF
2009	LMP2	25	M	Lola B08/86 Mazda MZR-R 2.0L Turbo I4	RML	Thomas Erdos Chris Dyson	273	DNF	DNF
2010	LMP2	25	D	Lola B08/80 HPD AL7R 3.4L V8	RML	Thomas Erdos Andy Wallace	358	8th	3rd
2011	LMP2	36	D	HPD ARX-01d HPD HR28TT 2.8L Turbo V6	RML	Thomas Erdos Ben Collins	314	12th	4th

References

1. ^ http://www.rml-ad.com/racing/driverbiog_mikenewton2009.htm
2. ^ http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/ldpbusiness/business-profiles/2008/02/26/business-profile-mike-newton-96026-20528245/

External links

• AD Group
• RML AD Group

Persondata
Name	Newton, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1960
Place of birth
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