16 replies to this topic

[petefenelon]

Anyone remember Alan Randall?

Alan Randall appeared from nowhere in the early 90s and promised a massive (I think it was four cars? five?) Jaguar entry in the WSPC and at Le Mans after Wee Tam and his money had gone away - were there even that many XJR-14s? Of course, it fell through, and so did the WSPC....

He next turned up as one of the many owners of Brabham and proposed to come back in '93 with a car designed and built by Galmer (very much marque du jour at the time, they were on a high then having won the Indy 500 in '92 - now there's a marque that was a flash in the pan...).

I think Middle Eastern money was involved in the Jag effort; I am not sure where the finance was meant to come from for the ersatz Brabhams.

Where (in a motorsport/business sense) did Alan Randall come from, and where did he go? -- I don't recall hearing his name before the Jag deal, and I certainly haven't heard it since the end of the Brabham one....

Was he just a an optimist let down a couple of times by sponsors, a dreamer who had no chance of getting his ideas together (my suspicion!) or someone trying to take the establishment for a bit of a ride who was rumbled?

I think his early 90s exploits are amongst the most interesting "vapourware" racing projects of recent history...

[effone2k]

Originally posted by petefenelon
Anyone remember Alan Randall?

Galmer - now there's a marque that was a flash in the pan...).

Probably because Galmer did not do much other than the '92 Indy win. Some said if a driver better than Scott Goodyear was on the home stretch, then Little Al probably would not have won it.

[fausto]

Yes, I remember him...he started announcing Spice cars, then he turned his attention to Jaguar products, for the two classes, the small class car was a sort of XJR10 without turbos, or something similar, does anyone remember better?

Also the driver line-up was quite interesting....and yes, the sponsor was supposed to come from the Emirates, quite interestingly after one/two years the Emirates became involved in offshore powerboat racing, maybe they were Randall prospective sponsor....

[EcosseF1]

Apparently he was still trying to get into F1 in 1996 :

http://www.grandprix...ns/ns00706.html

I'm sure the Ramel would have been a real contender...

[petefenelon]

Originally posted by EcosseF1
Apparently he was still trying to get into F1 in 1996 :

http://www.grandprix...ns/ns00706.html

I'm sure the Ramel would have been a real contender...

Al Melling of course being the guy linked to at least two F1 engine projects - a V10 for Lola and, er, another one the details of which I can't remember. He was also very much involved in the TVR "modular" engines, wasn't he?

[MCS]

I can remember Randall being mentioned in connection with Spice in 1991 when I watched a number of the IMSA races, but never heard anymore really.

Found this though as a note for the 1992 Le Mans entry: "Included on the entry list are four RM Motorsport Jaguars and seven Spice Fords, but RM's Alan Randall has pulled out and Spice may reduce their field..."

Somebody must know who he was... Must admit I was curious...

Mark

[GMiranda]

Anyone remember Alan Randall?

Alan Randall appeared from nowhere in the early 90s and promised a massive (I think it was four cars? five?) Jaguar entry in the WSPC and at Le Mans after Wee Tam and his money had gone away - were there even that many XJR-14s? Of course, it fell through, and so did the WSPC....

He next turned up as one of the many owners of Brabham and proposed to come back in '93 with a car designed and built by Galmer (very much marque du jour at the time, they were on a high then having won the Indy 500 in '92 - now there's a marque that was a flash in the pan...).

I think Middle Eastern money was involved in the Jag effort; I am not sure where the finance was meant to come from for the ersatz Brabhams.

Where (in a motorsport/business sense) did Alan Randall come from, and where did he go? -- I don't recall hearing his name before the Jag deal, and I certainly haven't heard it since the end of the Brabham one....

Was he just a an optimist let down a couple of times by sponsors, a dreamer who had no chance of getting his ideas together (my suspicion!) or someone trying to take the establishment for a bit of a ride who was rumbled?

I think his early 90s exploits are amongst the most interesting "vapourware" racing projects of recent history...

What happened to Alan Randall in between? I never heard much of him apart from this Jaguar deal, which could have helped to delay the fate of the Group C era if they had been competitive. I don't understand why TWR decided to leave so soon as the 1991 Jaguar was a success, and they could have tried at least one more season to win both the titles and the 24h of Le Mans.

[RCH]

What happened to Alan Randall in between? I never heard much of him apart from this Jaguar deal, which could have helped to delay the fate of the Group C era if they had been competitive. I don't understand why TWR decided to leave so soon as the 1991 Jaguar was a success, and they could have tried at least one more season to win both the titles and the 24h of Le Mans.

The Silk Cut money ended that's why the TWR Jaguar deal came to an end. It was originally intended that the Silk Cut deal would end at the end of 1990. Walkinshaw had a promise of a deal from 1991 from Mazda and had a car ready for this. However Mazda didn't come through so the Mazda became the TWR Ford became the Jaguar XJR14 when Walkinshaw persuaded enough money out of Silk Cut for another year. Or so a man from TWR told me. 

[ensign14]

MotorSport in 1992 suggested he was a tuning specialist from Tenterden and quondam TWR customer.  Maybe a Kolles figure giving it a punt when a sponsor fell his way, maybe fronting for Walkinshaw whom people did not trust...

[ensign14]

And Companies House has this.

[GMiranda]

The Silk Cut money ended that's why the TWR Jaguar deal came to an end. It was originally intended that the Silk Cut deal would end at the end of 1990. Walkinshaw had a promise of a deal from 1991 from Mazda and had a car ready for this. However Mazda didn't come through so the Mazda became the TWR Ford became the Jaguar XJR14 when Walkinshaw persuaded enough money out of Silk Cut for another year. Or so a man from TWR told me. 

I had no idea about that. I thought the main drive was the lack of a proper Jaguar engine and the need to develop a Ford HB to last for longer races, plus the promise of the new GT regulations that I think were already being drafted and would appeal more to Jaguar due to the potential selling to clients both on and off the tracks.

[GMiranda]

MotorSport in 1992 suggested he was a tuning specialist from Tenterden and quondam TWR customer.  Maybe a Kolles figure giving it a punt when a sponsor fell his way, maybe fronting for Walkinshaw whom people did not trust...

I read those Motor Sport articles, it gave no more indications of who was Alan Randall and how did he manage even to plan such a team.

[ensign14]

I think it's two alternatives.  Either he thought he had a sponsor via his son-in-law, geared up for mass expansion, and it fell through; or Walkinshaw was going to set up the team using a customer as a front.  I'd suggest the latter as Randall moved from Kent to Northamptonshire...

 

Although note one intriguing name which had a security over the company: Landhurst Leasing...maybe the SFO taking a close interest in the latter in late 1992 stymied the "investment".

[GMiranda]

I think it's two alternatives.  Either he thought he had a sponsor via his son-in-law, geared up for mass expansion, and it fell through; or Walkinshaw was going to set up the team using a customer as a front.  I'd suggest the latter as Randall moved from Kent to Northamptonshire...

 

Although note one intriguing name which had a security over the company: Landhurst Leasing...maybe the SFO taking a close interest in the latter in late 1992 stymied the "investment".

Yes, it could be. To pay the entrance fee, there should have been some kind of guarantee so that the project wouldn't be a total fraud. Didn't Lanhurst Leasing owned Brabham in 1992? I know Alan Randall was also linked to an attempt to save Brabham with  a Galmer-designed chassis.

[RCH]

I think it's two alternatives.  Either he thought he had a sponsor via his son-in-law, geared up for mass expansion, and it fell through; or Walkinshaw was going to set up the team using a customer as a front.  I'd suggest the latter as Randall moved from Kent to Northamptonshire...

 

Although note one intriguing name which had a security over the company: Landhurst Leasing...maybe the SFO taking a close interest in the latter in late 1992 stymied the "investment".

I can't really buy the idea that Walkinshaw was using Randall as a front. He had his deal with Mazda and I suspect that to him Jaguar was over and done. Unless it was a bluff to ensure Mazda played their part which they apparently hadn't the year before. 

[MCS]

There was a clear Landhurst Leasing - Middlebridge (Brabham) connection to the tune of roughly £7M. And, doubtless, a story that can never be fully told...

[GMiranda]

There was a clear Landhurst Leasing - Middlebridge (Brabham) connection to the tune of roughly £7M. And, doubtless, a story that can never be fully told...

Were both Randall's initiatives connected?