EMKA Racing was a British racing team founded in 1980 by Steve O'Rourke, manager of the band Pink Floyd. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Steve O'Rourke ( &ndash) was born in Willesden, London, England. Pink Floyd are The team occasionally ran under the name of EMKA Productions, the name of O'Rourke's management company. The team's name comes from O'Rourke's two daughters, Emma and Katheryne. O'Rourke and EMKA concentrated on sports car racing with brief interludes into British Formula One until 1985 when the team was broken up before returning again in 1991. Sports car racing is a form of circuit Auto racing with Automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels The British Formula One Series, often abbreviated to British F1, was a Formula One motor racing championship held in the United Kingdom. The team was finally dissolved in early 2004 following O'Rourke's death. The team had successfully won the drivers championship for O'Rourke and Tim Sugden in the British GT Championship in 1997 and 1998.
Contents |
History
1980-1985
Following Steve O'Rourke's years of amateur auto racing, he had succeeded in entering the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans where he took a respectable 12th place finish in his own Ferrari 512BB. Auto racing (also known as automobile racing, motor racing or car racing) is a Motorsport involving Racing Cars It The 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 47th Grand Prix of Endurance and took place on June 9 and 10, 1979. A Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer is one of a series of cars produced by Ferrari in Italy between 1973 and 1984 With Pink Floyd's scheduling becoming less of a conflict, O'Rourke was able to fully concentrate on racing and formed EMKA Racing, a division of his EMKA Productions record label, for the 1980 season. Debuting at the Six Hours of Silverstone, he successfully took a seventh place finish before taking 23rd at Le Mans. Silverstone Circuit is a Motor racing circuit in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, named after the village in the former England
Now established, O'Rourke purchased a BMW M1 and signed driver Derek Bell as his co-driver. The BMW M1 is a Sports car that was produced by German automaker BMW from 1978 to 1981 Derek Reginald Bell MBE (born October 31 1941 in Pinner, Middlesex) is a former Racing driver from England who was extremely The team took a second place finish at Silverstone before suffering problems at Le Mans with drivers David Hobbs and Eddie Jordan, future owner of Jordan Grand Prix. David Hobbs (born June 9, 1939) is a British former Racing driver currently employed as a SPEED commentator Edmund "Eddie" Jordan (born March 30, 1948) is the founder and former owner of Jordan Grand Prix, a Formula One constructor which Early history Jordan's success in lower formulae inspired the creation of a Formula One programme for the 1991 season. For Brands Hatch, EMKA took a third place finish although O'Rourke himself did not drive the car. Brands Hatch is a Motor racing circuit in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland it hosted 12 runnings of the
For 1982, Derek Bell was replaced on the team by Nick Mason, drummer for Pink Floyd, who had been participating the past few years with the Dorset Racing team. Nicholas Berkeley "Nick" Mason (born 27 January 1944 in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England) is the Drummer for Pink Floyd. Pink Floyd are The team did not see much success. In the same year, O'Rourke and EMKA also entered the British Formula One series for two races with a Williams FW07, scoring a third place at Thruxton Circuit. The 1982 British Formula One season was the 4th British Formula One Series season The Williams - Ford FW07 was a ground effect car designed by Patrick Head for the 1979 F1 season Thruxton Circuit is a notable attraction for visitors to the village of Thruxton in Hampshire, England, originally built in 1940 as RAF Thruxton
For 1983, EMKA's success was recognized by Aston Martin, with the two reaching an agreement to run sportscars built by EMKA with the aid of Michael Cain Racing and powered by Aston Martin engines. Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury performance cars, whose headquarters are at Gaydon, England. The first chassis, known as an EMKA C83, was designed by Len Bailey and used a production-based Aston Martin V8 engine as its powerplant. O'Rourke was joined in the cockpit by Tiff Needell and took 17th place at Le Mans in their debut year. Timothy "Tiff" Needell (born October 29, 1951 in Havant, Hampshire) isa British racing driver and Television
New fuel regulations originally intended for 1984 but later abandoned led to EMKA not participating in any races. However, for 1985, with the new regulations not in place, EMKA returned with their car updated and continued support from Aston Martin. O'Rourke and Needell took an eleventh place finish at Le Mans which saw the entry briefly leading the race in the opening hours. The EMKA-Aston Martin failed to finish any of the other races it appeared at that season, leading to the relationship between EMKA and Aston Martin being dissolved due to financial strain, while Steve O'Rourke decided to take a break from international motorsport.
1991-2003
O'Rourke would briefly return to racing in 1993, entering an old Porsche 935 in the new British GT Championship. The Porsche 935 was introduced in 1976 as the racing version of the Porsche 930 (911 Turbo prepared for FIA - Group 5 rules (similar to the Porsche The Avon Tyres British GT Championship (previously known as the BRDC GT Championship) is a Sports car racing series currently based in the United Kingdom However come 1995 he would bring EMKA Racing back full-time. Initially using his 935, he later purchased a new Porsche 911 GT2, which saw an eleventh place finish at Silverstone in the BPR Global GT Series event. The Porsche 911 GT2 is a Sports car built by the German manufacturer Porsche since 1994 The BPR Global GT Series (sometimes referred to as the BPR Global GT Endurance Series or simply abbreviated as BPR. Joined by Guy Holmes, he would participate in the bulk of the 1996 BPR Global GT Series season, with best finishes of 18th at both Monza and Paul Ricard. Schedule Season Results Autodromo Nazionale Monza is a Motorsport Race track near the town of Monza, Italy, north of Milan. The Paul Ricard Circuit is a Motorsport Race track built at Le Castellet, near Marseille, France, in 1969 with finance from the He also made his first return to Le Mans since 1985, although his car would last a mere 32 laps before retiring.
For 1997, EMKA Racing would return to the British GT Championship. O'Rourke and co-driver Tim Sugden would take a best finish of second at Donington Park on route to taking the GT2 class drivers championships by the end of the season. Donington Park is a site near Castle Donington in North West Leicestershire, England, owned by Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd With this success, O'Rourke made the decision to move to the more powerful GT1 class for 1998, purchasing a used McLaren F1 GTR. The McLaren F1 GTR was a racing variant of the McLaren F1 supercar first produced in 1995 for grand touring style racing such as the BPR Global GT Series The team managed two wins in British GT at Oulton Park and Spa-Francorchamps, again earning them the championship in their class. Oulton Park Circuit is a Motor racing Track in the small village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is the venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix and the Spa 24 Hours endurance race The duo would also be joined by Bill Auberlen for Le Mans, earning a fourth place finish, O'Rourke's personal best. Bill Auberlen is a Race car driver born in Redondo Beach California, USA on 12 October 1968.
The team continued to campaign the McLaren F1 GTR in British GT in 1999, winning the round at Silverstone. Silverstone Circuit is a Motor racing circuit in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, named after the village in the former England Unfortunately the team would not be able to manage to win the drivers championship, finishing fifth instead. The top GT class would be abandoned in 2000 making the team's McLaren illegal, so O'Rourke joined EMKA Racing with fellow British team GTC Competition and moved the duo to the international FIA GT Championship's lower N-GT class, running a new Porsche 911 GT3-R. The FIA GT Championship is a Sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de The Porsche 911 GT3 was introduced in 1999 as a high performance version of the first Water-cooled version of the Porsche 911, the 996, to continue The team would have a best finish of second in class at the A1-Ring and would finish fourth in the teams championship. The Österreichring is a disused Austrian race circuit which hosted the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix 18 consecutive years from 1970 through
The cooperation with GTC Competition and EMKA continued to campaign their Porsche in the N-GT class in 2001, again scoring their best result at the A1-Ring with a fourth place finish in class. Unfortunately in the teams championship they managed to tie for eighth place, down from the previous year. The team would return again to British GT for 2002, with two third place finishes at Brands Hatch and Castle Combe Circuit. Brands Hatch is a Motor racing circuit in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland it hosted 12 runnings of the Castle Combe Circuit is a Motor racing circuit in Wiltshire, England, approximately from Bristol.
Citing health concerns, O'Rourke would retire towards the end of the 2002 season, with Martin Short taking over O'Rourke driving position alongside Tim Sugden as the team went into 2003. The team once again switched back to the FIA GT Championship's N-GT class, but with greater success. The FIA GT Championship is a Sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO at the behest of the Fédération Internationale de At the third round at Pergusa, the team won the N-GT class. The Autodromo di Pergusa is an automomobile and motorcycle circuit that encircles the only Sicilian natural lake Pergusa Lake. This led to Porsche taking interest in the team and offering factory driver Emmanuel Collard. Emmanuel Collard (born April 3, 1971 in Arpajon, Essonne) is a French racing driver This led to a second class win at Anderstorp, and eventually fourth place in the N-GT team championship. The Scandinavian Raceway is a race circuit in Anderstorp ( Gislaved Municipality) Sweden.
Demise
Mere days after the end of the FIA GT season, Steven O'Rourke would pass away in the United States due to a stroke. The team, which had received strong support from Porsche for preparation for the 2004 season, was unable to survive without O'Rourke's leadership. Porsche SE or Porsche ( German, ˈpɔɹʃə is a German manufacturer of automobiles which is majority-owned by the Porsche and Piëch The team would fold prior to the start of the 2004 season, with its assets being sold off, including O'Rourke's racing cars such as his McLaren F1 GTR and the EMKA-badged Group C cars. Group C was a category of Auto racing, introduced into Sports car racing by the FIA in 1982 along with Group A for touring cars Tim Sugden would also move on to the GruppeM team.
External links
- Aston Martin Picture Gallery - EMKA Aston Martin
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic