Neil McEwan: Difference between revisions

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McEwan's early outings for Mike Rowe Racing in 1986 and 1987 were very anonymous, with a best finish of 7th from his five attempts he did not trouble the scorers. That was to change when he joined Middlebridge Racing in 1988 with the intention of running a full season with the team. He claimed his first points for the team in the fourth round of the season, and added his maiden podium finish a few weeks later; both results came at his home track of Brands Hatch. His season would take a nosedive at Thruxton, however, when an accident at Church in qualifying left him with a broken wrist. After some time out to let it recover, McEwan returned to the track with a stunning podium at Oulton Park, although he and the team did opt to skip the rounds at both Spa and Thruxton owing to the time already lost in the season, and consequent lack of funds.
McEwan's early outings for Mike Rowe Racing in 1986 and 1987 were very anonymous, with a best finish of 7th from his five attempts he did not trouble the scorers. That was to change when he joined Middlebridge Racing in 1988 with the intention of running a full season with the team. He claimed his first points for the team in the fourth round of the season, and added his maiden podium finish a few weeks later; both results came at his home track of Brands Hatch. His season would take a nosedive at Thruxton, however, when an accident at Church in qualifying left him with a broken wrist. After some time out to let it recover, McEwan returned to the track with a stunning podium at Oulton Park, although he and the team did opt to skip the rounds at both Spa and Thruxton owing to the time already lost in the season, and consequent lack of funds.


This would prove to be a strong year for McEwan, as he recorded three further podiums including a win at Donington Park to place fifth in the Championship, this time driving for Bowman Racing. McEwan considered this to be proof enough that he was ready to make the step up to British Formula 3000 with GA Motorsport, driving alongside [[Vittorio Zoboli]], though he did return for two rounds of the 1990 British F3 Championship to "keep his eye in".
This would prove to be a strong year for McEwan, as he recorded three further podiums including a win at Donington Park to place fifth in the Championship, this time driving for [[B&S Fabrications]], the former Formula One team. McEwan considered this to be proof enough that he was ready to make the step up to British Formula 3000 with GA Motorsport, driving alongside [[Vittorio Zoboli]], though he did return for two rounds of the 1990 British F3 Championship to "keep his eye in".


== Formula 3000 Career ==
== Formula 3000 Career ==

Latest revision as of 10:29, 23 January 2023

McEwan.png
Neil McEwan
Details
Name Neil McEwan
Born 6th June 1966
Nationality Template:GBR British
Achievements
Won a defamation lawsuit against Sue Jawhard

Neil McEwan (born 6th June, 1966 in Gillingham, Kent) is a British former racing driver and Precision Team Principal from 2022.

Early life

Having been born and raised in Kent, McEwan had been exposed to motorsport from an early age. The first race he ever attended was the 1978 Tony Brise Memorial Trophy, which was won by Arrows driver Keke Rosberg. Inspired by the racing that he watched, he was able to work his way through the scholarship classes at Buckmore Park Circuit alongside his academic studies. His car racing career began with him picking up sporadic drives at Brands Hatch as a nineteen-year-old, and McEwan would not run a full Formula One season until the age of 21, by which time he had graduated from the University of Kent with a degree he described as "computer stuff".

At around this time, McEwan was able to make use of his father's banking connections to secure the backing that would be required to secure a seat at the best teams in British Formula Three and Formula 3000.

Early career

Neil McEwan initially raced in British national series.
Template:GBR British F3 Career
Entries 34
Starts 33
Wins 1
Donington, '89
Podiums 6
Points 41
Best Season 5th
1989, 28 pts

McEwan's early outings for Mike Rowe Racing in 1986 and 1987 were very anonymous, with a best finish of 7th from his five attempts he did not trouble the scorers. That was to change when he joined Middlebridge Racing in 1988 with the intention of running a full season with the team. He claimed his first points for the team in the fourth round of the season, and added his maiden podium finish a few weeks later; both results came at his home track of Brands Hatch. His season would take a nosedive at Thruxton, however, when an accident at Church in qualifying left him with a broken wrist. After some time out to let it recover, McEwan returned to the track with a stunning podium at Oulton Park, although he and the team did opt to skip the rounds at both Spa and Thruxton owing to the time already lost in the season, and consequent lack of funds.

This would prove to be a strong year for McEwan, as he recorded three further podiums including a win at Donington Park to place fifth in the Championship, this time driving for B&S Fabrications, the former Formula One team. McEwan considered this to be proof enough that he was ready to make the step up to British Formula 3000 with GA Motorsport, driving alongside Vittorio Zoboli, though he did return for two rounds of the 1990 British F3 Championship to "keep his eye in".

Formula 3000 Career

After a somewhat slow start in which his team failed to get to grips with the number eight car, McEwan claimed his maiden Formula 3000 race win in his sixth race at this level, winning an attritional race on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit. This immediately propelled him into the upper reaches of the Championship table, a position that he would later consolidate with a second-place finish at Donington Park. McEwan's fifth place in the Championship put him both one place and one point above teammate Zoboli.

McEwan returned to the team in 1991, competing in the first three rounds of the Championship before a second-place finish at Brands Hatch attracted the attention of Dome, in the International championship, who invited him to replace the underperforming Mauro Martini from Mugello onwards. He had a difficult season in the uncompetitive Dome car, culminating in an unfortunate accident with Ukyo Katayama in which the Japanese driver sustained injuries that kept him out of the season finale. McEwan received a race ban for his part in the incident, being replaced by local French driver Mike Boullier at Magny-Cours.

Despite this, the team kept faith in McEwan for the 1992 season, in which he performed well enough to attract the attention of Oreca Formula 1 team for the 1993 Formula One season. In the background of the 1992 season, McEwan was also contesting a defamation lawsuit with journalist Sue Jawhard, who incorrectly reported that Katayama had lost his life in the accident, and used it to coin the nickname "Murderer McEwan" that would follow the British driver through the early 1990s.

Formula One Career

In the 1993 Formula One season, McEwan started strongly by recording a 7th placed finish at the Pacific Grand Prix, home race of team sponsor Footwork. This would ultimately be the best result of a very difficult season for Oreca, one in which long-standing driver Sophie Fabron was fired from the team to be replaced by American driver Robby Gordon. Unlike Gordon, McEwan had a strong relationship with the team's engineers. Also unlike Gordon, McEwan was retained for the 1994 season.

Sportscars and Team Management

After McEwan failed to find a drive for the 1998 Formula One season, McEwan switched his focus to sportscars. He picked up various drives in series that included the American Le Mans Series, Sports Racing World Cup and 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2006, McEwan founded McEwan Automotive in order to build a car according to the new LMP1 regulations. His four attempts at the famous race made him international motorsport's most recent driver-constructor.

After winding down his sportscar efforts, McEwan Automotive became involved in junior teams in a consulting capacity, working with Mucke Motorsport from 2010 to 2018. In 2022, McEwan was promoted to the Team Principal of Precision following the departure of Jeroen Krautmeir from the role.

Racing Career Results

British Formula Three Championship

Season Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pts Pos
1986 Template:GBR Mike Rowe Racing Ralt-Volkswagen THR
 
SIL
 
THR
 
SIL
 
BRH
 
THR
 
DON
 
SIL
 
SIL
 
OUL
 
ZAN
 
DON
 
SNE
 
SIL
 
BRH
Ret
ZOL
 
SPA
 
SIL
 
0 -
1987 Template:GBR Mike Rowe Racing Reynard-Volkswagen THR
 
BRH
7
SIL
 
THR
 
SIL
 
BRH
Ret
THR
 
SIL
 
ZAN
 
DON
 
SIL
 
SNE
 
DON
 
OUL
 
SIL
 
BRH
10
SPA
 
THR
Ret
0 -
1988 Template:GBR Middlebridge Racing Reynard-Toyota THR
Ret
SIL
Ret
THR
8
BRH
6
DON
10
SIL
9
BRH
3
THR
DNS
SIL
INJ
DON
INJ
SIL
INJ
SNE
INJ
OUL
3
SIL
12
BRH
Ret
SPA
 
THR
 
SIL
7
9 11th
1989 Template:GBR B&S Fabrications Ralt-Volkswagen THR
4
SIL
14
BRH
Ret
SIL
6
BRH
7
THR
Ret
SIL
3
DON
1
SIL
8
SNE
6
OUL
3
SIL
Ret
BRH
DSQ
DON
5
SIL
Ret
THR
4
28 5th
1990 Template:GBR Hepworth Racing Reynard-Volkswagen DON
 
SIL
 
THR
 
BRH
 
SIL
 
BRH
 
THR
 
SIL
Ret
DON
 
SIL
 
SNE
 
OUL
 
SIL
 
BRH
3
DON
 
THR
 
SIL
 
4 13th

British Formula 3000 Championship

Season Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pts Pos
1990 Template:GBR GA Motorsport Lola-Cosworth BRH
6
OUL
Ret
THR
8
SNE
DNS
BRH
7
BRH
1
OUL
Ret
BRH
Ret
SIL
6
DON
2
17 5th
1991 Template:GBR GA Motorsport Reynard-Cosworth OUL
Ret
DON
Ret
BRH
2
BRH
 
OUL
 
SNE
 
THR
 
DON
 
BRH
 
SIL
 
DON
 
6 11th

International Formula 3000 Championship

Season Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pts Pos
1991 Flag of Japan svg.png Dome Dome-Cosworth IMO
 
SIL
 
PAU
 
JER
 
MUG
19
ENN
Ret
HOC
16
BRH
12
SPA
14
BUG
23
MAG
EX
0 NC
1992 Flag of Japan svg.png Dome Dome-Cosworth SIL
ENT
IMO
ENT
PAU
ENT
CAT
ENT
ENN
ENT
HOC
ENT
NUR
ENT
SPA
ENT
EST
ENT
BUG
ENT
MAG
ENT
BUE
ENT
* *

Formula One World Championship

Season Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pts Pos
1993 Template:FRA Footwork Team Oreca Oreca-Lamborghini RSA
Ret
BRA
19
PAC
7
SMR
Ret
ESP
12
MON
Ret
CAN
13†
FRA
10
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
HUN
16
BEL
Ret
ITA
INJ
POR
12†
JPN
Ret
AUS
12
0 NC
1994 Template:FRA Footwork Team Oreca Oreca-Mugen-Honda BRA
Ret
PAC
Ret
SMR
Ret
MON
5
ESP
7
CAN
Ret
FRA
Ret
GBR
6
GER
13
HUN
Ret
BEL
14
ITA
Ret
PRT
Ret
EUR
Ret
JPN
4
AUS
7
6 14th

24 Hours of Le Mans

  • This is more of a rough guide so that future-me knows who it was I wanted to try to pick up. Will most definitely change as and when the time comes - therefore to be treated as subject to change.
Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Pos. Class
Pos.
2000 Flag of the Netherlands svg.png Kickert Motorsport Engineering Flag of the Netherlands svg.png Pieter Kickert
Template:AUS Paul Stokell
Porsche 911 GT3-R GT TBC
2001 Template:GBR Ecurie Ecosse Template:GBR Ian McKellar
Template:BEL Bruno Lambert
Saleen S7-R GTS
2003 Template:USA Risi Competizione Template:USA Shane Lewis
Template:USA Butch Leitzinger
Ferrari 360 Modena GTC GT
2006 Template:GBR McEwan Automotive Template:FRA Mike Boullier
Flag of the Netherlands svg.png Pieter Kickert
McEwan MA1 LMP1
2007 Template:GBR McEwan Automotive Template:FRA Mike Boullier
Flag of Portugal svg.png Tiago Monteiro
McEwan MA3 LMP1
2008 Template:GBR McEwan Automotive Flag of Portugal svg.png Tiago Monteiro
Template:GBR James Rossiter
McEwan MA4 LMP1
2009 Template:GBR McEwan Automotive Flag of Portugal svg.png Tiago Monteiro
Template:GBR James Rossiter
McEwan MA4 LMP1