Team story
Origins
Before building their own single-seaters, John Macdonald and Mick Ralph had raced as RAM with purchased cars, including Brabham BT44Bs in 1976. The name came from the two partners. The period recorded here begins in 1983 with the 01: it must be distinguished from the earlier customer entries and the March cars run in the early 1980s.
The Formula 1 journey
Eliseo Salazar opened that period in Brazil with 14th place. In 1984 Jonathan Palmer gave RAM its best World Championship result, eighth again at Jacarepaguá. Philippe Alliot remained in the line-up in 1985, alongside Manfred Winkelhock.
Winkelhock’s death in a sports-car race at Mosport forced another change, with Kenny Acheson called in to replace him.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of RAM
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · Brazilian Grand Prix
Eliseo Salazar · Brazilian Grand Prix 1983. The recorded position is P14; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · Brazilian Grand Prix
Jonathan Palmer · Brazilian Grand Prix 1984. The recorded position is P8; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This marks the first win or podium where one exists, otherwise the highest recorded placing for this constructor.
Latest recorded appearance · European Grand Prix
Philippe Alliot · European Grand Prix 1985. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
The move from the 01’s naturally aspirated Cosworth to the 02’s four-cylinder Hart turbo was not enough to reach the points. Gustav Brunner was recruited for the 03; Skoal Bandit backing gave the car a recognisable green livery. Qualifying remained a recurring problem, alongside the turbo package’s reliability difficulties.
What remains
The final starts came in 1985, before the organisation abandoned its efforts to continue in the championship. RAM’s story traces a move from entering other people’s cars to becoming a small constructor in the turbocharged era. Its new technical responsibility did not erase the financial gap: none of the three recorded model designations produced a World Championship points-scoring placing.