The other more visually striking change is the new Andy Blackmore Design livery. The matt black paint of last year – and several hundred other coats from the years beforehand if it comes to that – has now been stripped, a green/grey sponsor-laden design having taken its place courtesy of Foilacar in Dubai (a matching design of which will also adorn Jonathan’s helmet). Whilst upping the Type-R’s performance was crucial, its new look was just as important.
“I liked Andy’s positive attitude and how enthusiastic he was,” Jonathan explains. “I liked his designs with the Saudi Falcons” – Andy’s designs adorn not only the team’s Porsche GT3 Challenge Cup Middle East contenders but also the Formula 2000 single-seater and its BMW Z4 – “and I wanted something a bit modern and unique. He came back initially with about eight concepts, and the one he recommended was the one we went with. I thought if that’s the one he likes and feels passionate about, that’s the one he’s going to do the best job on.
“It’s a great design and it’s important for me personally too. I’ve company I’ve worked with for seven years – EC Harris International Ltd – is on it, and for them to come on-board and support me is a big thing. Also, the second sponsor I have – Zettanet – have the same corporate colours, so it all tied together nicely!”
Having completed only one day of testing, the full potential of the new and improved Integra Type-R will only be realised at this weekend’s opening round at Yas Marina. Given the disappointments of last year though, the only way – surely – is up. And that might even include a Dubai 24 Hours entry too.
“We took the view of preparing the car potentially for 24-hour racing, so now it has all the brackets and fittings for a full air jack system and a bolt-on big fuel tank. I would say it’s 50:50 at this stage whether or not we compete, and it would depend purely on how the first [NGK] few races go.
“But I think it will be close this year since the Hondas and Clios are not so far apart. Okay, Rupesh had the edge last year, but once he had ballast applied he was certainly within arm’s reach. And we really hope there will be more competitors. It’s really important that the season unfolds and increases in interest rather than taper off. There should be four Hondas and five Clios at the first race, and I’ve heard that there might be another Clio coming from the UK.”
Here’s hoping then that the next time Jonathan Mullan cruises down pitroad it’s towards victory lane, and not as a result of a cracked fuel line.
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Jonathan would like to thank the following people:
“I’d firstly like to thank LAP57 Racing for an amazing re-build, and am very appreciative of the Support from Zettanet LLC and EC Harris International Ltd. I also have a silent sponsor who is a huge motorsport fan to whom I am very grateful. My thanks also to Richard at Foilacar (Dubai) for a quality application of the livery
“I’d also like to thank Andy Blackmore, who was a pleasure to work with, for his superb livery design. Another reason why I opted for this was to boost the profile of the NGK Racing Series, the car, Lap57 Racing and our sponsors. I sincerely hope the unique design will be photographed many times during the season.”
