Ron Dennis

Ron Dennis in 2000

Dennis 1990

Ron Dennis , CBE (born June 1, 1947 in Woking , England ) is a British entrepreneur and former motorsport manager . From 1981 to 2017 he was co-owner of the Formula 1 racing team McLaren , and until 2009 he was also its team boss.

Career

Ron Dennis began his motorsport career as a mechanic with Cooper Racing Cars in 1966 . He later moved to the Brabham racing team and became chief mechanic of Jack Brabham in 1968 . In 1971 he founded the racing team Rondel Racing , which was supported by Motul , together with Neil Trundle (then also employed by the Brabham racing team) . In 1973, Rondel became an independent racing car designer and, after a successful Formula 2 season in 1973, planned to move up to Formula 1 for the following year. The company failed after the race car had already been completed when Motul at the end of 1973 after the start of the Oil crisis withdrew in the short term. Dennis sold the inventory and the workshop to Graham Hill , who built his own Formula 1 team Embassy Hill on this basis .

In 1974 Dennis organized the Formula 2 outing of two Ecuadorian racing drivers who were supported by Philip Morris and Marlboro . The racing team was called Ortega Ecuador Marlboro Team and, in addition to Formula 2, also appeared at the Le Mans 24-hour race . Dennis thought the two drivers were hopeless, but nevertheless agreed to the project because the contributions from Marlboro were so high that he was able to build up enough reserves to found his own team again in 1975. The new team was called Project Three Racing and entered Formula 2 with three cars in 1975. It was located in Dennis' home town of Woking and had three March 752 racing cars, which were mainly used for Italian pilots. Vittorio Brambilla brought the team a win; the other drivers were less successful. In 1976 Dennis founded the Project Four Racing Team , which competed regularly in Formula 2 until 1980. At the end of the 1970s, Project Four completed around 30 BMW M1 vehicles on behalf of BMW , which were intended for the Procar series . The income from this contract enabled the team to plan promotion to Formula 1 in 1981.

However, an independent Formula 1 appearance did not materialize. Instead, Project Four merged in 1980 in the fall of 1980 with the Formula 1 racing team McLaren, which was supported by Marlboro. After the merger, the team was called McLaren International . The company was later renamed the McLaren Group and divided into different areas, including what is now the Formula 1 racing team McLaren Racing . Under the leadership of Ron Dennis, this won seven constructors 'and ten drivers' world titles.

In 1994 Dennis started a 15-year partnership with the automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz , which initially acted as engine supplier to the racing team, but later also acquired shares in the McLaren Group and enabled technology transfer. At the height of this partnership, the Finn Mika Häkkinen became world champion for the British-German alliance in 1998 and 1999 , and in 1998 the team also won the Constructors' Cup. On March 1, 2009, Dennis resigned from his position as team manager and handed over the leadership of the team to his successor Martin Whitmarsh , who had previously acted as managing director for the racing team. Ron Dennis confirmed contrary to reports that he made this decision 100 percent independently. Regardless of the resignation of his office, Dennis remains a co-owner of the team and thus has influence on important decisions. On January 16, 2014, it was announced that Ron Dennis was returning to his role as McLaren CEO. Dennis had to leave this position early in November 2016 after losing a legal battle with the other owners. Dennis remains on the company's board of directors, but was given leave of absence as CEO after the majority of the board of directors spoke out against him on November 15, 2016.

In addition to his work for the Formula 1 team, Dennis was also a co-founder of McLaren Automotive , another part of the McLaren Group in 1989 , of which he was CEO until summer 2017. McLaren Automotive produced the McLaren F1 , a revolutionary F1 road sports car , and together with DaimlerChrysler developed the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren sports car , which was presented in 2003. In June 2017, Dennis sold his shares in the McLaren Group and also retired from running the company.

Personal

Dennis lived with her and his three children in Surrey in the south of England until 2008, when he and his wife announced their divorce after 22 years of marriage .

Quote

The phrase “To finish first, first you have to finish”, which is often quoted in motorsport, comes from Dennis.

Awards

In 2004 Dennis was accepted as "Commander" in the Order of the British Empire for his services to British motorsport . In 2001 he received the gold medal of the British racing driver club BRDC. Dennis was also awarded honorary doctorates from De Montfort University (1996), City University London (1997) and the University of Surrey (2000). In 2009 Dennis received an award at the Sport Industry Awards for his life's work and his successes in Formula 1.

Web links

Commons : Ron Dennis  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Interview , Focus 23/11, June 6, 2011

Individual evidence

1. ^ Dinner with Dennis: Motorsport, November 2012.
2. ↑ "Ron Dennis resigns" ( Memento from February 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (Sport.de on January 16, 2009)
3. ^ SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg Germany: Formula 1: Ron Dennis has to leave McLaren. In: SPIEGEL ONLINE. Retrieved November 15, 2016 . 
4. ^ Mathias Brunner: McLaren: Ron Dennis is gone, Sheikh as the new CEO. In: speedwek.com. June 30, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2017 . 
5. ↑ Youtube: Ron Dennis. Retrieved February 15, 2018 . 
6. ^ "Award for Ron Dennis" (Motorsport-Total.com on May 2, 2009)