Mallock is one of Britain’s foremost racing families. They just don’t like to talk about it… until now. Damien Smith paid a visit to RML’s headquarters to find out more about an understated powerhouse

Like father, like son: Michael and Ray Mallock stand at the end of the Bizzarrini continuation build line at RML’s base

“We had been put on the back foot with inaccurate stories about the future of RML”

Lotus GT4 offerings being made ready. Top: Major Arthur Mallock in action in one of his own U2s at Silverstone in 1961

MOTORING PICTURE LIBRARY

He’s a proud dad, Ray Mallock. Just don’t expect him to make a song and dance about it. At 72, the racer turned team owner and preparation specialist has fully earned the right to step back and enjoy his status as one of UK motor sport’s most respected elder statesmen.

Since 2016, the baton to steer the family firm has passed into the assured hands of son Michael, who is leading Ray Mallock Ltd – better known as RML – into rich and increasingly diverse new avenues.

That has allowed Ray to return (with obvious glee) to his roots as a racing driver, most notably in a classic front-engined 1960 Formula Junior built by his late father. Major Arthur Mallock wasn’t one to blow his own trumpet either. It’s just not the family way.

Has that natural tendency towards modesty held Mallock back? Major Arthur pre-dated Colin Chapman and Jack Brabham as a pioneer of making light, strong, beautifully engineered racing cars his loyal and committed customers could believe in.

Yet his company never expanded far beyond the grassroots and its signature U2 and Clubmans racers that remain a beloved staple of the UK national scene today.

Ray too might have gone further than skimming the edges of Formula 1 in his own racing life, had he developed a hustling sales patter to match his obvious ability. But you can’t be what you’re not. Just get on with it, without fuss. That's a fitting Mallock motto.

“We’ve always been pretty modest about our stuff and I take my hat off to people like David Richards, who really promote their brand,” shrugs Ray. “We haven’t done that in this family. We’ve just got on, below the radar.”