Ricardo and Swift Engineering Join Forces to Supply New Race Car to Formula Nippon Series


VAN BUREN TWP., Mich., Jan. 10 - Ricardo UK Ltd. will be the exclusive supplier of transmissions to California-based Swift Engineering Inc. for a new chassis that will see action starting in the 2009 season of Formula Nippon, Japan's premier open-wheel racing series. Ricardo already supplies transmissions for Japan's Super GT series as well as single-make series including the World Series by Renault and the Indy Pro Series.

This contract award builds on the established reputation of Ricardo as transmission, driveline and engine-technology supplier to the highest levels of international competitive motorsport. In May 2007, the FIA announced the appointment of Ricardo to provide technical support and advice on the development of future regulations for the Formula One World Championship.

Work already is underway on the design and development of the transmission for the Formula Nippon chassis. The first Ricardo transmissions for the Swift 017.n are due to be delivered in June 2008.

"Formula Nippon is a highly prestigious project for Swift Engineering and we are very pleased to have Ricardo partner with us for the supply of transmissions," said Casper van der Schoot, Swift Engineering program director. "Ricardo has a proven track record in the highest echelons of motorsport and will be able to provide us with first-rated products and support in this program. We are very excited about this new relationship and are looking forward to see the results when the 017.n first hits the track in the fall of this year."

"We are proud to have been nominated as transmission supplier for the next-generation Formula Nippon chassis," said Ricardo director of high performance transmissions products, Mark Barge. "This contract award further reinforces our growing reputation as the supplier of choice for leading motorsport customers in all parts of the world. We look forward to working together as a team with Swift in order to deliver a state-of-the-art transmission for the next generation of Formula Nippon."

Ricardo plc: With technical centres and offices in the UK, USA, Germany, the Czech Republic, China, Japan and Korea, Ricardo is a leading independent technology provider and strategic consultant to the world's transportation sector industries. The company's engineering expertise ranges from vehicle systems integration, controls, electronics and software development, to the latest driveline and transmission systems and gasoline, diesel, hybrid and fuel cell powertrain technologies. Its customers include the world's major vehicle, engine and transmission manufacturers, tier 1 suppliers and leading motorsport teams. Ricardo is committed to excellence and industry leadership in people, technology and knowledge; approximately 70 per cent of its employees are highly qualified multi-disciplined professional engineers and technicians. A public company, Ricardo plc posted sales of $344 million in financial year 2007 and is a constituent of the FTSE techMark 100 index - a group of innovative technology companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information, visit www.ricardo.com.

Swift Engineering, Inc: Since 1983 California-based Swift has designed and built over 500 high-performance racing cars. Swift started by building the DB-1, the most successful Formula Ford in history, and has continued to build ever faster and technically more challenging vehicles. Notable Swift racing cars have included CART Racing cars (Indianapolis type) driven by Michael Andretti and all of the Formula Atlantic racing cars (over 200) used by the Champ Car Series since 1998, the latest of which is the Swift 016.a Atlantic car.

Following the success of its own racing cars, Swift earned the opportunity to assist other well known racing programs, both in Formula 1 and NASCAR, utilizing the talents that brought Swift its own success. Those racing programs included assisting the Williams Grand Prix Engineering Team, Jaguar Racing F1 Team and Toyota's NASCAR programs in the Nextel Cup and Craftsman Truck Series. Swift will exclusively be supplying cars to the Formula Nippon series, starting in 2009. For more information, visit www.swiftengineering.com.

Source: Ricardo, Inc.

CONTACT: Anthony Smith, Ricardo Media Office of Ricardo, Inc.,
+44-1273-382710, media@ricardo.com, or

Joe Kirik of The Quell Group, +1-248-649-8900, jkirik@quell.com, or

Kanna Place of Swift Engineering, +1-949-492-6608, kplace@swiftengineering.com

Web site: www.ricardo.com/
http://www.swiftengineering.com/

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