Ultimate Motorsport
| Company type | Motorsport team |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motorsport |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founder | Barry Walsh |
| Defunct | 2009 |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
Key people | Barry Walsh, Jonny Ostrowski, Colin Morgan |
| Products | Participation in British Formula 3 Championship and World Series by Renault Championship |
Ultimate Motorsport was a UK-based motorsport team that participated in both the British Formula 3 Championship and the World Series by Renault Championship. The organization discontinued its activities towards the conclusion of the 2009 season.
History
Established in 2007 under the leadership of Barry Walsh, Ultimate Motorsport recruited ex-McLaren staff members Jonny Ostrowski and Colin Morgan to build the team for the 2007 British Formula 3 Championship. By the end of that year, they collaborated with the French squad Signature-Plus to create Ultimate Signature, which competed in the World Series by Renault starting in 2008.
The team received substantial financial investment from Angolan petroleum firm Sonangol, facilitating the launch of the Ultimate Motorsport Academy. This initiative was designed to nurture emerging talent from karting through various formula categories such as Formula BMW, Formula Three, and World Series by Renault, with a long-term goal of advancing drivers to Formula One.
2008
The season commenced with Brazilian Fabio Carbone, an experienced Formula Three racer, alongside Claudio Cantelli from International Formula Master. The team initially encountered difficulties, earning only one point across three rounds. Midway through the season, Cantelli was replaced by Argentine Esteban Guerrieri, who was promoted from Ultimate Motorsport's British Formula 3 program.
During the fifth round in Hungary, Carbone achieved the team's first podium finish by placing third in the sprint race and subsequently secured their maiden victory starting from pole position. He went on to claim two additional wins at the Nürburgring and Estoril, ultimately ranking third overall behind Julien Jousse and champion Giedo van der Garde.
Guerrieri recorded his initial podium with a third-place finish at Le Mans after securing pole position and triumphed in the final race at Barcelona. Despite missing five early-season races, he concluded the championship in eighth place.
With a total of eight podium finishes during the campaign, Ultimate Signature ended their inaugural year as runners-up in the Teams' championship.
2009
For the 2009 season, Ultimate Motorsport signed Spanish driver Miguel Molina and British racer Greg Mansell, son of former Formula One World Champion Nigel Mansell. Molina achieved three podiums while Mansell accumulated four championship points. However, after losing Sonangol's sponsorship prior to the Nürburgring rounds, Mansell departed and the team withdrew from further competition that year.
World Series by Renault results
| Year | Car | Drivers | Races | Wins | Poles | Fast laps | Points | D.C. | T.C. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Dallara T08 Renault | Template:Country data BrazilTemplate:Namespace detect showall Fabio Carbone | 17 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 97 | 3rd | 2nd |
| Template:Country data BrazilTemplate:Namespace detect showall Claudio Cantelli | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 28th* | |||
| Template:Country data ArgentinaTemplate:Namespace detect showall Esteban Guerrieri | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 62 | 8th | |||
- Cantelli's points were scored with the RC Motorsport team