Ian Dawson

Ian Dawson was born in South Shields, England, then moved to Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. When he was six he competitively raced bicycles, ran cross-country, long distance track running and started to become interested in competitive sports at about the age of twelve. Ian started an engineering apprenticeship at the age of seventeen in commercial vehicle design and manufacturing, which steered him into a final year case study which was undertaken at the Broadspeed Racing company in Birmingham, England. This led to a full-time position as Mechanic/Fabricator with the then dominant Ford Escort European racing team. The journey continued through positions in Holland, Spain, and France working with the Ford racing team. Returning to England after being offered a position on the new Ford Modus F3000 Team, Ian was then presented with a position at Team Lotus, where he worked with Jackie Ickx, Emerson Fittipaldi, Ronnie Peterson, and progressed on to be car chief on Mario Andretti’s Formula One World Championship winning Lotus.

This started a successful period in sports car racing, which lead Ian to return to the UK and manage Porsche Cars GB Factory 962 with Derek Bell, racing in the world championships and the Japanese series. In 1984, Ian was offered the job of running Zakspeed’s American operation in Detroit. Ian was responsible for the Ford factory’s IMSA sportscar race team, test team, schedule and production shop, and he managed the team during the weekend races and engineered the number 1 car. This team featured world class drivers such as Klaus Ludwig, Bobby Rahal, Geoff Brabham and Lyn St. James.

The following few years he searched for the next real race program, which saw positions back in Formula One with Pacific and Formula 3000, narrowly missing the championship with David Coulthard by two points. A move back to the USA as Motorsports Director for Risi Competizione to operate the two car Ferrari 333SP program in the USA and Europe was shorter than expected due to work Visa issues, so he accepted a position in Canada to assemble a Le Mans program to operate a Lola in the new 675 class, which on its first attempt won the class in the 24-hour race. Ian returned to England taking the position of Managing Director of the Ascari Sports Car company, which apart from developing a race winning sports car, he also helped develop the company’s own road super car, the KZ-1 and the British Euroboss Formula One series.

After leaving Ascari, Ian was asked to develop a new race team and he then obtained two Lola LMP1 sports cars. These cars were raced and became the first diesel-powered cars ever to enter the Le Mans 24-hour race, with support from Caterpillar. Ian’s association with Radical started in 2010, and has continue to develop into a multitask operation which saw the joint venture with Roush Yates to develop and race the all-new Ford EcoBoost Turbo engines. The Radical Texas dealership, with race events and client support, has continued to grow. Ian’s interest in new and innovative programs turned full circle with the testing of the Radical LMP2 car fitted with the same Ford EcoBoost engine which is currently installed in every one of the Radical RXC 500 road and track cars.

Simon Dawson, Ian’s son and now business partner for the past seven years, heads up the media and business development for the company. Simon gives family trust and moral standings to all its activities and he supports the timeless passion that drives the group. Now the Dawson family is ready to re-entering motorsports on a global platform with the advent of new technical and operating procedures which leads the Dawson’s and their partners into exciting championship-winning times ahead. Ian has been married to his wife Joanne since 1978 and is as dedicated to his wife and family as he is to his craft.