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Ricardo Improves Milan Dragway for Ricardo Vehicle Test Center

6 December 2000

Ricardo Improves Milan Dragway for Ricardo Vehicle Test Center

    BELLEVILLE, Mich., Dec. 6 Ricardo, Inc., today announced
it has signed an agreement with Milan Dragway to develop the drag strip into a
1.55 mile loop that will become the Ricardo Vehicle Test Center.  The
development will not change the regularly scheduled National Hot Rod
Association (NHRA) events at the track.
    Jeremy Holt, President of Ricardo, Inc., said the track development and
the construction of a 1,000 sq. ft. building to house Ricardo service bays
will give Ricardo a superior vehicle test center.  Holt said the improved
facility will continue to be available to the automotive magazines that have
used Milan in the past for road testing vehicles.  Those magazines include
Motor Trend, Popular Science, Car and Driver, Auto World and Road and Track.
    Ricardo's $210,000 investment in the track will provide the company with
facilities for noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) testing for complete
vehicles and components like braking systems, as well as testing for pass-by-
noise, powertrain calibration, vehicle testing and a variety of research
programs.  The Ricardo Vehicle Test Center is expected to be completed by
early spring, 2001.
    Milan Dragway has operated since 1963 and is considered one of the
foremost drag strips in the U.S.  It is the home dragway of the NHRA Pro World
Champion and a number of NHRA team champions.
    Ricardo, Inc., is the U.S. subsidiary of Ricardo plc, founded in the early
1900s, with its world headquarters in the United Kingdom.  Ricardo is one of
the world's foremost independent automotive and powertrain engineering
consultancies.  Ricardo is a leading engineering technology provider,
supplying research, design and development services to the world's automotive
manufacturers and their suppliers.