<< Prev Page 2 of 2 A lack of funding delayed the introduction of the RHAM/1 to the 1977 Silverstone 1000 km race. It was shared by Hamilton himself and David Preece. The big Aston Martin was nicknamed 'The Muncher' for its appetite for brakes. This also let it down at its debut when overheating rear brakes caused the seal in the differential to fail. At Le Mans, the car was forced to run in the GTP class for prototypes. Joining the Silverstone pairing was fellow Brit Mike Salmon. Starting 56th, the small team pressed on to finish a commendable 17th.
Hamilton continued developing his Aston Martin racer with an eye or returning to Le Mans in 1978. The engine was further reworked and a pair of turbos added. This raised the power to a startling 800 bhp. The bodywork was also redesigned with the controversial rear-end replaced by a design more closely resembling the production car. Despite Hamilton's best efforts the RHAM/1 was not raced in 1978. It did race at Silverstone in 1979 where Derek Bell and Preece finished 13th overall and at Le Mans where Hamilton, Salmon and Preece were forced to retire early with an oil leak.
The car's final contemporary outing came at Silverstone in 1980 where a massive wing was added for good measure. Hamilton and Bell drove the big Aston Martin again but a rear hub failure ended their charge early. The final chapter in this Aston Martin's remarkable history is perhaps its most unusual; it was used to set the World Land Speed Record while towing a caravan (124.91 mph) in October of 1980. Hamilton did continue his efforts and was one of the driving forces behind the Aston Martin Nimrod Group C project. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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A lack of funding delayed the introduction of the RHAM/1 to the 1977 Silverstone 1000 km race. It was shared by Hamilton himself and David Preece. The big Aston Martin was nicknamed 'The Muncher' for its appetite for brakes. This also let it down at its debut when overheating rear brakes caused the seal in the differential to fail. At Le Mans, the car was forced to run in the GTP class for prototypes. Joining the Silverstone pairing was fellow Brit Mike Salmon. Starting 56th, the small team pressed on to finish a commendable 17th.