Dave Ryan | |
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 Ryan pictured on the podium at the2008 Chinese Grand Prix | |
| Born | (1954-05-12)12 May 1954 (age 70) |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| Occupation(s) | Racing Director,Manor Racing |
David James Ryan[1] (born 12 May 1954 inNew Zealand) is the former sporting director of theMcLaren Formula One team and former racing director of theManor Formula One team. He spent 35 years with McLaren until he left in April 2009 and set up VonRyan Racing to compete inGT racing.
A formerspeedway racer, Ryan left New Zealand for the UK in his late teens and joined McLaren as a mechanic. He worked on theMcLaren M23 ofJochen Mass and withJames Hunt when he won the World Championship in 1976. After nearly a decade as a mechanic, Ryan was appointed to the role of Chief Mechanic for the team, before taking over the role of factory team manager. In 1990 he took on more responsibility as team manager looking after the race and test team activities on track and at thefactory inWoking. Then 18 years later, he was appointed as sporting director with more responsibilities, however he was suspended prior to the2009 Malaysian Grand Prix after an incident concerning a yellow flag situation during the2009 Australian Grand Prix. During his time with the team he worked with the likes of Formula One championsAyrton Senna,Alain Prost,Niki Lauda,Mika Häkkinen andLewis Hamilton and the team won 151 races, 12 Drivers' Championships and eight Constructors' Championships.
In 2009 he left the team and set up his own outfit – VonRyan Racing. In 2015, racing two McLaren 650GTs, the team won three races in theBlancpain Endurance andBritish GT series.
In November 2015, Ryan was appointed to the position of Racing Director of theManor F1 Team which eventually folded in January 2017.[2] He was present at theAbu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final event of the season, working with the team.[3]
He is now Racing Director ofW Series, the new single-seater championship for female drivers only.
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