Robin Richardson

Occupation:

IT Manager

Current Residence:

Great Dunmow

Marital Status:

Married to Sue

Career:

Interested in record breaking since the fifties, I had developed my knowledge of the subject to such a point that I was writing articles on the subject and being regularly sought out by others in this fairly closed circle of participants and enthusiasts for infomation about, "where to get this? - whatever happened to that? - is it possible to do this?" To cater for this need, I founded the Speed Record Club and was the President and editor of the club's quartely magazine for three years.
I have worked for DIGITAL for a number of years - currently as European Enterprise Computing & Networks Manager.

How did you get involved in the project?

A phone call from Richard Noble just before Christmas 1993 asking for a meeting was the first time that I suspected something was really going on. At the Thrust2 reunion on the Black Rock Desert in October 1993, Craig Breedlove turned up to tell us about his latest venture and although we now know Richard was heavily into the SSC research program at the time, he didn't let on about anything.
It was early in 1994 that Richard Noble finally called again to ask me to a meeting at the RAC Club in Pall Mall, by which point I'd guessed that this was an early announcement of Richard's latest venture. Fully expecting to be part of a scrum of journalists, I was suprised to be given a one to one presentation of the research work and plans for the future. I've done a bit of selling in my time, but even I was impressed by Richard's pre-emtive close technique. By the time I came out of the meeting I had committed to working on a whole series of interactive programs aimed at sharing the project as widely as possible and providing a method for people to contribute to its ultimate success.

Responsibilities in the UK:

I founded the Mach 1 Club. Launched at the same time as the project in June 1994, the club has been one of the key factors in ThrustSSC's success. What's brilliant about it is that because all the members share the vision, the whole thing's grown organically and has provided not only a steady stream of project funding - particularly in difficult times - but also an almost infinitely variable workforce. Everything is done on a voluntary basis and many members such as Robbie Kraike, Jeremy Davey and Martyn Davidson have come into the core team via the club. Amazingly, the Mach 1 Club is the third largest cash sponsor of the project.
Also, my wide experience in the area of IT prompted me to initiate one of the other major successes of ThrustSSC's operation - the use of the Internet. Three years ago I had to have a number of conversations with Richard before he was convinced that this was the key to sharing the project globally, but once convinced he moved quickly. DIGITAL's Internet Business Group led in Europe by Dave Probert signed a 3 year contract with Richard within 12 days and quickly set about getting the Web Site established. After 6 months initial work to get the basics in place, it became clear that this really was going to work and so I recruited Jeremy Davey as Webmaster from a number of people who had made contact wanting to take on this role. Jeremy has proven to be the ideal choice - he has the combination of technical, writing and photographic skills, plus the dedication to put in the long hours necessary to ensure the site is always up to date - the results speak for themselves.

Responsibilities in Jordan:

Throughout the duration of the project, my ability to deal with large groups of club members, sponsors and the media has been used to good effect, regularly supporting Richard Noble at all manner of events, including the trips to Jordan and Black Rock. Thankfully, I don't get phased by standing up in front of large groups of people, although Richard's request at Black Rock to just give a 20 minute off-the-cuff presentation about the history of the land speed record to the world's press between runs by SSC took me by surprise a little.

Responsibilities in the US:

The same as in Jordan

Car:

Subaru Impreza Turbo

Hobbies:

With regular travel around Europe as part of my job and with the demands of the ThrustSSC project taking most of my spare time for the last 4 years, other interests have taken a back seat, although I and Sue have still found time to travel together on vacations exploring National Parks and wilderness areas in North America.

What do you want to do when the project is over?

Visit Australia next, especially if Rosco McGlashan is running next year!