Rickard Rydell is mostly known since the years in BTCC together with Volvo where he suceeded winning the championship in 1998. Thanks to a solid racing background, Rickard has created a very broad platform for himself. Karting, Formula 3 and the hair-raising group C have all left their mark. During the years he has also developed an enormous "racing maturity", which means that he avoids unnecessary battles. The final at Silverstone in 1998 is a good example of this. Rickard led with James Thompson in second place. When the Honda driver caught up, Rydell quite simply let him pass to avoid risking his chances for the championship. It is important for professional racing drivers to stay cool and that is one of Rickard´s personality traits.

Rickard was a double Swedish kart champion before he was 18. He graduated to Swedish Formula 3 in 1986. The first season in singleseaters was very much a learning year, he was runner up in 1987/88. In 1989 Rickard moved to the British Formula 3 championship driving for Eddie Jordan Racing. Rydell was fourth in the championship and the best placed Reynard driver.
"Eddie Jordan may not have the best reputation btu the was always fair with us and also arranged a sportscar drive in Group C. Mikka Häkkinen also did his first year in the British F3 series in 1989 but he wasn't near the front runners."


In 1990 Rickard drove in the British Formula 3000 series. He was fourth overall but also got his first taste of racing in Japan. He did four races in Japanese Formula 3 with Tom's Toyota and four races in Group C with a Porsche 962.
"Toyota contacted me and I did some races with Tom's in Japan before returning to Britain with them the following year."
The 1991 British Formula 3 Championship is regarded as one of the very best in the series history with drivers like Rubens Barrichello, David Coulthard, Gil de Ferran and, of course, Rickard Rydell… In 1992/93 Rickard was back in Japan with Tom's in Formula 3 and he finished third in 92 and second in 93. In 1992 Rickard also won the Macau Grand Prix, the FIA World Cup for Formula 3. After the 1993 season Rickard got a call from Tom Walkinshaw. The offer to drive for Volvo in the British Touring Car Championship was too good to turn down.

When Rickard began driving in the BTCC in 1994, he was quite exotic not least because of his car, a Volvo 850 Estate. During Rickard´s six years in the BTCC he has acquired a faithful group of fans not just in Sweden but in Britain as well. There are many reasons for this. First of all, he is an extremely fair sportsman withclear goals, completely focused on his task. Rydell also possesses an extraordinary driving talent. In the words of Rickard's former chief engineer Graham Taylor:?
"You could say that he is as close to a computer programmed driver as you can get. At TWR we were sure that he is the fastest super-touring driver in the world, and the BTCC title is an excellent example of this."


Rickard Rydell was crowned British Touring Car Champion in 1998 after an impressive season. He did two more years in the championship, before spending most of 2001 developing two cars for Prodrive: the Ferrari 550 for FIA GT and the Volvo S60 for FIA ETCC. At the end of 2002 Volvo left motorsport leaving Rydell with privateer team ART Engingeering for 2003. 2006-2006 Rickard Rydell was a part of the SEAT Sport team, scoring victories in STCC, ETCC and WTCC. In 2007 he joined Aston Martin for Le Mans, scoring class victory with Darren Turner and David Brabham. In 2008 Rickard Rydell will be back in the WTCC with SEAT Sport.


Rickard Rydell's racing career
1984-85 - Swedish go-kart champion in the 100cc-class.

1987-88 - Second place overall in the Swedish F3 championship.

1989 - Fourth place overall in the British F3 championship with Eddie Jordan Racing. Third place in the prestigious Monaco F3 GP.

1990 - F3000 for the AJS team, fourth in the championship. Drives a group C Porsche 962 in Le Mans and the Japanese C1-series. Also four Formula 3 races with Tom's in Japan.

1991 - British Formula 3, sixth overall. Takes pole position at the classic Macau (F3 FIA World Cup Race).

1992-93 - Wins Macau GP 92. Drives for Tom's Toyota in the Japanese F3 championship. Third overall 1992 and second 1993.

1994 - Debut with Volvo at BTCC with the 850 Estate. Fourteenth place in the championship.

1995 - BTCC with Volvo. Takes 13 pole positions and wins four races. Third overall.

1996 - Five pole positions, four victories. Third overall in BTCC.

1997 - Changes to the S40. Six pole positions, one victory. Fourth overall.

1998 - British Touring Car Champion. Five victories, eight pole positions and 17 podiums. Rickard also wins the classic Bathurst 1000 with Australian Jim Richards.

1999 - Five pole positions, four victories, third overall. Makes a fantastic final for TWR/Volvo with a double victory in the S40 at Silverstone after a tough season with technical problems. In the middle of the season it is clear that Volvo is withdrawing from the BTCC.

2000 - Rickard drove a Prodrive Ford Mondeo in the BTCC, a season he described as "hit and miss". Rickard finished third overall in the championship. Three victories, nine pole positions and he became the best qualifier throughout with an average 2.46 on the grid. Teammates Reid and Menu managed 4.0 and 4.13 respectively.

2001 - Rickard competed with a Ferrari 550 Maranello in the FIA GT Championship with Prodrive. Two victories and ninth overall. The car was shared either with Alain Menu or Peter Kox.

2002 - FIA ETCC. Fifth overall in first year with Volvo. Four second and third places and pole position at Estoril. Le Mans 24 hours with Prodrive Ferrari 550 Maranello, leader after 12,5 hours when engine failed.

2003 - FIA ETCC. Rickard drives a Volvo S60 for Italian privateer team ART Engineering. Third at Donington and Anderstorp. Also drives Australian classics Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 sharing a Ford Falcon with former BTCC driver Paul Radisich.

2004 - FIA ETCC. Rickard moves to SEAT Sport, the deal was sealed just weeks before the first race. Wins his and SEAT's first race in the championship. Returns to Le Mans with Prodrive and the Ferrari 550 were Rickard, Darren Turner and Colin McRae are third in the GTS class.

2005 - FIA WTCC. Sixth overall with one race win, the first Swedish victory in a World Championship race since Ronnie Peterson in 1978.

2006 - FIA WTCC. Seventh with SEAT. Three pole positions and five podiums.

2007 - Le Mans with Aston Martin. 1st in LMGT1 class. FIA WTCC with Chevrolet in Anderstorp, one victory, and SEAT Sport in Macau.