Project of Passion: Bringing Dallara to the UK

During a brief respite from the roaring engines of our Season Opener at Donington Park, I took this short period of quiet to have a chat with one of the most passionate petrolheads I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. From pure enthusiasm for the brand, Ben Cooke has taken on the role of bringing Dallara to the UK, meaning we’ll be seeing them and their amazing cars at Supercar Driver events going forward. Today, I want to find out about Ben himself, why he fell in love with Dallara, and what he intends to do about that.

First off, tell us a bit about yourself and your passion for cars. “I was born and brought up in Jersey where the speed limit is 40mph, and yet apparently my first word was ‘car’!”, Ben laughs. “All I wanted as a kid was to play with Corgi toys on the floor, get the annual motor show book, and even at a young age, I could recite every make, model, top speed, anything anyone wanted to ask about any car, so I started with a passion for cars very early. Growing up in Jersey though, you don’t think you’ll be able to do anything about that passion.

“Leaving school, I went into finance, but I had a lot of energy so I had a short spell in the army, and I was a school teacher for a while, just trying to explore what I wanted to do, then I went back into finance because I enjoyed it, and became an accountant. In my early 30s, I set up my own business, and spent pretty much the next 20 years flat out, and I have a wife and five kids which obviously takes time and input as well, so the last thing I was thinking about was cars”.

So, how did you get back into cars, and where does Dallara come onto the scene? “10 years or so ago, I started to expand the business into other places and set up in Geneva which led to me spending time there, and I enjoyed driving in the mountains. By this time I was in a position to be able to afford decent cars to enjoy those roads, and I got to know the Lamborghini dealer in Geneva. They got me into track days in Italy, and on one of those days at Mugello, I saw a Dallara. 

“I had heard of Dallara, but I didn’t really know what it was and I didn’t know they did road cars. The car was exposed carbon and was sat next to a Pagani Zonda under brilliant sunshine, and yet everyone was looking at the Dallara. I was driving a Lamborghini SVJ and STO around the track and was pushing on, but around the corners, this Dallara was absolutely phenomenal.

“I was immediately interested, so I did some research and contacted the factory because I didn’t know how to do anything about it. I rented a track in Modena for the day with my kids, and Andrea, the senior sales rep at Dallara came along with a Dallara, let us have a go in it on track, and we all absolutely fell in love with it and had to have one. 

“So, that’s how I became an owner, then I went on a couple of track days organised by Dallara and got to know other owners as 30 or 40 of them would turn up to these events. They were all really passionate and knowledgeable about cars and know about the history of Dallara, but I actually found out that Dallara had never sold a car in the UK, which I was astonished about because the UK is such a passionate place for cars. 

“For me, they just never connected with the right people with the right strategy in the UK. So, I thought I have a real passion for the cars, and it might be a crazy idea, but maybe I could do something about that. At one of those events, I talked about it as a rough idea to gauge interest and it wasn’t knocked out of hand, so I thought why not commit, because there has to be a market.

“From the initial conversations we had, initially it was proposed to do things on a more informal basis of introducing customers, but I wanted to do things properly and suggested becoming the exclusive UK importer. That is much more of a commitment because you’re not just a middle man, you have to pay for the cars, have all the importing paperwork sorted so the cars are properly homologated, have logistics in place, servicing with a serious race outfit and Porsche gold-standard mechanics, representation for customers to view the car in a suitable environment, so all these things are not taken lightly.

“It is a serious commitment both in terms of finance and effort, but it is a project of passion, and it is an absolute privilege to bring Dallara to the UK and represent such a cutting-edge technology company. Actually only a small part of the company is road cars and less than a third is aerospace. They are prevalent in racing, running cars in IMSA, Indycar and collaborating with NASCAR from their base in the US. Dallara supplies all of the Formula 2 and Formula 3 grid, the HAAS F1 team, numerous WEC challengers and Le Mans winners, and so much more, so I take their reputation incredibly seriously”.

Tell us a bit about the cars on offer from Dallara. “Dallara is probably the only manufacturer that has a high-quality, very fast road car and a high-quality race car offering that is quicker than a GT3 car. The Stradale is the road car and the EXP is the track-only car. They have different components but share a platform and offer a similar kind of experience and feel, and you can actually have a Stradale converted into a racing car at the factory, should you decide you want to.

“The Stradale is set up with road safety in mind, so if you overstep the limits, it is inclined more towards understeer to keep you safe, but it is a car you can explore at incredible speeds on track, it is very approachable and you will get zero brake fade. The EXP allows you to design the setup and balance to your preference and experience, whether you like a more stable or more oversteer-inclined setup, with as much or as little traction control as you like.

“For me, the EXP is the ultimate track toy because it offers total usability. It’s the only thing I can think of that offers GT3 performance from something so safe, approachable and reliable thanks to incredible levels of almost over-engineering. No matter what your experience level, if you want something safe and predictable that you can rely on, that isn’t going to have issues, this is the track weapon for you. I’ve driven Ginettas with no braking assistance, and heavier race cars like Lamborghini Super Trofeos, Porsche GT3 Cups, and because the EXP is so light and assisted as well, you can brake much later, and there’s so much aero that cornering speeds are phenomenal too”. 

Track driving, especially racing, is known for being an expensive game, but Ben assures me Dallaras are lighter on the wallet than you might expect. Why is that? “To drive a heavy GT3 car fast can be quite intimidating and it’s also very expensive. You get all the performance from the EXP, but being more approachable, it doesn’t feel as risky, and its light weight means it is much easier on tyres, brakes and mechanicals and running costs are much lower. My Stradale has done 5,000 hard kilometres on track, and I have had no repair bills whatsoever aside from normal consumables such as tyres, so running costs and reliability are great”.

Ok, let’s say I want a Dallara, how does it work and how long can I expect to wait? “My EXP, from order to delivery was three months. There is no waitlist for a Dallara, but there is a maximum capacity of 600 cars in total, and they have already built 350. We are open for orders and we can organise factory visits to really experience what goes into these cars. We have a site in Cheshire with Sean and his team at Track Focus. They show the car and they will service it too, having been to the Dallara factory for training. It is almost equivalent to having your servicing done by the factory itself, the standards are that high. If there is ever an issue with the car, we provide full support which the factory facilitates, and it will be dealt with. We can also introduce customers to tours and events throughout Europe to ensure you have ample opportunity to get the most out of the cars”.

Ben and his team were a major attraction in the pitlane of Donington for the Season Opener, so I had to ask how the day was going from their point of view. “This is my first time at a Supercar Driver event and it is amazing. We unveiled my EXP, the first in the UK, and have been giving hot laps in it as well as my Stradale all day so people can experience the capability of the two cars on track. There is great representation from all the major car brands and there are so many people with a real passion for cars and driving. It is just a fantastic celebration for people who love cars! Four of my friends flew up from Italy today, and said you simply do not get events of this standard in Europe, they are astonished by it!”.

And will we be seeing you at future events too? “We will be at the major Supercar Driver events including Secret Meet, putting in the same amount of effort as we did on our launch day at the Season Opener to present the cars in both a racing and road environment. The objective is to create a real interest and knowledge, not just of the brand as most people have heard of Dallara, but of their actual car offerings and just how well-engineered they are, allowing people to see and experience them. It would be great to see more Dallaras on the road and get a good allocation sold in the UK, then we will be able to create Dallara events on the road and at various race tracks for owners, where they can bring any cars they want as well as their Dallara, to enjoy the automotive environment as a whole”.

Finally, what is your aim with bringing Dallara to the UK? “So many Dallara projects in aerospace and racing are behind the scenes, whereas these cars are a public showcase of their technical capabilities, and I’m incredibly excited to be representing them in the UK. I’m so passionate about the brand and it seems such an omission that there are no Dallaras here, so I’m trying to do something about that. If you’re passionate about cars and haven’t got a Dallara, I strongly believe you’re missing something!”.

Written by: Matt Parker