Arnaud Martin
Chief Officer - Inverter Systems and Motorsport
Role
An executive board member, Arnaud is responsible for commercial, engineering and delivery aspects of motorsport and inverter projects as well as Helix’s quality and facilities department.
Education
Baccalauréat series E. Lycee Vauban BTS in Internal Combustion Engines. BEng, University of Warwick.
Experience
Arnaud began his engineering career in Cosworth’s Road Engine division in 1997. After two years working in development alongside Roger Duckworth, he decided to join the exciting world of motorsport.
Initially based on the customer F1 side of Cosworth racing, working on development and track support for Tyrrel and Minardi, Arnaud moved to works F1 late in 1999, as a senior development engineer. He had the privilege of engineering for drivers including Eddy Irvine and Johnny Herbert before returning to a factory-based role as technical lead for the single-cylinder Formula 1 research engine and development of the combustion side of the F1 engines.
In 2006 Arnaud left Cosworth to join RML, as Engine Development Manager, creating the company’s engine department from the ground up. Race victories soon followed and RML gained its first World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) title in 2010. Meanwhile, Arnaud was simultaneously busy designing the Chevrolet GRE engine ready for its WTCC debut season in 2011.
The GRE became the most successful engine of WTCC’s turbo era, with 21 race wins in 2011, 20 wins in 2012 and another 22 over the next three years. It has never suffered a race failure.
In 2012, Arnaud designed the powertrain for the Nissan DeltaWing, which raced at Le Mans and shortly afterwards became the Nissan Zeod. This was his first foray into the new world of electrification, designing and integrating batteries, motors and inverters with a conventional internal combustion engine. This car achieved the highest electrically driven top speed during a Le Mans race (300km/h) during the 2014 event, and set what remains the fastest electrical lap of Le Mans, at 100kph average speed. After various other electrification projects at RML, Arnaud joined Integral e-Drive at the end of 2017, leading projects including the SPM242 platform for the VW ID.R.
Arnaud has received many peer accolades including:
- Racetech Engineering Designer of the Year, 2011
- Racetech Engineering Most Innovative Powertrain, 2014
- Race engine Technology magazine Hybrid Powertrain of the Year, 2014
- Multiple awards linked to the VW ID.R project in 2018
Outside work
Arnaud enjoys RC car racing with his sons as well as hiking in his native Alps and in the Lake District. He began skiing at a very early age and spends as much time as possible skiing in Courchevel with his family during the winter. Arnaud is lucky enough to make his living out of a passion for everything motorsport and will happily follow car racing in all its forms.