MasterCard Lola
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lola | |
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| Full name | MasterCard Lola |
| Base | Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England |
| Founder/s | Eric Broadley |
| Noted drivers | Vincenzo Sospiri, Ricardo Rosset |
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Formula One World Championship career
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| Engines | Ford |
| Debut | 1997 Australian Grand Prix |
| Races competed | 2 (0 starts) |
| Constructors' Championships |
0 |
| Drivers' Championships |
0 |
| Race victories | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Final race | 1997 Brazilian Grand Prix |
MasterCard Lola is a former Formula One team that contested one race in the 1997 Formula One season.
Team principal Eric Broadley didn't cover himself in glory with the effort, which sometimes is not even recognized on that season's entry list. After years of providing chassis to other teams, mainly Larrousse, Broadley planned a team that was the culmination of years of development. A prototype chassis was first tested in 1995 with Allan McNish and in late 1996 Broadley announced the team's participation in the near future. The team had originally intended to enter F1 in 1998, but entered a year early in 1997 as MasterCard wasn't forthcoming with financial support.
Stewart Grand Prix, headed up by Grand Prix legend Jackie Stewart, had his new team all prepared with the Alan Jenkins-designed SF01 launched before Lola got started on their own. The Lola chassis, dubbed the T97/30, was based on most of their IndyCar technology yet never saw the inside of a wind tunnel and barely had on-track tests. Vincenzo Sospiri and Ricardo Rosset were signed to drive, but wound up as the victims of the project. By the time the ungainly car made it to the 1997 Australian Grand Prix, the complete lack of symmetry on the car in all aspects made it painful to watch. Sospiri and Rosset never even got near a good enough time to qualify, 11 and 13 seconds respectively off the pace.
[edit] End of the Road
On March 26, 1997, the Wednesday before the Brazilian Grand Prix, Lola announced it was withdrawing from the Brazil race due to "financial and technical problems". Lola's staff, which had already travelled to Interlagos, returned to the team's base in Huntington, England. Shortly afterwards, Lola withdrew from the World Championship outright.[1]
In its short existence as a Formula One constructor Lola incurred £6 million in debt; the company never recovered from this and went into receivership several weeks later.[2] Irish entrepreneur Martin Birrane purchased the company and oversaw a revival in the company's fortunes; however, Lola has not been involved in Formula One in any capacity since.
[edit] Complete Formula One Results
(key)
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Lola T97/30 | Ford Zetec-R V8 | B | AUS | BRA | ARG | SMR | MON | ESP | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | AUT | LUX | JPN | EUR | 0 | NC | |
| Vincenzo Sospiri | DNQ | DNP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Ricardo Rosset | DNQ | DNP |
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Lola out of Brazilian GP and out of season?...", Autosport.com, March 26, 1997. Accessed October 25, 2007.
- ^ "Lola Cars in administration", Grandprix.com, May 26, 1997. Accessed October 25, 2007.)
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