The Lola legends included John Surtees OBE, Richard Attwood, Hugh Dibley, Teddy Pilette, Chris Craft, Mike Blanchet, James Weaver, Julian Bailey, Anthony Reid and Peter Ashdown. Current racers included Le Mans Series driver Mike Newton, Malaysian A1 Grand Prix driver Fairuz Fauzy and Danny Watts.

At midday and in brilliant autumn sunshine, Councillor Saeed Akthar, the Mayor of Huntingdon, waved the Union Jack to officially start the parade from Lola’s state-of-the-art headquarters in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. The roadside was packed with spectators from start to finish as the snake of 16 cars travelled up the 1.6 route via the local ring road and in to the historic market square where Oliver Cromwell rallied his troops during the Civil War.

Heading up the parade was the all-new RML MG-Lola LMP2 Coupe dressed in the patriotic red, white and blue livery, followed by Lola’s latest track day car B07/90 which had Jonathan Djanogly, MP for the Huntingdon constituency enjoying a passenger ride with sportscar driver Calum Lockie. Other star participants included a Lola T70 Mk111B that cemented the marque’s status in world motorsport during the 1960′s, Sir Jackie Stewart’s 1967 Indy 500 Lola T92 driven by Lola owner and Executive Chairman Martin Birrane and the Mark 1, the first car built by Lola driven by James Leslie, son of the late, great David Leslie.

At the end of the route the cars parked up in a specially constructed paddock area that had been assembled in Huntingdon’s historic market square. As the crowd eagerly awaited a glimpse of the first Lola cars to enter the paddock they were treated to a display from the Blue Vision Huntingdon Majorette team and a demonstration from the Huntingdon Olympic gymnast club, that trained Louis Smith who recently claimed a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics.

Motorsport presenter and personality Tony Jardine hosted a number of interviews on the Town Hall balcony overlooking the packed out paddock area, with Martin Birrane and the founder of Lola cars, Eric Broadley joining racing legend John Surtees for an enthralling Q & A session. Lola has been located in Huntingdon since 1970 and continues to be an important business for the local community. In recognition of the town’s support, David Monks, Chief Executive of the District Council, presented Martin Birrane and Eric Broadley with a commemorative scroll in front of the applauding audience that had filled the market square.

QUOTES

MARTIN BIRRANE – EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, LOLA

“Lola means so much to so many people. It has been a real pleasure to show the people of Huntingdon this exceptional collection of designs.

“The fact that personalities such as John Surtees came to Huntingdon today shows terrific devotion to the Lola name. The company celebrated 50 years today but tomorrow will be hard at work creating new projects in a wide variety of industries. Lola are now much more than just a motorsport company with key customers in Aerospace, Defence, Automotive and Communications. I believe that the next 50 years are going to be just as exciting as the first 50.”

JOHN SURTEES – FORMER LOLA DRIVER

“This was a superb event and a great way to mark 50 years for a company that is very close to my heart. Like any relationship there were ups and downs both on and off the track but the fact remains that Lola build world class racing cars.

“When I was involved in A1 GP the job Lola did was very good indeed. Martin (Birrane) saved Lola and his business sense and skill have seen it through the tough times to where it is now, back at the top in world motorsport.”

HUGH DIBLEY – FORMER LOLA DRIVER

“I loved driving Eric’s (Broadley) cars. They were very practical and usually very quick. I also tested the safety of the cars a few times too, especially when I flipped a T70! That was a biggy. The engine came to rest in a tree and the cockpit about 300 yards away. Interesting times. I wish Lola a very happy birthday!”

JAMES WEAVER – FORMER LOLA DRIVER

“I have driven quite a few Lola’s but the one I drove today (the B2K/40) was not one I actually competed in. I did test it at Phoenix in 2000 but I was more familiar with the LMP675 MG car that Lola built. That was a great car, ahead of its time in many ways. Martin Birrane has done a fine job in directing Lola in what is a very volatile industry and it was an absolute pleasure to be here today to witness this very fun event and see some great old colleagues.”

TEDDY PILETTE – FORMER LOLA DRIVER

“I always enjoyed racing Lola cars. The T400 that I won the F5000 title with in 1975 was a truly great car and I just loved driving it. Eric was a genius designer and to recognise what he and now Martin Birrane have achieved is a real honour to be part of.”

TONY SOUTHGATE – FORMER LOLA DRIVER

“What a thrilling day. Meeting so many old faces was very nice. The variety of Lola’s that were in the parade was excellent and for the company to be celebrated like this in front of its own people in Huntingdon made for an unforgettable day.”

“I’m delighted – chuffed to bits!” said a smiling Mike Newton, co-driver of the EX265C and CEO of AD Group, principal sponsors to RML’s sportscar programme. “The guys have done an amazing job to put this car together so quickly, and to achieve a trouble-free run is an exceptional achievement.” The team had always approached the Silverstone 1000 Kilometres as an extended, if very public, test session, but poor weather on the previous two days had severely curtailed their on-track development. “When you compare this to where we might have been, after the events of the last couple of days, this has got to be an excellent result,” he added.

The only issue the team encountered during the course of the race was a rise in engine temperature that, if left unaddressed, might have threatened the unit. “The engine was running a little too hot,” said Thomas Erdos, who drove the opening two stints in the MG Lola, and was first to detect the problem. “We were able to de-tune it enough at the next pitstop to ensure it would run the distance, but it meant we were perhaps forty or fifty horsepower down for most of the race. In that respect, fourth is a great result.”

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From drawing boards to CAD stations, some of the UK’s most talented racecar designers have contributed to Lola’s 50 golden years in motorsport. Leading these talents from 1958 to 1997 was Eric Broadley, the founder of Lola Cars. During Broadley’s time at Lola his pupils included a long list of distinguished car designers such as Tony Southgate, Patrick Head, John Barnard and Ralph Bellamy. Engineers, drivers and crowd favourites are all featured in this special edition poster such as the T70, Mk6 and Lola built Nissan Group C sportscar.

The one-off anniversary poster also includes ‘cult classics’ such as the fearsome T530 Can-Am car and the T292 2-litre sportscar which took Chris Craft to the European Sportscar title in 1973, driving for the Martin Birrane owned and Keith Greene managed Crowne Racing team. Now at the helm of modern day Lola, Martin Birrane has over the last decade made significant investment into the technical capabilities at Lola’s state-of-the-art facility in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Lola’s investment in composite, aerodynamic and design technology has resulted in a successful lineage of Le Mans sportscar over the past decade.

Starting with the B98/10 in 1998, via the groundbreaking B01/60 Lola-MG LMP675 design in 2001 to the present day elegant LMP Coupe designs, Birrane’s vision has ensured that Lola’s reputation for engineering excellence continues well in to the 21st century, with all these models featuring in the poster design. 21st century Lola Group is, however, much more than just motorsport. Showcasing Lola’s versatility and range of industries serviced, the reverse side of the poster reflects Lola’s expertise and involvement in the Aerospace, Defence, Automotive, Marine and Communications industries, which are celebrated with UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and UUV (Unmanned Underwater Vehicles) images.

Race fans will be able to get free copies of the official 50th anniversary poster at the recently announced official celebrations of Lola’s Golden Anniversary at both the Brands Hatch World Sportscar Masters race on 25 May and the Oulton Park Gold Cup on August bank holiday weekend. Lola will also soon be announcing details of further events that will be taking place throughout the racing year which will be supporting its 50th Anniversary celebrations.

Source: Lola

Thomas Erdos and co-driver Mike Newton took the series title last year with RML’s MG Lola EX264, having won the LMP2 class in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2005 and 2006. Since then the EX264, itself a derivative of the EX257 that wowed the crowds at Le Mans as an MG works entry in 2001, has undergone significant further development. Arising from fresh links with Shanghai Automotive, MG’s new owners in China, the car has been re-homologated as the MG EX265. Most significant amongst those enhancements has been the production, in association with AER, of the two-litre turbocharged XP-21 engine.

Further refinements, as yet unspecified, have left RML’s team manager Phil Barker upbeat about the team’s chances this year. “Today has been an excellent start to the season,” he said. “We’ve carried out a fundamental restructuring of the car during the course of the winter, and today was the first chance we’ve had to examine some of those changes. We haven’t had a single problem – not one – and it’s all gone silky smooth.” From the smile on his face it was easy to judge the sense of satisfaction permeating throughout the team. “The guys have done a great job,” he added. “They’ve already set themselves a very high standard for the year, but that’s what we like!”

Referring to the new engine, Barker was impressed. “This has been the first time we’ve ever run the XP-21, and it’s gone like clockwork. The whole package seems very strong and a significant step forward.” Thomas Erdos was quick to agree. “Absolutely great!” he said. “The new MG XP-21 is a beautiful unit. You can immediately tell that the engine is crisp and very responsive, and despite not being able to stretch it much today, I can already detect an improvement over the engine we were using last year.”

The EX265 was running in full race trim at Silverstone, including the additional 50 kilos that will ballast all the LMP2 entrants in the Le Mans Series this year. This extra weight, up to 825 kilos from 775, in conjunction with reduced fuel capacity (down to 80 litres from 90) is intended to emphasise the differences between the P1 and P2 prototypes. The flipside to this amendment to the regulations is likely to manifest itself in an even closer parity between LMP2 and GT1. In 2007 the GT class leaders were already as quick down the straights as the best in LMP2, so the added weight could further complicate this issue. The importance of developing more from the engine, and thereby hoping to reinstate some degree of advantage in this inter-class battle, becomes even more significant. “To have this new engine running so well demonstrates a real move in the right direction,” said Erdos.

By midday every box had been ticked and the test was complete. “It’s been a fantastic morning,” grinned Erdos. “This car was down to bare bones a few days ago, so it’s a credit to the team, and some indication of the level of preparation these guys achieve, that everything has worked well. In fact, it’s been the perfect shakedown.”

The team plans to complete another run in the MG Lola EX265 ahead of the first official Le Mans test at the Paul Ricard circuit in France at the beginning of March.

Source: Paddock Talk