13 replies to this topic

[Gerald Swan]

Hi everyone, this is to let you know that the official Lola Heritage site has been relaunched today, the intention is to make it the definitive site for everything Lola, and you can find it at: www.lolaheritage.co.uk

The site will have a comprehensive news section featuring news and reports of all the different classes of racing Lola are involved in such as A1GP, Champ Car, F3, ALMS etc. as well as Historic racing and anything else with a Lola flavour. There is also a comprehensive history section that will, in time, feature a comprehensive, illustrated write up for every chassis type built as well as a section on all the people who have driven Lolas over the years. We are also hoping to develop a comprehensive chassis register so if you own a Lola chassis please have a look at the Chassis register section. A unique feature we have just started is an animated 3D model of notable Lola cars, just added is the mighty Can-Am T260 driven by Jackie Stewart.

You can also read and contribute to the Lola Heritage Forum, where you can discuss not only Lola-related topics but also anything connected to Historic racing. If you have a Lola question try asking it here, hopefully somebody at Lola will know the answer!

Lola Cars hold a large archive of material and we hope to get as much of it as is possible on the site so that everyone can see it. I am currently scanning large amounts of material which will all be added in time, I have to say much of it is fascinating stuff.

Now comes the begging bit, we want to make the site as comprehensive as possible so we are looking for contributions, firstly pictures: we want anything Lola related, it doesn’t matter if it was taken 30 years ago or last week at a race meeting or Historic event, we are just as interested in where the cars are today as in when the were first built. I know there are suitable pictures in the Personal photos threads so if you want to send me copies I will be very grateful. Secondly articles, if you think you have something to say, you might own a Lola, restored a Lola, raced a Lola, whatever we want to hear from you. The necessary details are on the Contact page

OK, end of advertisement, please visit the site, have a look and please tell us what you think.

For those of you looking at my signature and thinking “Blimey he has the same name as the guy who runs the F3 History site”, you’re right it’s me again, I know how much you’ve helped me with the F3 site so I’m asking again please.

Gerald.


Webmaster www.lolaheritage.co.uk

[eldougo]

Well done Gerald ,you sure have done a GREAT job ,i have just had a quick look.
I will register and get on line soon.

[Gerald Swan]

Thanks eldougo , I wish I could claim all the credit, but it was, as they say, a team effort. My business partner Dani did the graphics, including the 3D modelling, he's currently working on a single-seater Lola as the next one, I won't say any more and spoil the surprise . I've also been working with Glyn Jones at Lola Cars who greatly helped with the layout and is currently writing some articles for the site, in addition he is letting me loose amongst the Lola Archive material (there is smoke coming out of my scanner!) and he also puts me right when I get my T163 confused with my T164.

Gerald.

www.lolaheritage.co.uk

[Rob Semmeling]

Excellent! Very much looking forward to future additions. Bookmarked already.

[Terry Walker]

Gerald - Nice site. I have some pictures of the open Lola T70 Mk 2 which won numerous races here in Western Australia, and elselwhere in Australia, in the late 60s and early 70s. I'm not certain where Don O'Sullivan bought it from, or where it went later. Once I've sifted through them I'll send the best off to your site. Also I've got some extremely bad 8 mm movie film (underexposed and very dark) of the 1968 Six Hour Race at Caversham, with the Lola T70 in action. I'm getting it transferred to DVD in due course, but it's going to take a while. When It finally happens I'll see what's on that and add it to your resources

[Gerald Swan]

Hi Terry, thanks for the offer on the pictures, I would love to see them and be able to add them to the site. These sort of things are exactly what we are looking for so that we can try and amass a complete a record as possible of Lola racing worldwide both then and now.

I've been staggered with my F3 history site as to exactly what TNFers world wide can locate/know about so I'm expecting the same response with Lola stuff


Gerald

www.lolaheritage.co.uk

[green-blood]

Hi Gerald

Have you beento Mondello Park, Mr Birrane's other pet project. Its Ireland best racing circuit and he really has done a top job on bringing it up to a very decent standard. I've been in the museum there and I know there a re few Lola cars on show, I must check exactly which chassis are there for you, the lonk below has a few pics but there are more cars in there

http://www.mondello.ie/museum.php

[Pedro 917]

My friend Luc De Cock drove a Lola T324 and T620 Super Vee in 1977 and 1978.

Here's a great shot from the T324 at Zandvoort 1977 :



At the start of the 1978 season, we took the car to Scherpenheuvel (which is a Belgian pilgrim site) where everyone could have his car blessed:



One week later (1st of April), he crashed the car at Pflanzgarten on the Nürburgring's Nordschleife, destroying the monocoque and lucky to escape unscathed.
He then bought reigning Super Vee champion Arie Luyendijk's Lola T620 (rolling chassis) who went on to drive a Lola F3 for Racing Team Holland (with Lammers and Rothengatter).

[Pedro 917]

Gerald, I still have a complete T324 Super Vee parts list and I have it twice. If you're interested, I'd be glad to send it to you.

[Gerald Swan]

Hi green-blood, no I've never been to Mondello but it's a great looking circuit. I know Martin Birrane owns several historic Lolas but I have to confess I don't know what he has got, I shall have to make a few enquiries ;), but thanks for reminding me.

Hi Pedro 917, great story about your friend and his T324, looks like religion and motorsport don't mix . Any chance of having a copy of those pictures they would be great either for the write up on the cars (when I get to them) or better still we can add your friend Luc to the list of Lola drivers. At the moment it's only the more famous drivers but it's open to anyone who has ever raced a Lola and once I get a few more names I can start adding to it and Luc can be in there with the Andretti's, Stewart and Surtees etc.!

Thanks also for the offer of the T324 parts list, yes I would love a copy, there might be a copy in the Lola Archive but it's so big I'm just getting stuff from it a bit at a time so I don't get too overwhelmed. It's easier to take material as it comes rather than try and find anything specific.

Gerald.

www.lolaheritage.co.uk

[Pedro 917]

Hi Gerald,

I have a lot of pictures from those days, also from Arie Luyendijk in the Lola Super Vee.
I also have a lot of pictures from historic events and can scan / copy them on a cd or dvd for you.

[Rob Semmeling]

Originally posted by Gerald Swan
At the moment it's only the more famous drivers but it's open to anyone who has ever raced a Lola and once I get a few more names I can start adding to it and Luc can be in there with the Andretti's, Stewart and Surtees etc.!

Some small additions to the drivers-list:

Walter Lehmann
1970 Lola T210
1971 Lola T212 (entrant: Autohaus Lehmann)

Terry Croker
1970 Lola T210 (entrant: A&T Motors Ltd)

Max Wilson
1970 Lola T210

Herbert Müller
1970 Ecurie Bonnier Lola T70 MK3B

Egmont Durch
1970 Lola T70 MK3

Bernd Seidler
1970 Lola T70 MK3
1970 Lola T70 MK3B ??
1971 Lola T70 MK3B

Stefan Skelar
1970 Lola T70 Mk3B

Hans-Schulze Schwering
1971 Lola T210 (entrant: Autohaus Lehmann)

David Farnell
1971 Lola T210

Dick Atwood
1969 Lola T70 Mk3B

Brian Muir
1969 Lola T70 Mk3B

Trevor Taylor
1969 Lola T70 Mk3B

Jackie Epstein
1968 Lola T70 Mk3

Frank Gardner
1968 Lola T70 Mk3

Barrie Smith
1970 Lola T70 Mk3B

Teddy Pilette
1970 Lola T70 Mk3B

Alex Janda
1971 Lola T212

[Gerald Swan]

Hi Pedro, wow yes a copy of all your pictures would be marvellous , please let me have it as soon as you can. I'm trying to build up a library of pictures to help expand several of the sections as they get written and I am equally interested in pictures taken at the time as well as more recent pictures from Historic meetings so anybody out there if you've got them let me have them! Although there are lots of pictures in the Lola Archive a lot, understandably, are pictures of the cars being constructed and on display when finished at the factory, the sort of pictures for use in press releases and brochures. So track shots are very much what I'm looking for.

Hi Rob, I think that's more of a medium addition ;), in fact one of the drivers on your list has been in touch and asked to be included in the Drivers section. If anyone wants to contribute other names please do, the Drivers page as it is at the moment is simply some of the most famous names to drive Lolas but as we start adding more names the design of the page will change as the last thing we want is a huge list that takes 10 minutes to scroll down. As before if anyone has pictures of these drivers that are copyright free or that you have the copyright to please let me have them. Also Rob if you, or anyone else, can give some more details of the when and where they raced the cars please do, I'm spending too much time researching all the Type numbers as it is .

Gerald.

www.lolaheritage.co.uk

[Gerald Swan]

Shock, Horror, Webmaster in catastrophic crash


Yes folks over the weekend a half second power cut shut down my PC and restarted it again whilst neatly corrupting everything . As a result I've lost all the emails and addresses I've received since the Lola Heritage site went up again. After two days of having to do a complete system reinstall everything is working but the emails are gone.

I think I had replied to everybody but several of you had supplied intersting information which is now gone so if you did send me anything and I am especially thinking of Barrie (Le Mans), Donald (F5000s) and Steve (Beatrice Lola) could you please send the emails again and this time I'll back them up immediately .

I'll be posting a similar heart-rending plea on the Heritage site.

I am currently in the middle of a write up on the T90 and Graham Hill's win at Indy so keep watching the Home page, it will be there soon..... I promise...... honestly.

Gerald.

www.lolaheritage.co.uk