Lola B12/60 Chassis #Hu02 Lola B12/60
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LOLA B12/60 CHASSIS #HU02 LOLA B12/60 he B12/60 was the last in a line of prototypes Europe in 2009 with cars badged Aston Martin DBR1- built by famed British constructor Lola. It was 2s. The Prodrive-run Aston Martin Racing operation the final hurrah for a marque that had been took the B09/60, put the six-litre engine from its GT1 Tsaved at the end of the 1990s by the late Martin Birrane, class DBR9 in the back and implemented its own whose unwavering commitment to sportscar racing development programme, giving its cars a distinct look resulted in a continued presence by Lola at the Le Mans complimented by the blue-and-orange colours of Gulf 24 Hours and beyond for 15 years. Oil. Developed for 2012 campaigns in the FIA World Lola’s own development ramped up for 2012 with Endurance Championship and the American Le Mans what Birrane called “effectively a re-design”, resulting in Series, the B12/60 LMP1 contender and its close the B12/60. The heavily-revised car followed the trend cousin, the B12/80 LMP2, were the last cars to roll out in LMP1 by adopting 14-inch tyres at the front — the of the Lola factory before the company closed its doors same width as at the rear — to increase the contact that year. The design achieved success in both arenas patch. That meant a major reworking of the front with new-build B12/60s and older chassis updated to end of a car nicknamed “big foot”: the front splitter, the latest Lola P1 specification. diffuser and wheel arches were all-new, along with the The B12/60 enriched the deep sportscar heritage of suspension geometry. the Lola marque that stretched back to the earliest days The Anglo-Swiss Rebellion Racing squad fielded of the company founded by Eric Broadley in 1958. One a pair of Lolas running to B12/60 specification with of Birrane’s first diktats after the rescue in 1997 of the the Toyota normally-aspirated 3.4-litre RV8K-LM company he renamed Lola Cars International was that powerplant in the inaugural season of the born-again it should return to front-line sportscar racing. WEC in 2012. Its campaign included a fourth-place The result was the B98/10 open-top LMP900 and finish at Le Mans for Neel Jani, Nicolas Prost and Nick SR1 contender. It was quickly followed by a line of Heidfeld on the way to the FIA Endurance Trophy prototypes including the lightweight MG EX257 for Private LMP1 Teams title. Jani and Prost were LMP675 commissioned by the MG Rover Group for a on course to take third in the overall LMP1 points factory campaign at Le Mans in 2001. behind only the two Audi crews when gearbox issues Lola’s sportscar lineage continued with another new with minutes of the Shanghai finale to go resulted in car in 2008, but with a difference. Lola developed the retirement. B08/60 and B08/80, the first closed-top prototypes Dyson Racing had ordered two new Lolas for an built by the marque since the T92/10 Group C chassis ALMS campaign. It ended up fielding a solo B12/60 of 1992. The design evolved over successive seasons, with an AER-built Mazda MZR-R two-litre turbo notching up success on both sides of the Atlantic. engine for team boss Chris Dyson and former Le Mans Its victories included a pair in the Le Mans Series in winner Guy Smith in a full programme of events. They notched up an overall victory at Road America, in places at Long Beach and Laguna Seca on its Stateside addition to a class win at the Sebring 12 Hours together ventures. with Steven Kane and a run of second places. Dyson’s single-car campaign with the second of its A further victory was recored up by the Lola B12/60 B12/60s encompassed four races in which Dyson and when Rebellion joined the ALMS for the Petit Le Mans Smith stood down in favour of paying drivers. The team 1000-mile enduro at Road Atlanta. Jani, Prost and notched up no fewer than seven consecutive runner-up Andrea Belicchi came out on top by three laps in the spots over the course of the final season in which P1 prestigious series finale. machinery was eligible to race in North America. Lola Cars International had gone into administration The B12/60 wasn’t done yet, however. Rebellion raced in May of 2012, but it didn’t bring the curtain down its Lolas in the opening two rounds of the 2014 WEC on the career of the B12/60. Rebellion raced on in the before a car bearing its own name came on stream. WEC and also contested selected ALMS events, while The B12/60 won the newly-instigated LMP1-L class for Dyson continued with a downscale programme in non-hybrid machinery both times. North America. The Swiss entrant’s fleet of Lolas was replaced by the Rebellion once again won the WEC privateers’ P1 Rebellion R-One design for Le Mans, bringing to an title in the 2013 at the end of a season in which it made end the career of the B12/60. It finished its life with an it onto the overall podium at Interlagos and Fuji. There impressive CV boasting two FIA world titles, a top-six was another victory at Petit Le Mans, this time with finish at Le Mans and four victories in the ALMS. Nick Heidfeld joining Jani and Prost, to go with second LOLA B12/60 CHASSIS: HU02 he second of Dyson Racing’s Mazda- Smith would reduce the gap over the final laps, engined B12/60 chassis never won a round but the Lola B12/60 was still 22 seconds behind of the American Le Mans Series, but it came at the flag as the team missed out on a chance to Tclose. But for an unlucky call behind the safety score a final win in the series in which it had been car, Guy Smith and Johnny Mowlem would have the inaugural champion back in 1999. turned one of seven second places recorded by “We were quicker that day,” says Mowlem. “We HU02 in 2013 into a race victory at the Virginia lost it on strategy, that’s all,” International Speedway. The British sportcar regular remains in awe of Smith qualified the car on pole position for the the Lola-Mazda B12/60 to this day. penultimate round of the series. He outpaced Klaus “It was an amazing car,” he recalls. “I can only Graf in the Muscle Milk Pickett Racing Acura imagine that it is the closest thing possible to ARX-03c by two tenths in what he knew was going driving a fighter plane on the ground - through to be his final ALMS appearance. the left-right esses it was pulling nearly 5g. I put Mowlem, who’d made two starts with the team it on the grass in traffic there but it had so much the previous season, lost out to an around-the- downforce that it didn’t come unstuck.” outside manoeuvre from Graf at Turn 1 on the Dyson had planned a full ALMS assault with opening lap. The Lola was quickly back ahead Smith and Dyson aboard its solo entry in 2013. when the German driver briefly went off after a The duo contested the series opener at Sebring brush with a slower car. with team stalwart Butch Leitzinger aboard chassis The Dyson team lost the lead in the pits at the HU01, which it had fielded the previous season, first round of pitstops in a race lasting two hours before switching to the so-far unraced HU02 for and 45 minutes, Luhr emerging in the lead aboard the HPD. Smith was quickly back in the lead on a day that, according to Mowlem, “Guy was flying”. Muscle Milk gained the upper hand when Luhr pitted during the first of two quick-fire caution periods. Dyson brought Smith in during the second, the British driver subsequently finding himself with the majority of the field between him and the new leader in the safety-car queue. round two at Long Beach and the remainder of the season. Three non-finishes in the opening three races resulted in the team changing tack. With a new future mapped out ahead for sportscar racing in North America after the merger between the ALMS and the Grand-Am series, it opted to scale back on its campaign to make what turned out to be unfulfilled preparations for the 2014. Sportscar stalwarts Chris McMurry and Tony Burgess came in with funding to drive the Dyson entry at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, formerly Mosport, in Canada and contested a further three events with the team, Dyson joining them at Petit Le Mans. In each of their starts, the team’s new duo finished runner-up in the modest LMP1 field. Smith and Chris Dyson, who had won the ALMS title together in 2011, were reunited one last time at the Baltimore street circuit in August 2013. In their hands B12/60, HU02, finished just under four seconds behind Graf and Luhr in the Muscle Milk HPD. Smith then returned with Mowlem alongside him at VIR in September. The swansong for the second of Dyson’s B12/60 came in the last ever ALMS race at Petit Le Mans in October 2013. Dyson, McMurry and Burgess made it a Lola one-two behind the winning Rebellion Racing entry.