1997 F1 car - T97/30

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1997 F1 car - T97/30

Postby karter » Sat Jan 07, 2006 5:13 pm

Hi there, I'm new to the board, allow me to introduce myself.

I am a strange 13 year old, not only do I prefer motorracing to football, but my particular intrest lies in older cars.

For some reason I have an interest in Lola's 1997 Grand Prix car, the T97/30. I know it is known as the biggest flop in Formula1, but I still love the car, and was wondering if anybody here could provide me with information on the cars produced, what happend to them after the team's bankrupcy etc etc. Photos are also appreciated.

Thank you, fellow Lola enthusiasts.

Yours racingly

Josh Wood aka Karter
Racing is life, anything that happens before or after is just waiting.
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Postby karter » Sun Jan 15, 2006 11:17 am

not that i'm one to hassle, but there must be SOMEONE out there who could reply to this!
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Postby Johan » Sun Jan 15, 2006 4:16 pm

Josh, I do not know the answer to your question(s), and please do not get upset with the forum for not as yet answering your post. Perhaps it would help if you responded or added something to some of the other threads before complaining that nobody is responding to yours.
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Postby karter » Sun Jan 15, 2006 4:31 pm

Woah, sorry, I wasn't trying to complain, so I apologise if it came over like that. I would have replied to other posts, had I known answers to questions, etc. I'd rather post nothing at all then post incorectly, if you know what I mean. I also wasn't having a dig at the forum, but from previous experience on other boards of this size questions get answered almost instantaneously, so I was assuming that nobody knew any answers as it had been a week since I posted.
I can unintentionally be quite aggressive with some of the things I say, sorry about that.

Any help would be very much appreciated, and I am sorry if I appeared rude or cheeky.
Racing is life, anything that happens before or after is just waiting.
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Postby Johan » Sun Jan 15, 2006 4:35 pm

Not at all, I'm just pointing out that participation is a two way thing. This forum is still in it's infancy. Can you post a picture of the car you like and explain what it is about it that makes it the object of your desire ?
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Postby Gerald Swan » Sun Jan 15, 2006 4:37 pm

Hi Josh, don't worry we will be doing something on the T97/30 on the Heritage site especially since the story of the car has a lot to say about Formula 1 racing today and how difficult it is enter it even when you are as long established a company as Lola is.

In fact now you've put the idea in my head I might move it up the list of write ups in the "Type Numbers" section. I'm currently working on an article on Graham Hill's Indy 500 winning T90 and we will be doing a 3D model of the car but when that's finished the T97/30 might make a very interesting topic. Hopefully there will be plenty of pictures to go with the story as well so be patient :D.

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Postby karter » Sun Jan 15, 2006 4:50 pm

Johan:

I bought a game of Formula1 1997 and noticed that the Lola was not included as the team collapsed after just 1 round [or4, depending on how one views things]. I started researching the car, but only found info at:

www.f1rejects.com and in a couple of F1 books.

Still, lets face it, Lola is a famous name and the car was one of the best looking ever. [I'm 13, so these things matter, lol!]

There is a load of info and pics here:

http://www.f1rejects.com/teams/lola/index.html


But, me being me, I still want more- lol! :D :D

Also, [this is kind of Non- Lola, so I apoligise]

Not only do I take an interest in one of F1's not so well known cars I also take a great interest in one of motor racing's less well known drivers, hi is, my all time favourite, Arturo Merzario. Anybody else heard of him?

sorry, back to Lola stuff.

Gerald:

Can't wait for the review, the T90 is another cracking car, and Graham hill a driver I admire, so I look forward to that a lot.


F1 is hard to enter partly due to the costs involved as well as the skill needed. Lola had pleanty of money from Matercard but the company forced a car to be made in time for 1997, rather than to wait until 1998, which Broadley favoured. Does anyone agree that, had Lola been allowed to spend more time on developement, that the team could have been more successful?
Racing is life, anything that happens before or after is just waiting.
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Postby Gerald Swan » Sun Jan 15, 2006 5:06 pm

Hi Josh, you seem like a guy after my own heart, I've always had a soft spot for the F1 cars that never made it.

Art Merzario's car was a classic example, Art was a very talented driver especially in sports cars and the sight of Art in his Marlboro cowboy hat was very familiar all over the world. When Art's own um..... individually styled car :wink: wasn't too successful he tried taking over another personal favourite of mine, the Khausen and that was no better. In his own way Art was quite a constructor as he also built some F2 and F3 cars.

It's one of the things that I was very sad about when F1 became so professional was that these sort of cars disappeared, some were honourable failures like the Connew, others were just a joke, Life anyone :?.

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Postby Johan » Sun Jan 15, 2006 5:08 pm

Everyone would have to agree with that for sure !
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Postby karter » Sun Jan 15, 2006 5:13 pm

Little known Merzario fact:

In 1979 he commisioned a designer to design the car, but due to lack of funds it was made out of... STEEL! Had it been made out of another materiel, enthusiasts later proved that it would have had better ground effect than the same seasons championship winning Ferrari!

I agree with you that some of the less successful cars have quite a history to them, anyone remember Simtek? And, why aren't thier histories recorded outside F1 rejects?


Anyone got a clue as to the value of an old T97/30?
Racing is life, anything that happens before or after is just waiting.
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Postby Johan » Sun Jan 15, 2006 5:17 pm

The problem today is that the successful cars are copied to the point that the whole field looks identical, and progress is slowed due to lack of innovation. Lack of funding can breed ingenuity.
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Postby karter » Sun Jan 15, 2006 5:19 pm

True, but you need money to make an idea happen.
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Postby Johan » Mon Jan 16, 2006 2:42 am

I know, I'm a broke Genious !
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Postby Gerald Swan » Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:18 pm

Just don't get me started on how ugly I think current F1 cars are :x. They are all odd angles, bits sticking out.... ugh. I'm sure they are very aerodynamically efficient but they won't win any beauty contests, give me a 250F, Eagle-Weslake, Brabham BT24, Lotus 78 every time.

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