THE LOLA T333CS
All pictures copyright Lola Heritage unless otherwise stated.
A publicity shot of the T333CS featuring the full-wdth nose. The rear wing appears to be floating in mid-air!
There were two Lola options for the 1977 Can-Am Series, if you owned a T332C you could buy a sports car kit from Carl Haas and convert your car into a T332CS, or you could buy a new T333CS from Lola. Although there are no details of the specification in Lola Heritages it is probably safe to assume it was basically the T332C with a season's development and a sports car body.
The T333CS initially appeared and was tested with a full-width nose but the works-supported Haas team thought this gave insufficient downforce so opted to change this for a F5000-style design which did not impress the teams that had paid for the full-width version! The opening race at St Jovite saw the Haas car, driven by Brian Redman, flip over when air got under the nose, the ensuing accident saw Redman suffer a broken neck which kept out of racing for a year and resulted in Patrick Tambay being signed-up for the rest of the season. Despite this setback most of the T333CS owners soon followed the Haas route and fitted a F5000 version nose.
For the next three seasons the Haas entered T333CS would dominate the Can-Am Championship winning the title in 1977 with Patrick Tambay, 1978 with Alan Jones and 1979 with Jacky Ickx. In fact, the T333CS was the class of the field, even if Can-Am wasn't the force it had been with almost half the field being 2-litre cars, and of the twenty-nine races over the three years the T333CS won twenty-one.
Year(s) of Construction: 1977-1979
Total Built: 12
Patrick Tambay won the 1977 Can-Am Championship in a T333CS, note the Haas team's modified F5000 style nose.
T333CS CHAMPIONSHIP WINS
YEAR |
CHAMPIONSHIP |
WINNER(S) |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Can-Am Championship | Patrick Tambay | Lola T333CS-Chevrolet |
| 1978 | Can-Am Championship | Alan Jones | Lola T333CS-Chevrolet |
| 1979 | Can-Am Championship | Jacky Ickx | Lola T333CS-Chevrolet |
Lola advert celebrating Patrick Tambay's victory in the 1977 Can-Am Championship.
Two in a row for the Haas team when Alan Jones, seen here at Mosport, won the Championship in 1978 and...
(Photo courtesy of Terry Capps Road Racing Memories)
T333CS SIGNIFICANT RACE WINS
1977
DATE |
VENUE/MEETING |
DRIVER |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26th June | Laguna Seca - Citicorp Can-Am Challenge | Don Breidenbach | First Lola win in the “new” Can-Am - Can-Am Championship - Round 2 |
| 10th July | Watkins Glen - Citicorp Can-Am Challenge | Patrick Tambay | Can-Am Championship - Round 3 |
| 24th July | Road America - Citicorp Can-Am Challenge | Peter Gethin | Can-Am Championship - Round 4 |
| 7th August | Mid Ohio - Citicorp Can-Am Challenge | Patrick Tambay | Can-Am Championship - Round 5 |
| 21st August | Mosport - Citicorp Can-Am Challenge | Patrick Tambay | Can-Am Championship - Round 6 |
| 4th September | Trois Rivieres - Citicorp Can-Am Challenge | Patrick Tambay | Can-Am Championship - Round 7 |
| 25th September | Sears Point - Citicorp Can-Am Challenge | Patrick Tambay | Can-Am Championship - Round 8 |
| 16th October | Riverside - Citicorp Can-Am Challenge | Patrick Tambay | Can-Am Championship - Round 9 |
| ?th November | Road Atlanta | Jerry Hansen | Road Race of Champions (A Sports Racing class) |
1978
DATE |
VENUE/MEETING |
DRIVER |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14th May | Road Atlanta - SCCA/Citicorp Can-Am | Alan Jones | Can-Am Championship - Round 1 |
| 11th June | Mid Ohio - SCCA/Citicorp Can-Am | Alan Jones | Can-Am Championship - Round 3 |
| 9th July | Watkins Glen - SCCA/Citicorp Can-Am | Warwick Brown | Can-Am Championship - Round 5 |
| 23rd July | Road America - SCCA/Citicorp Can-Am | Alan Jones | Can-Am Championship - Round 6 |
| 7th August | Mosport - SCCA/Citicorp Can-Am | Alan Jones | Can-Am Championship - Round 7 |
| 8th October | Laguna Seca - SCCA/Citicorp Can-Am | Al Holbert | Can-Am Championship - Round 9 |
| 15th October | Riverside - SCCA/Citicorp Can-Am | Alan Jones | Can-Am Championship - Round 10 |
1979
DATE |
VENUE/MEETING |
DRIVER |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20th May | Charlotte Motor Speedway - SCCA/Citicorp Can-Am | Jacky Ickx | Can-Am Championship - Round 1 |
| 3rd June | Mosport Park - SCCA/Citicorp Can-Am | Jacky Ickx | Can-Am Championship - Round 3 |
| 10th June | Mid Ohio - SCCA/Citicorp Can-Am | Jacky Ickx | Can-Am Championship - Round 4 |
| 8th July | Watkins Glen - SCCA/Citicorp Can-Am | Keke Rosberg (Driving a Spyder NF11 - based on the T333CS) | Can-Am Championship - Round 5 |
| 22nd July | Road America - SCCA/Citicorp Can-Am | Jacky Ickx | Can-Am Championship - Round 6 |
| 19th August | Brainerd - SCCA/Citicorp Can-Am | Jacky Ickx | Can-Am Championship - Round 7 |
| 28th October | Riverside - SCCA/Citicorp Can-Am | Jacky Ickx | Can-Am Championship - Round 10 |
1980
DATE |
VENUE/MEETING |
DRIVER |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24th August | Mid-Ohio - Lumbermens 500, North American Sports Car Championship | Brian Redman/David Hobbs | Entered by Roy Woods Racing |
| ?rd November | Road Atlanta | Jerry Hansen | Road Race of Champions (A Sports Racing class) |
...Jacky Ickx, here at Trois-Rivières, triumphed in 1979 for a T333CS/Haas hat-trick. (motorsportmagazine.com)
Elliot Forbes-Robinson in the Bill Freeman Racing T333CS finished second to....
(Photo courtesy of Terry Capps Road Racing Memories)
...Patrick Tambay at Mid-Ohio in 1977.
(Photo courtesy of Terry Capps Road Racing Memories)
Keke Rosberg won the 1979 Watkins Glen Can-Am round driving a Spyder NF11 which was based on the T333CS.
Testing a T333CS but, who are the team and driver?
Side cill fitting instructions.
Nose frame fitting instructions.
Rear wing fitting instructions.
Steering rack conversion.
