THE LOLA T800
All pictures copyright Lola Heritage unless otherwise stated.
Mario Andretti in the T800.
Following Lola's return to the world of Indycars with the T700 which had been promising with Mario Andretti taking two wins in the 1983 PPG Indy Car World Series the new challenger for 1984 from the Huntingdon company was the T800 which was an evolutionary design with the most important change being the adoption, for the first time for Lola, of carbon fibre in the chassis construction. Further details of the chassis design can be found in the Lola Press Release below.
The 1984 season got off to the best possible start with Mario sweeping to victory at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, it was a race of attrition with only the first two cars finishing on the same lap. The next 4 rounds, including the Indianapolis 500, saw Mario's rivals taking the chequered flag with the March 84C, which dominated the field in terms of cars, seemingly unbeatable. Mario's best finish was 8th and failure to finish was a major problem, at this stage Danny Sullivan had only started (and retired) at Indianapolis.
Mario returned to winning ways at the Meadowlands Grand Prix with Danny backing him up with an excellent second, both men lapping the field. The next round, the Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix at the Burke Lakefront Airport, saw Danny take his turn in the limelight with pole-sitter Mario retiring with ignition problems.
The second race of the 1984 Triple Crown, the Michigan 500, was another Mario benefit as the Budweiser T900 started from pole and won albeit by just a few inches from the March 84C of Tom Sneva. Once again the Newman-Haas Lola was dominant at Road America with another pole/race win weekend to Mario,
While the third and final event in the Triple Crown at Pocono saw Mario retire with engine problems, Danny stepped into the breach to take his second win of the year.
It was now September with the season entering the final six rounds and Mario was back at the front on the beautiful Mid-Ohio track with Danny coming home third. The Molson Indy race on the Sanair Super Speedway saw Maio slip slightly, he only qualified 4th and finished 7th but Danny was there to bring home the win in the Domino's Pizza Lola.
Mario was back at the head of the field at Michigan but, 12th at Phoenix was a disappointment as the March 84C dominated the results.
The final two races of the season at Laguna Seca and Las Vegas gave Mario a brace of seconds to finish the season in first place on 176 points, 13 ahead of runner-up Tom Sneva. Danny finished the year 4th on 110 points. Considering most races were two or three Lolas against 20 or more Marches it was a triumpnant season for the Lola marque.
Of the five cars built the first three went to the Newman Haas team for Mario Andretti and Danny Sullivan, HU1 and HU2 were supplied in the "800" speedway specification and HU3 in the "801" street and road circuit version. The other team to run the T800 was Skoal Bandit in four races, three with Corrado Fabi driving and one with Kenny Acheson. The best finish was a 10th for Fabi.
Year(s) of Construction: 1984
Total Built: 5
T800 CHAMPIONSHIP WINS
YEAR |
CHAMPIONSHIP |
WINNER(S) |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | PPG Indy Car World Series | Mario Andretti | Lola T800-Cosworth |
Danny Sullivan took three wins during the year.
T800 SIGNIFICANT RACE WINS
1984
DATE |
VENUE/MEETING |
DRIVER |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31st March | Long Beach – Grand Prix | Mario Andretti | Round 1 of PPG Indy Car World Series |
| 1st July | Meadowlands – Grand Prix | Mario Andretti | Round 6 of PPG Indy Car World Series |
| 8th July | Burke Lakefront Airport - Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix | Danny Sullivan | Round 7 of PPG Indy Car World Series |
| 22nd July | Michigan International Speedway – Michigan 500 | Mario Andretti | Round 8 of PPG Indy Car World Series |
| 5th August | Road America - Provimi Veal 200 | Mario Andretti | Round 9 of PPG Indy Car World Series |
| 19th August | Pocono International Raceway - Domino's Pizza 500 | Danny Sullivan | Round 10 of PPG Indy Car World Series |
| 3rd September | Mid-Ohio - Escort Radar Warning 200 | Mario Andretti | Round 11 of PPG Indy Car World Series |
| 9th September | Sanair Super Speedway – Molson Indy | Danny Sullivan | Round 12 of PPG Indy Car World Series |
| 24th September | Michigan International Speedway - Detroit News Grand Prix | Mario Andretti | Round 13 of PPG Indy Car World Series |
