06/04/09

LOLA TAKE HISTORIC DOUBLE VICTORY AT BARCELONA

SIX PODIUM VISITS IN TWO RACES FOR LOLA TEAMS!

Lola took an historic double class win at Barcelona over the weekend. The Lola-Aston Martin of Stefan Mucke, Jan Charouz and Tomas Enge took the overall Barcelona 1000kms win while the Racing Box entered Lola B08/80 took the LMP2 spoils. It was the first time that a constructor has won both classes in an LMS race since the series inception in 2004.

Lola sportscars did not confine their achievements to Europe either. In the American Le Mans Series, Dyson Racing took both their Lola LMP2 cars to 2nd and 3rd place at St Petersburg, Florida and Intersport Racing grabbed 2nd in LMP1, ensuring that six visits to the podium were achieved during one of Lola’s most successful racing weekends.

Speaking about a spectacular weekend of Lola endurance racing success, Executive Chairman and owner of Lola, Martin Birrane said: “It was a perfect start to the 2009 season. Podiums and class wins in P2 on both sides of the Atlantic, together with Lola’s first overall win with its P1 coupe. The Lola-Aston Martin B09/60 took a great victory in Barcelona. I wish to congratulate and compliment George Howard-Chappell and the Aston Martin Racing Ltd team on the excellent job they did.

“It was an outstanding performance from our newest customer, Racing Box. The team, before coming to Barcelona had tested the Lola B09/80 LMP2 car just once. To claim pole position, win the class and score a third position with the sister car was superb. I must congratulate Ferdinando Geri and his team for a brilliant debut. Add to this the two podium positions received by Dyson Racing team in the LMP2 category at St Petersburg, we feel that our investment in technical excellence over the last decade and the Lola coupes was justified. "This weekends success truly demonstrates the influence that Lola have on global endurance racing,”
continued Birrane. “Exceptional wins at Barcelona and a double podium at St Petersburg reflect the huge investment we have made in technical excellence over the last decade."

Lola now sit at the top of both the Constructors points tables with a maximum 12 points in LMP1 and 17 points in LMP2.

Reliable and customer friendly, Lola LMP cars also proved to be blisteringly fast taking the races fastest lap. In LMP2, the brand new Racing Box Lola-Judd claimed pole position despite completing just one flying lap at the very end of the session.

In the second round of the ALMS both Dyson Racing Lola-Mazda’s eclipsed the Fernandez Acura in outright speed with faster race laps.

All pictures courtesy of John Brooks unless otherwise stated.



Lolas 1-2-3 at the start of the Barcelona 1000kms.



The Lola Aston Martins in line astern.



A stunning debut win in LMP2 for the Racing Box team.



The Lola Aston Martin drivers celebrate their victory...



...as do the LMP2 Racing Box team.



The Speedy Sebah LMP2 car...



...and their LMP1 version were both very quick.



The Kruse-Schiller Mazda turbo powered LMP2 chassis.



The RML B08/80-Mazda was out of luck.



One of the Dyson B09/80-Mazdas is readied at St Petersburg. (americanlemans.com)