Lola Cars International are proud to announce today a technical partnership with the Roush Yates company to offer a variety of their engines in Lola LMP designs for the 2011 season onwards. Initially majoring on the 2011 LMP2 design, Lola are offering the Roush prepared Ford V6 Eco-Boost TurboV6 unit as a standard installation. A low cost, high mileage solution, this unit is built with production-based parts at Roush Yates Engines facility in Mooresville, North Carolina. Roush Yates are also evaluating the Mustang V8 unit for possible future installations. Both Lola and Roush will also investigate possibilities for LMP1 Prototypes, possibly for the 2011 season.
Lola and Roush enjoyed a fruitful partnership from 1999-2001 with the Kremer Racing team. Two victories at Spa and Kyalami in 2000 cemented a close engineering bond between the companies, which will continue for customers choosing the Lola-Roush Yates combination.
An ever present in the American Le Mans Series since its inception in 1999, Lola continue to be the leading customer constructor of Prototype racing cars in the series, with five regular entrants in this seasons campaign.
Quotes:
Robin Brundle, Managing Director of Lola Group
“We are delighted to confirm this important partnership today. For two exceptional brands like Lola and Roush Yates Engines to come together like this illustrates a shared vision for global Prototype racing.”
John Maddox, Sports Car Program Manager for Roush Yates Engines
“Everyone at Roush Yates Engines is excited to partner with such a prominent car constructor of LMP sports cars. We are proud to build exceptional engines to pair with Lola's LMP2 design as we enter this innovative championship. Roush Yates Engines plans to use this opportunity to continue improving our technology and efficiency as we strive towards our goal of becoming world-class engine builders.”
Scott Atherton, President and CEO – American Le Mans Series
“This is a significant and obviously very positive development for us. And it is another example of a manufacturer that shares our view of racing's relationship to the showroom - using a high-performance environment such as the American Le Mans Series to develop relevant, innovative technology that can be transferred to production cars. We continue to stand alone as motorsport’s leader in manufacturer diversity and innovation, two traits that we believe were critical to Roush Yates’ decision to supply Ford engines for LMP entrants starting next season. With today’s announcement we now add another major brand to the list of LMP engine suppliers for 2011 - Honda having already announced and displayed its new LMP motor at Le Mans earlier this year. The addition of Roush Yates and its Ford engine now gives LMP entrants two excellent choices with more still to come.”
All pictures Lola Heritage.