SL75/125 was the last of the four T75 tubs built to MkIIIB spec, but with modified suspension with alternative pick-up point for John Surtees. It was built to replace his earlier MkIIIB spider, SL75/123, which Surtees had started the ’67 Can-Am season with and had become somewhat less than happy with abandoning it after only three races.
John didn’t do much better with the new car, racing it only once, at Laguna Seca, where he retired after a coming together with Lothar Motschenbacher which destroyed the new Mk3 modified “lightweight” nose on the car. For the last Can-Am races of the year at Riverside and Las Vegas, John used his old T70 Mk2, SL71/17, which had actually been consigned for sale with Car Haas.
At the end of 1967 all the cars John had used over the last two seasons in America, either as Team Surtees or Lola Racing entries, were put up for sale with Carl Haas Auto Imports who had just taken over as the US Lola importer from John Mecom.
After being displayed by Haas at the 1968 New York Auto Show in pale yellow Simoniz livery, SL75/125 was sold in late ’68 to Jeff Stevens, a partner in American Racing Motors with Brian O’Neil. Now Ford engined and repainted dark blue, Jeff raced the T70 in Central and South America events and won Venezuela’s two biggest races in 1968, the Caracas 6 Hours and the Circuito los Proceres. In 1969 he won the Miami National Cup.
Jeff sold SL75/125 in 1970 to Harvey Lasiter of Studio City in California who only raced the T70 a few times in 1970. SL75/125 then ended up with Chuck Haines in 1980 who rebuilt the car preserving the original tub and raced it in SCCA club events before selling it, with slight body damage, to Wisconsin based restorer Jeff Simes, who repaired and restored the car including replacing the front steel bulkhead which was retained for provenance
and has remained with the car to this today.
Jeff sold the car shortly after restoration to John Casado of California who repainted the car in Penske livery. John rarely used the car and only did a couple of events, at Montlhery. He sold SL75/125 to historic racer Tomy Drissi in 1996. When inspected by Tomy, the car was found to have the alternative MkIIIB suspension pick-up points which had been built into the car when raced by Surtees.
In 2000 Tomy sold SL75/125 to Stephen Young of Los Angeles who continued to vintage race the car in SVRA events until selling the car in 2005, to the Swiss domiciled Spanish collector Manuel Segimon.
In February 2014, the car was sold to the current owner, collector and T70 enthusiast Marc Devis, who had the car inspected by T70 specialist Clive Robertson who confirmed that the car had retained its original type 75 lightweight chassis as built by Lola in 1967. SL75/125 was then rebuilt by WDK Motorsport to the correct lightweight Mk3B spyder spec and correct bodywork in Team Surtees livery as raced by John Surtees at Laguna Seca in 1967.
The restoration was completed by early 2016 and in August of the same year, SL75/125 returned to Laguna Seca, 49 years after its only race with John Surtees at the same track. Driven by Marc Devis, SL75/125 celebrated its return by winning the Monterey Historics Can-Am feature race, by a scant four hundredths of a second.
22/09/67: Lola Racing Ltd, Slough, England
• last of four type 75 lightweight tubs
• with revised MkIIIB suspension
• exported to Carl Haas, US Lola Agent for Team Surtees
• raced by John Surtees once, ’67 Laguna Seca
00/12/67: Haas Auto Imports Inc, Broadway, Chicago, Illinois, USA
• US Lola Importer
• displayed at ’68 New York Auto Show in Simoniz livery
• advertised for sale along with SL71/17 & SL71/43
00/00/68: Jeff Stevens, Miami, Florida, USA
• entered by American Racing Motors
• raced by Stevens in SCCA and Central/South American races
00/00/70: Harvey Lasiter, Studio City, California, USA
• raced 1970 Can-Am by Lasiter and Lou Sell
00/00/80: Chuck Haines, Manchester, St Louis, Missouri, USA
• restored and rebuilt preserving original chassis
• raced in SCCA club events
00/00/85: Jeff Simes, Wisconsin, USA
• restored - front bulkhead replaced - old bulkhead retained for provenance
• raced at Road America in ‘85
00/00/87: John Casado, California, USA
• re-painted in Penske racing livery
• raced in historics
00/00/96: Tomy Drissi, USA
• raced in historics
00/02/00: Steven Young, Los Angeles, California, USA
• raced in historics
00/00/05: Manuel Segimon Escobedo, Switzerland
• raced in historics
• placed in storage
00/02/14: Marc Devis, Belgium
• current owner
• rebuilt by WDK Motorsport to Mk3B spec in Team Surtees livery
• completed early 2016
• winner 2016 Monterey Historics Can-Am
Lola Racing Ltd
15/10/67: Monterey GP, Laguna Seca Can-Am #7 J.Surtees Rtd 31 laps - accident
American Racing Motors
09/12/68: Caracas 6 Hours, Venezuela #29 J.Stevens 1st -
29/12/68: Circuito los Proceres, Venezuela #29 J.Stevens 1st -
15/06/69: Hollywood Park, Miami National SCCA #29 J.Stevens 1st -
14/09/69: Bridgehampton Can-Am #29 J.Stevens Rtd 2 laps - blown engine
26/04/70: Virginia National SCCA #29 J.Stevens DNA
Harvey Lasiter Restaurants
18/10/70: Monterey GP, Laguna Seca Can-Am #42 H.Lasiter Rtd 30 laps - gearbox
01/11/70: LA Times GP, Riverside #42 L.Sell Rtd 22 laps - mechanical
