THE LOLA T540
All pictures copyright Lola Heritage unless otherwise stated.
The works prototype T540 of Mike Blanchet was first raced in 1977. It is seen here at the Lola factory.
The T540 was Lola's 1976 design for 1600 Formula Ford and it was the follow-up to the T440 which had proven hugely popular in the US although, oddly, only one chassis raced in the UK. The new chassis also sold large numbers, eighty-two, in the US but this time twenty-three were built to European specification (T540E), nine of which went to UK customers, three to Germany, one to Holland and ten to European agent Heini Mader in Switzerland.
The most obvious differences between the T540 and the T440 was that the new car bucked the trend and reverted to a front mounted radiator instead of the twin rear mounted ones used on the older car and the front suspension also reverted to outboard with a top wishbone replacing the T440's rocker arm. The rest of the suspension was standard Lola, at the rear a top link, reversed lower wishbone, twin radius rods and anti-roll bar while the front had twin wishbones and anti-roll bar, virtually all the components, except the rear uprights, were new to this design.
In the UK Peter Morgan concentrated on and won the Esso Formula Ford 1600 Championship although he also scored good results in the plethora of other Championships that were in existence then. In 1979 future F1 and Nissan Sports Car driver Julian Bailey began to show his talent in a T540E while the design was still very competitive in 1981 when Mark Peters took the BARC Junior FF1600 title.
Year(s) of Construction: 1978-1981
Total Built: T540 - 82 T540E - 23
T540 CHAMPIONSHIP WINS
YEAR |
CHAMPIONSHIP |
WINNER(S) |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | BRDC Esso Formula Ford 1600 Championship | Peter Morgan | Lola T540E-Ford |
| 1981 | BARC Junior FF1600 | Mark Peters | Lola T540E-Ford |
| 1981 | Mid-Am Championship Formula Ford | David Crawford | Lola T540-Ford |
| 1982 | Mid-Am Championship Formula Ford | Jim Wright | Lola T540-Ford |
| 1983 | Mid-Am Championship Formula Ford | Stephen Dreizler | Lola T540-Ford |
| 1984 | Mid-Am Championship Formula Ford | Steve Wulff | Lola T540-Ford |
| 1988 | Mid-Am Championship Formula Ford | Paul Kuske | Lola T540-Ford |
| 1995 | Mid-Am Championship Formula Ford | Phillip Smith | Lola T540-Ford |
| 2003 | Mid-Am Championship Formula Ford | Patrick Donnelly | Lola T540-Ford |
Lola Advert celebrating Peter Morgan's Championship win.
Peter Morgan's sponsors join the celebrations.
T540 SIGNIFICANT RACE WINS
1978
DATE |
VENUE/MEETING |
DRIVER |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16th April | Brands Hatch - BARC | Peter Morgan | Esso Formula Ford 1600 Championship round |
| 1st May | Silverstone - BRDC | Peter Morgan | Esso Formula Ford 1600 Championship round - Winner Heat 1 |
| 1st May | Silverstone - BRDC | Peter Morgan | Esso Formula Ford 1600 Championship round - Winner Final |
| 7th May | Donington Park - BRDC | Peter Morgan | Esso Formula Ford 1600 Championship round |
| 13th May | Silverstone - BRDC | Peter Morgan | Esso Formula Ford 1600 Championship round - Winner Qualifying Heat |
| 13th May | Silverstone - BRDC | Peter Morgan | Esso Formula Ford 1600 Championship round - Winner Final |
| 28th August | Silverstone - BRDC | Peter Morgan | Esso Formula Ford 1600 Championship round - Winner Heat 1 |
| 11th November | Thruxton - BARC | Peter Morgan | Plastic Padding Formula Ford 1600 race |
Note the change in rear bodywork for the production model.
1979
DATE |
VENUE/MEETING |
DRIVER |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29th April | Brands Hatch - BRSCC | Julian Bailey | BRSCC Formula Ford 1600 Challenge Race |
| 29th July | Mallory Park - BRSCC | Julian Bailey | BRSCC Dunlop Star of Tomorrow - Final |
| 9th December | Brands Hatch - BRSCC | Julian Bailey | Kent Messenger Formula Ford |
1981
DATE |
VENUE/MEETING |
DRIVER |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19th March | Brands Hatch - BRSCC | Mike Hawkins | Round of the BRSCC FFord 1600 Championship |
| 7th June | Lydden Hill | Mark Peters | Round of the BARC Junior Formula Ford Championship - Heat 1 |
| 7th June | Lydden Hill | Mark Peters | Round of the BARC Junior Formula Ford Championship - Final |
| 21st June | Cadwell Park - Lincoln MC & CC | Mark Peters | Hartford Motors FFord 1600 and Formula Vee Race |
| 12th July | Mallory Park - BARC | Steve Greensmith | FF1600 Qualification Race |
| 3rd August | Oulton Park | Mark Peters | Round of the BARC Junior Formula Ford Championship |
| 30th August | Mallory Park - BRSCC | Mark Peters | Round of the BARC Junior Formula Ford 1600 Championship - Heat 3 |
| 6th September | Lydden Hill - BARC | Mark Peters | Round of the BARC Junior Formula Ford 1600 Championship - Winner Heat 1 |
| 6th September | Lydden Hill - BARC | Steve Kempton | Round of the BARC Junior Formula Ford 1600 Championship - Heat 2 |
| 6th September | Lydden Hill - BARC | Mark Peters | Round of the BARC Junior Formula Ford 1600 Championship - Final |
| 12th September | Oulton Park - BRSCC (NW) | Mark Peters | Round of the BARC Junior Formula Ford 1600 Championship - Winner Heat 1 |
| 11th October | Snetterton | Mark Peters | Round of the BARC Junior Formula Ford Championship - Round 7 |
| 18th October | Mallory Park - BRSCC | Mark Peters | Round of the BARC Junior Formula Ford 1600 Championship - Winner Heat 2 |
| ? November | La Chinita Circuit - Venezuela | Maximo Oliviera | International Formula Ford Grand Prix |
T540 HU20 is owned by Michel Rechede. (Photo courtesy of Michel Rechede)
HU44 on track with Steve Beeler driving. (Picture courtesy of Steve Beeler)
Frank Roser in HU22. (Picture courtesy of Frank Roser)
(Picture courtesy of Tony Messenger)
(Picture courtesy of Tony Messenger)
(Picture courtesy of Tony Messenger)
(Picture courtesy of Tony Messenger)
(Picture courtesy of Tony Messenger)