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THE LOLA T80


All pictures copyright Lola Heritage unless otherwise stated.


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Sitting in the T80 is Bud Tingelstad, to the left is entrant Lindsay Hopkins, on the right chief mechanic Jud Phillips and crew chief Jack Beckley.

Lola's first assault on the world of Indy Car racing was in 1966 when they built two cars for that year's Indianapolis 500. As a warm up one car was entered, as the American Red Ball, at the Trenton 100 for Bud Tingelstad and, despite the race being shortened from 100 to 87 laps, the T80 finished 4th on its debut.

The next race was the big one, the Indy 500, and two cars were entered, once again Bud Tingelstad in the American Red Ball and he was joined by Al Unser in the Sheraton-Thompson. However late completion of the cars had meant very little running time and inexperience with the design saw Tingelstad qualify 23rd and Unser 29th of the 33 starters. Both drivers complained particularly of a handling problem that caused the car to "heave" as it entered a corner, this was later discovered to be caused by a flaw in the suspension geometry. Despite this, and a number of other teething troubles, Unser finished ninth and Tingelstad ran as high as fifth until a broken casting (not Lola-made) caused a rear wheel to fall off after 115 laps.

The T80s continued to race in that year's USAC Championship but with very little success (see results below).

For details of the individual chassis histories please visit OldRacingCars HERE.


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Al Unser in the Sheraton-Thompson and Bud Tingelstad in the American Red Ball T80s at Indianapolis. (Indycar.com)

T80 Specification.


Engine:Ford V8 4.2 litre 500 BHP.
Construction:Steel and alumnium monocoque.
Gearbox: ZF Three-speed.
Height: 2ft 8ins (81.3cms.)
Length: 13ft (13.96m)
Weight: 1250lbs (567kgs.)
Tyres: Firestone.
Brakes: Girling.

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The T80 under construction at the Lola factory.

T80 1965 USAC National Championship Trail Results

DATERACE/VENUEENTRANTDRIVERRESULT
25th AprilTrenton 100, Trenton International SpeedwayAmerican Red BallBud Tingelstad4th
31st MayInternational 500 Mile Sweepstakes, Indianapolis Motor SpeedwaySheraton-Thompson
American Red Ball
Al Unser
Bud Tingelstad
9th
Retired
18th JulyTrenton 150, Trenton International SpeedwayMecom Racing TeamRodger WardDNS
25th JulyHoosier Grand Prix, Indianapolis Raceway ParkMecom Racing TeamRodger WardRetired
14th AugustMilwaukee 150, The Milwaukee MileMecom Racing TeamBud Tingelstad
Rodger Ward
Retired
Retired
22nd AugustTony Bettenhausen 200, The Milwaukee MileAmerican Red Ball
Mecom Racing Team
Bud Tingelstad
Rodger Ward
Retired
Retired
26th SeptemberTrenton 200, Trenton International SpeedwayMecom Racing TeamRodger WardRetired
21st NovemberBobby Ball Memorial, Phoenix International RacewayMecom Racing TeamRodger WardRetired


1965 CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS

19th Al Unser 495 points (Also drove a Weisman, Eisert and Kuzma Sprint Car)
20th Bud Tingelstad 460 points (Also drove a Halibrand, Kurtis, Kuzma and Silnes and Blum Sprint Cars)
49th Rodger Ward 30 points (Also drove a Watson RE)

Results courtesy of www.champcarstats.com

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T80 front suspension. (From the Collections of The Henry Ford)

T80 1966 USAC National Championship Trail Results

DATERACE/VENUEENTRANTDRIVERRESULT
30th MayInternational 500 Mile Sweepstakes, Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayMichner Petroleum
Western Racing Associates
Western Racing Associates
Larry Dickson
Ronnie Bucknam
Bruce Jacobi
Retired
DNQ
DNQ
5th JuneRex Mays Classic, The Milwaukee MileWestern Racing AssociatesBruce Jacobi19th
12th JuneLanghorne 100, Langhorne SpeedwayWestern Racing AssociatesBruce JacobiDNS
26th JuneAtlanta 300, Atlanta Motor SpeedwayMichner Petroleum
Lucy
Larry Dickson
Arnie Knepper
19th
7th AugustLanghorne 150, Langhorne SpeedwayMichner PetroleumSam SessionsDNS
25th SeptemberTrenton 200, Trenton International SpeedwayMichner PetroleumSam SessionsRetired

T80 1968 USAC National Championship Trail Results

DATERACE/VENUEENTRANTDRIVERRESULT
7th AprilJimmy Bryan Memorial, Phoenix International RacewayMichner PetroleumRick Muther DNQ
9th JuneRex Mays Classic, The Milwaukee MileMichner PetroleumNorm BrownDNF
Results courtesy of www.champcarstats.com

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The rear suspension of the T80. (From the Collections of The Henry Ford)

1965 CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS

20th Bud Tingelstad 460 points
49th Rodger Ward 30 points

1966 CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS

24th Larry Dickson 320 points
30th Sam Sessions 210 points
38th Bruce Jacobi 100 points

Results courtesy of www.champcarstats.com

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Parnelli Jones tested the T80... (From the Collections of The Henry Ford)

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...but opted to race a Lotus. (From the Collections of The Henry Ford)

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...as did AJ Foyt.(From the Collections of The Henry Ford)

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Bud Tingelstad retired as the result of an accident. (From the Collections of The Henry Ford)

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Al Unser finished 9th. (From the Collections of The Henry Ford)

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Larry Dickson in the Michner Petroleum T80 at the 1966 Indy 500, he was involved in the opening lap accident. (Indycar.com)

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The Dayton Disc Brake T80 at Indianapolis in 1967. Ronnie Duman, Bruce Jacobi and Bob Bondurant all tried (and failed) to qualify the car and Jacobi managed to wreck it. (From the Collections of The Henry Ford)