THE LOLA T850
All pictures copyright Lola Heritage unless otherwise stated.
These pictures taken at the Lola factory are of the Formula Atlantic T860 but the chassis/suspension/bodywork etc. are almost identical to the T850.
The T850 was a one-off in the sense that Lola did not design the car, they just built it under licence. It was in fact the Rory Byrne-designed Toleman TG280 that had dominated the 1980 Formula 2 Championship, winning seven of the twelve rounds as well taking eight second and five third places with Brian Henton and Derek Warwick finishing first and second in the final standings.
Full technical details of the T850 design can be found in the Lola Press Release below.
With Toleman entering Formula 1 in 1981 they were too involved with the new programme to build customer cars in 1981 so they approached Lola to construct the cars on their behalf and Lola built six cars for the 1981 season which would turn out to be one of the most competitive in F2 history. The 1981 season saw no less than five manufacturers winning races with the Ralt RH6-Honda winning four races, the March 812-BMW taking three, the Lola T850-Hart and the Maurer MM81-BMW two each and the Minardi 281-BMW one. Stefan Johansson's two wins in the Docking Spitzley Team Toleman T850 came at Hockenheim and Mantorp Park and he finished fourth in the Championship. The five round Japanese Formula 2 Championship, all of which took place at Suzuka, featured Kazuyoshi Hoshino in the Heroes Racing Corporation T850 and he won Round 3 and finished second at Round 1 and third at Round 4 to finish second in the Championship in a series almost exclusively comprised of Marches of varying vintages.
Year(s) of Construction: 1981
Total Built: 6
T850 SIGNIFICANT RACE WINS
1987
DATE |
VENUE/MEETING |
DRIVER |
NOTES |
---|---|---|---|
5th April | Hockenheim - XIII Jim Clark Gedächtnisrennen | Stefan Johansson | Round 2 of the European F2 Championship |
31st May | Suzuka - III Suzuka Golden Trophy | Kazuyoshi Hoshino | Round 3 of the All Japan F2 Series |
20th September | Mantorp Park - F2 Trofén | Stefan Johansson | Round 12 of the European F2 Championship |
Thierry Tassin in the Docking Spitzley Ltd T850
Kenny Acheson at Silverstone in the Docking Spitzley Team Toleman T850.
Kazuyoshi Hoshino in the Heroes Racing Corporation T850.
The programme cover for the JAF Suzuka GP featuring Kazuyoshi Hoshino leading the field in his T850.