Lola T97/30

The Lola T97/30 was the car with which the MasterCard Lola Formula One team attempted to compete in the 1997 Formula One season. It was driven by Vincenzo Sospiri, the 1995 Formula 3000 champion, and Ricardo Rosset, who moved from Footwork. However, the team's tenure in F1 was brief. The first Lola chassis to compete in the sport since 1993 was originally planned for the 1998 season. However, due to pressure from main sponsor MasterCard, the car was rushed into service a year before the initial plan. The T9730 was not a success failing to qualify with either Sospiri or Rosset at its only attempt(s) which was the opening round of the 1997 season at the 1997 Australian Grand Prix before the team and cars were withdrawn from the next race in Brazil. Neither the T97/30 or the team would been seen again competing at a Grand Prix thereafter as Lola withdrew from the 1997 championship due to financial and technical difficulties having only competed (and performed very poorly) in one race weekend. As of September 2023, the T97/30 is last Lola chassis to compete at Formula One World Championship Grand Prix weekend.

Lola T97/30
CategoryFormula One
ConstructorLola
Designer(s)Eric Broadley (Chassis)
Chris Saunders (Aerodynamics)
PredecessorLola T93/30 / Lola T95/30
SuccessorNone
Technical specifications[1]
ChassisCarbon fibre/aluminium honeycomb monocoque
Suspension (front)Inboard pushrod/bellcrank-actuated double wishbones
Suspension (rear)As front
LengthUnknown
WidthUnknown
HeightUnknown
Axle trackUnknown
WheelbaseUnknown
EngineFord ECA Zetec-R 75-degree V8
TransmissionLola 6-speed sequential
Weight520 kilograms (1,150 lb)
FuelShell
TyresBridgestone
Competition history
Notable entrantsMasterCard Lola F1 Team
Notable drivers24. Italy Vincenzo Sospiri
25. Brazil Ricardo Rosset
TD.Italy Andrea Montermini
Debut1997 Australian Grand Prix (Did not qualify)
RacesWinsPolesF/Laps
1 (0 starts)000
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers' Championships0

Competition history

Pre season and launch

Lola was the second new team for the 1997 season, the other being Stewart Grand Prix, whom team founder and the T97/30's designer Eric Broadley claimed in pre-season before his cars' launch in early-1997 was the team he felt his outfit should be beating. Broadley also cited fellow Bridgestone tyre using outfit Arrows -that had had signed then-defending World Champion Damon Hill for 1997 as another team that would be a benchmark for Lola's 1997 performance.[2] Because of sponsor MasterCard's eagerness to get the team running a year earlier than planned, the team hastily built the T97/30 just weeks before the season began. Whilst Stewart (who had announced their entry even before the start of the 1996 season) had completed weeks of testing, Lola had barely covered any mileage before the season opener. The T97/30 was launched at the Hilton Hotel in London on 20 February 1997.[3]

Australia weekend and Silverstone test

Broadley's pre-season ambitions of competing with and beating the Ford-backed Stewart team proved to be nothing more than a pipe dream as at first round of the season in Melbourne the first brief tests showed that both cars were slow in a straight line and also in the corners; the aerodynamics producing too much drag and not enough downforce. This also meant the cars could not get the tyres up to the right temperature. Neither driver could get near a good enough time to qualify, as they struggled in the difficult-handling cars. In the end both Sospiri and Rosset failed to qualify, 11.6 and 12.7 seconds respectively off the pace, whilst both Stewart Grand Prix cars comfortably qualified for the same race. The cars were tested at Silverstone shortly after the Australian Grand Prix but both were again slowest with times in excess of 10 seconds off the front runners.[4]

End of the road for car and team

The cars were transported to Brazil for the race at Interlagos, but title sponsor MasterCard withdrew their support (with all other sponsors later following MasterCard's suit at the last minute) and they remained in the garage for the rest of the weekend, subsequently withdrawing from the championship. [5][6]

The team were unclassified in the Constructors' Championship, with no race finishes, nor points.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year Entrant Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Points WCC
1997 MasterCard Lola Ford Zetec R ECA 3.0 V8 B AUS BRA ARG SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA AUT LUX JPN EUR 0 NC
Vincenzo Sospiri DNQ
Ricardo Rosset DNQ
Source:[7]

Locations

The locations of the four T97/30 chassis (as of 2007) are as follows:[8]

  • T97/30-1 (Sospiri): Canadian racing school.
  • T97/30-2 (Rosset): Canadian racing school.
  • T97/30-3 (spare car): owned by Martin Birrane, the current owner of Lola. On display at the Mondello Park circuit museum.[9]
  • T97/30-4 (unfinished): Lola factory, Huntingdon.

References
  • AUTOCOURSE 1997–98, Henry, Alan (ed.), Hazleton Publishing Ltd. (1997) ISBN 1-874557-47-0
  1. Collins, Sam (2007). "Lola". Unraced...Formula One's lost cars. Veloce Publishing. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-84584-084-6.
  2. "Lola: We can beat Stewart". www.atlasf1.com. Atlas F1. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  3. "Lola's last-minute launch". www.grandprix.com. GrandPrix.com. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  4. "... while Ralf is fastest". www.grandprix.com. 24 March 1997. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  5. "Bring Back V10s Podcast: Lola's disastrous 1997 F1 team". The Race. The Race Media. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  6. "Lola out of Brazilian GP and out of season?..." - Autosport.com, 26 March 1997. Retrieved 25 October 2007.
  7. "All championship race entries, in a Lola T97/30". ChicaneF1. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  8. Collins, Sam (2007). "Chassis list". Unraced...Formula One's lost cars. Veloce Publishing. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-84584-084-6.
  9. Collins, Sam (2007). "Lola". Unraced...Formula One's lost cars. Veloce Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-84584-084-6.
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