Lola T850

The Lola T850 is a Formula 2 racing car from the British manufacturer Lola Cars , which was used in the European and Japanese Formula 2 championships in the early 1980s . It is not Lola's own design, but a car produced under license that was developed by competing companies. A variant of the Lola T850 is the docking Spitzley DS1 . Lola also built a Formula Atlantic version that was sold as the Toleman TA860 .

History of origin

Lola Cars

Toleman

The racing car manufacturer Lola Cars in Huntingdon , founded by Eric Broadley , was represented in the Formula 2 European Championship until the late 1960s, including the T100 and T102 models , which became famous through a BMW works. In the 1970s, Lola then concentrated primarily on US racing series and only sporadically offered chassis for Formula 2, which were largely unsuccessful. In 1976 Lola built four T450 Formula 2 cars , one of which was delivered to the German team ATS Wheels . The drivers failed with him several times to qualify. The successor Lola T550 , built as a single piece in 1977, was even worse; he was unable to participate in the race. With him, Lola's Formula 2 ambitions initially ended.

After a break of several years, Lola returned to Formula 2 at the beginning of the 1981 season with the T850. It has its origins in a two-year-old design by Lola competitor Ralt . It is based on the Ralt RT2 , which raced exclusively for the British Toleman team in the 1979 Formula 2 European Championship . For the 1980 season , the Toleman engineer Rory Byrne had developed the Ralt RT2 to the Toleman TG280 ; with him Brian Henton won the championship that year. The following year Toleman rose to Formula 1 . The old TG280s were sold to drivers like Jim Crawford and Jo Gartner who used them with moderate success until 1983 . The interest in the cars was so great that at the end of 1980 Toleman decided to produce more customer vehicles. But because Toleman had no capacity to build Formula 2 customer cars in addition to his Formula 1 involvement, Lola was commissioned to build these new customer TG280s. Lola launched a series of 10 vehicles and sold them under its own name as the Lola T850 to European and Japanese Formula 2 teams.

After the cars were sold, Lola did not continue the Formula 2 involvement. This made the T850 the last Formula 2 car to bear the name Lola. Only with the introduction of the successor series Formula 3000 in the spring of 1985, a Lola car appeared again in the class below Formula 1 with the T950 .

Model name

The model designation follows the nomenclature used by Lola at the time: The last two digits stand as the code for the racing series for which the respective model was designed - here: 50 for formulas 2 and 3000 - while the first digit stands for the generation within this group stands. Accordingly, the 850 is the eighth model that Lola designed for Formula 2. However, this is incorrect insofar as there is a jump from the 550 to the 850: Formula 2 cars with the designations Lola 650 and 750 do not exist.

technology

The construction of the Lola T850 is largely identical to that of the Toleman TG280 from 1981. The car has a monocoque made of aluminum sheets. A double wishbone axle is installed at the front and rear , with outriggers at the rear. The wheelbase is 2514 mm, the total length of the car is 4191 mm. The front track measures 1473 mm, the rear 1422 mm. Like the TG280, the cars could be equipped with Hart -420R engines; In addition, the use of BMW engines was also possible.

The Lola T850 in the European Formula 2 Championship

The 1981 European Formula 2 season was dominated by the works teams of March , Maurer and Ralt. With Project Four and Toleman, two professionally organized and successful private teams had left the Formula 2 European Championship at the turn of the year 1980/81. The previous midfield teams gained in importance. With Docking Spitzley and Sanremo Racing, two of them became customers of the Lola T850 in 1981. While the car was able to achieve individual podium places in 1981, it no longer played an essential role in 1982, and in 1983 it was only used as a gap filler.

Docking Spitzley Racing

Best driver of a Lola T850 in the 1981 season: Stefan Johansson

The British team Docking Spitzley Racing , which in 1980 had registered two Toleman TG280s as customer cars, continued Toleman's previous role . Docking Spitzley took over three Lola T850s for Stefan Johansson , Kenny Acheson and - in the second half of the season - for Ricardo Londoño-Bridge for the 1981 season . The team only received the cars five days before the first race of the year and could barely prepare for the season opener. Docking Spitzley launched the T850 with all Hart engines. After a bad debut at Silverstone , Johansson then won the second championship round at the Hockenheimring ; he also won the last race of the season in the Swedish Mantorp Park . With second place in Rome and a few other places in the points, Johansson came in fourth in the championship behind Geoff Lees in the factory Ralt, Thierry Boutsen in the factory March and Eje Elgh in the Maurer . That made him the best driver on a customer team. Acheson finished 15th, Londoño-Bridge did not score any championship points.

For the 1982 season, Docking Spitzley revised the Lola T850 in detail. In 1982 the cars were no longer registered as Lola, but as Docking Spitzley DS1.

Sanremo Racing

The Italian Sanremo team, which belonged to the former racing driver Alberto Colombo , took over a Lola T850 for Guido Pardini for the 1981 season . Carlo Rossi , the team's second driver, drove a used Toleman TG280 from 1980. Both cars were equipped with BMW Heidegger engines. Pardini achieved significantly worse performances in the Lola T850 than his teammate: While Rossi was fourth, fifth and sixth in the old TG280 and finished the championship in 13th place, Pardini was eliminated six times and achieved a seventh place as the best result in Rome.

In 1982, Sanremo Racing kept the combination of a - now two year old - Toleman TG280 and a Lola T850. The T850 with a Hart engine was initially driven by Eddy Bianchi , the reigning champion of Italian Formula 3 , who made his Formula 2 debut at Sanremo this year. His best race result was 8th place in the British Thruxton . After this race he had to end his motorsport involvement for financial reasons. The Lola T850 was then taken over by his team-mate Roberto Del Castello , who had previously driven the old Toleman TG280. Del Castello converted the T850 to a BMW engine. With this combination he didn't finish in the points in the further course of the season.

In 1983, Sanremo started the new season late for financial reasons. The now three-year-old Toleman TG280 and the two-year-old Lola T850 filled the gaps in the first races until the team could fall back on two new March 832s . Guido Daccò drove the Lola T850 with BMW engine in the team's first three races and finished sixth with him in Rome . That was the last point a T850 achieved.

Formula racing club

The Lola T850-06 went to the Swiss Formula Racing Club in 1981 , which registered it for the Lucerne racing driver Fredy Schnarwiler . Schnarwiler drove the car with a Hart engine. He started eight races in the 1981 season. He failed in three races and finished five times. His best position was seventh in the Pau Grand Prix .

In 1982 Schnarwiler registered the T850 for the first two championship races, but only started at the opening race at Silverstone. Here he retired after four laps due to a technical defect. There was still a message for the subsequent race at the Hockenheimring, but Schnarwiler did not start. This initially ended his Formula 2 involvement. He competed again for the last race of the year in Misano , but drove a current March 822 .

Docking Spitzley DS1

Docking Spitzley had the T850 revised in detail for the 1982 season. This affected both the wheel suspension and the aerodynamics. The engineers in charge were Frank Dernie and Pat Symonds , who primarily worked on Toleman's Formula 1 cars. As in the previous year, the cars started with Hart engines; Drivers were Thierry Tassin and Carlo Rossi.

Tassin finished the opening race in second, but was subsequently disqualified because the side shooters violated the rules. Two weeks later, Tassin finished sixth at the Hockenheimring; that was the only race of the year that he finished in the points. At the second edition of the Grand Prix de Formule 2 Belgique in Spa-Francorchamps , which took place in partly heavy rain, both drivers went off the track. Tassin had previously been third, Rossi sixth. Both cars were so badly damaged in the accidents that the team had to skip the subsequent championship run at the Hockenheimring. At the next race on the Thruxton Circuit only Tassin's DS1 was rebuilt; Rossi, on the other hand, drove an old Toleman TG280. The team - like some of its competitors - skipped the eleventh race of the season in Sweden because of the long journey. At the last championship run, Docking Spitzley reported both drivers with the DS1 again, but Tassin missed the qualification. After the end of the season, the Docking-Spitzley team, which had suffered financial difficulties throughout the year, gave up its Formula 2 involvement.

The Lola T850 in the Japanese Formula 2 Championship

Kazuyoshi Hoshino

Contrary to expectations, Lola was only able to sell two T850s in Japan.

The Heroes Racing Corporation put a car with a BMW engine in 1981 and 1982 for Kazuyoshi Hoshino one in Japanese Formula 2 championship. In the first season, which was dominated by contemporary March models and powerful Honda engines, Hoshino managed a victory and a second place, so that he was runner-up in the overall standings in 1981. Hoshino started the 1982 season again with the T850. After a third place in the opening race and two subsequent failures, he switched to a current March 822 in the summer of 1982 , with which he won the fourth championship run. Heroes Racing gave the T850 to Toshio Suzuki for the last two races , who retired once and finished ninth once.

After a break of more than a year and a half, two Lola T850s appeared again in the last race of the 1984 season in Suzuka . Both had BMW engines tuned by Toda Racing . Gear Racing reported one car for Norimasa Sakamoto , who finished 14th and last. Maribu Motorsport Club launched the second T850 for Hironobu Tatsumi . Tatsumi was the first driver of the race to retire.

Toleman TA860 / Lola T860

With a view to the North American market, Lola built a version of the T850 adapted to the Formula Atlantic . The car was called the Lola T860 in-house but was marketed under the Toleman TA860 name . Contrary to expectations, this version was unsuccessful; Lola only sold two cars.

United States

The first TA860 (chassis number HU1) was delivered to the US American Lola representative Carl Haas in June 1981 . Jacques Villeneuve senior tested the car, but did not take it over for the current competitions. The TA860's racing debut did not take place until more than a year later at a Formula Atlantic race in Road America , where it was registered by the Venezuelan racing driver Juan Cochesa with a Ford BDN engine. In qualifying, Cochesa took last place; he finished the race in 17th place. After that, Cochesa gave up the TA860. In 1985 Peter Heckmann reported him to four out of six races in the Formula Atlantic Championship East . His best position was fifth in the penultimate championship run at the St. Louis International Raceway . In the overall ranking, Heckmann took tenth place with 22 points. After that, this TA860 was no longer used in races.

Australia

The second TA860 (chassis number HU2) went to the Australian racing driver Peter Williamson . He used it from November 1981 to 1984 in the Australian Formula Pacific Championship, which was called the Australian Formula 1 Championship from 1982 and whose regulations corresponded to those of the American Formula Atlantic. In this version the TA860 had a Toyota engine. Williamson made his debut with the car in November 1981 at Calder Park Raceway at the Australian Grand Prix . After an accident on lap 15, he had to stop the race. During the second use of the TA860 on the Oran Park Raceway in April 1982 Williamson had another accident. The car was so badly damaged that the T860 had to be rebuilt using a new chassis and could not be used for the rest of the year. In 1983 Williamson contested four of six rounds of the Australian Formula 1 Championship in 1983 with the renovated TA860 . His best result was fourth place in the Lakeside race . In the following season there were still some reports, but no more racing participation.

Race results in the Formula 2 European Championship

Lola T850

season	team	driver	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	Points	rank
1981
	Docking Spitzley Team Toleman	Stefan Johansson	9	1	7th	4th	2	DNF	8th	DNF	14th	4th	9	1		30th	4th
		Kenny Acheson	19th	DNF	DNF	6th	10	15th	DNF	DNA	DNA		DNA	3		5	15th
		Ricardo Londoño Bridge							9	DNF	DNF	DNS	DNA			0	-
	Sanremo Racing	Guido Pardini		DNF	DNF	9	7th	12	DNS	DNF	DNF	13	DNF	DNA		0	-
	Formula racing club	Fredy Schnarwiler	15th	12	9	DNA	DNF	DNF		7th	DNF	16	DNA	DNA		0	-
1982
	Sanremo Racing	Eddy Bianchi	DNF	14th	8th											0	-
		Roberto Del Castello				DNS	DNF	10	DNF	14th	DNF		10	9	11	3	16
	Formula racing club	Fredy Schnarwiler	DNF	DNS												0	-
1983
	Sanremo Racing	Guido Daccò				DNF	6th	DNF								4th	13

Docking Spitzley DS1

season	team	driver	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	Points	rank
1982
	Docking Spitzley Racing	Carlo Rossi	DNF	DNF	DNF	12	DNF	DNQ	DNQ	DNF				DNF	12	0	-
		Thierry Tassin	DSQ	6th	DNF	18th	9	DNF	DNF	DNF					DNQ	1	17th

literature

• David Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945 , Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7
• Eberhard Reuß, Ferdi Kräling: Formula 2. The story from 1964 to 1984 , Delius Klasing, Bielefeld 2014, ISBN 978-3-7688-3865-8 .

Web links

• Overview of Lola Cars racing cars on www.lolaheritage.co.uk

Individual evidence

1. ^ David Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945 , Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , p. 139.
2. ↑ The Lola T450 on the website www.lolaheritage.co.uk (accessed August 8, 2020).
3. ↑ The Lola T550 on the website www.lolaheritage.co.uk (accessed August 8, 2020).
4. ^ David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945 , Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , pp. 140, 249.
5. ^ David Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945 , Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , p. 141.
6. ↑ ^{a b c d} John Starkey, Ken Wells, Esa Illoinen: LOLA - All the Sports Racing 1978-1997 , Veloce Publishing, 2000, ISBN 9781901295009 .
7. ↑ Short biography of Eddy Bianchi on the website www.oldracingcars.com (accessed on August 9, 2020).
8. ↑ Statistics of the Grand Prix de Formule 2 Belgique 1982 on the website www.formula2.net (archived version) (accessed on August 11, 2020).
9. ↑ Championship ranking on the website www.formula2.net (archived version) (accessed on August 11, 2020).
10. ↑ Statistics of the Japanese Formula 2 championship races 1982 on the website www.formula2.net (archived version) (accessed on August 11, 200).
11. ↑ Statistics of the Great 20 Racers Race 1984 on the website www.formula2.net (archived version) (accessed on August 9, 2020).
12. ↑ The Toleman TA860 on the website www.oldracingcars.com (accessed on August 9, 2020).
13. ^ Statistics of the Formula Atlantic race in Road America from July 25, 1982 at www.oldracingcars.com (accessed on August 10, 2020).
14. ↑ Statistics of the ECAR Formula Atlantic Championship 1985 on the website www.oldracingcars.com (accessed on August 10, 2020).
15. ↑ Statistics from the Australian Formula Pacific and Australian Formula 1 championships of the 1980s on the website www.oldracingcars.com (accessed on August 11, 2020).
16. ↑ Del Castello scored three points in the first race of the season with the Toleman TG280. In the Lola T850 he did not score any championship points.
17. ↑ Daccò scored a championship point in the Lola T850. He scored three more points with a March 832 as the season progressed.