Lola LC91

Lola LC91

Constructor:	Lola
Designer:	Eric Broadley
Predecessor:	Lola LC90
Successor:	Venturi LC92
Technical specifications
Chassis:	Sandwich - monocoque , CFK
Wheelbase:	2850
Weight:	525 kg
Tires:	Goodyear
Petrol:	BP
statistics
Driver:	Aguri Suzuki Éric Bernard Bertrand Gachot
First start:	1991 USA Grand Prix
Last start:	1991 Australian Grand Prix
Starts Victories Poles SR 16 - - -
World Cup points:	2
Podiums:	-
Leadership laps:	-

The Lola LC91 is a Formula 1 vehicle from the former British racing car manufacturer Lola Cars , which the French racing team Larrousse used in the 1991 Formula 1 World Championship. It was the last vehicle Lola designed for Larrousse. The LC91, which was created in an economically difficult time for the team, could not build on the success of its predecessors. In particular in the second half of the season, the qualification was repeatedly jeopardized. Overall, the Larrousse pilots only achieved two world championship points in 1991. Its successor was the Larrousse LH92 , which was designed by the March founder Robin Herd .

background

The Formula 1 team Larrousse was founded in 1987 by the former racing driver Gérard Larrousse , who was in charge of the factory Formula 1 involvement of the French car manufacturer Renault until 1985 . Unlike most other Formula 1 teams, Larrousse did not have its own development department or production facilities in the early years. Until 1991, Larrousse had its Formula 1 cars developed by the British racing car manufacturer Lola Cars. In 1989 and 1990 the racing team used twelve-cylinder engines from Lamborghini , which were powerful and gave the team its best season to date in 1990. Larrousse achieved a total of 11 world championship points in 1990, which, transferred to the constructors' championship, were sufficient for sixth place. Despite this success, Lamborghini dissolved the contract with Larrousse at the end of 1990 in order to equip the French rival Ligier team in 1991 . In addition, the FISA recognized all championship points from 1990 from the team. The reason given was that "Larrousse" was specified as the manufacturer of the Lola LC90 when registering and not - which would have been correct - "Lola". As a result, the Larrousse team lost its entitlement to the proceeds from the sale of television rights. Gérard Larrousse put the damage to his team at six million francs. He attributed the FISA decision to an intrigue by team boss Guy Ligier .

construction

The LC91 was designed after longtime Lola designer Chris Murphy left the company in late 1990, by a team led by Lola founder Eric Broadley . The designers in charge were Mark Williams and Bruce Ashmore.

From a technical point of view, the LC91 was not a new development, but a revision of last year's LC90. The construction of the monocoque was adopted unchanged. Some parts of the suspension were new: Instead of the push struts previously used on all four wheels, the design team now provided pull struts on the rear wheels.

In 1991, Larrousse used an eight-cylinder Cosworth (type DFR) engine that was tuned by Hart . The engine essentially corresponded to the configuration that had been successfully used in the Tyrrell 019 the previous season. With around 620 hp, it made about 70 hp less than the Lamborghini engine and was one of the weakest engines in the 1991 starter field. A six-speed gearbox was used as power transmission, which had been taken over from the previous model and was actually tailored to the Lamborghini engine. The team did not succeed in fine-tuning the gearbox to the Cosworth engine. It caused difficulties repeatedly during the season.

For financial reasons, Larrousse carried out almost no test drives in 1991; the basic design of the LC91 was not further developed in the course of the year.

The tire supplier for the team was Goodyear . The main sponsors were Toshiba , ADIA and GEO .

driver

Scored the first World Championship point in the Lola LC91: Aguri Suzuki

Éric Bernard and Aguri Suzuki were hired as pilots . Bernard suffered an accident during Friday practice for the penultimate Japanese Grand Prix, injuring his left leg. As a result, he was canceled for the last two World Championship races. Larrousse signed Bertrand Gachot as a replacement for the last race of the season in Adelaide.

Season course

The year 1991 was less successful for Larrousse than the previous season. Overall, Larrousse was only able to qualify 25 times out of 32 starts. The pilots only reached the finish line three times, two of them in the points. Most of the failures were due to technical reasons; gearbox defects were particularly common.

At the US Grand Prix on the Phoenix Street Circuit , the two Larrousse drivers qualified for grid positions 20 (Bernard) and 22nd. Bernard retired after four laps with engine problems, while Suzuki finished sixth with his car two laps behind .

In the following race in Brazil , both Larousse drivers achieved the best starting positions of the entire season. Bernard qualified for 12th place with 1: 19.291 minutes, Suzuki for 18th place with 1: 19.832 minutes. On race Sunday, Suzuki retired after the pre-start due to insufficient fuel pressure; he could not take part in the race. Bernard retired, lying in tenth place, on the 34th lap due to a clutch defect or a hydraulic leak.

At the Grand Prix of San Marino in Imola , the Larrousse started from 17th (Bernard) and 20th place on the grid. Suzuki retired on lap three due to a spin, Bernard suffered an engine failure on lap 17.

In Monaco , Suzuki started from position 20 and was the first to start the race ahead of his team mate (position 22). Suzuki retired from the race, in 15th place, on lap 25 due to a driving error; Bernard finished his Larousse in ninth place.

On the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve , Bernard and Suzuki finished 19 and 22 on the grid. In the race, Suzuki's car caught fire on the fourth lap due to leaking gasoline in 17th place. Suzuki left the Larrousse unharmed and put out the fire himself. Bernard was in ninth place on lap 30 before coasting down after a gearbox failure.

At the Mexican Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez , the two Larrousse drivers started from 18th place (Bernard) and 19th. Suzuki retired from the race on lap 49 after an accident. Bernard crossed the finish line in sixth place. He reached the second world championship point for Larousse this season; it was also the last finish of a Larrousse this year.

On the Magny-Cours at the subsequent French Grand Prix , Suzuki qualified for 20th place with 1: 18.224 minutes; Bernard was 0.3 seconds slower in qualifying and finished 24th on the grid. The race ended with a double retirement for Larousse: Suzuki retired on lap 33, Bernard on lap 44. The power transmission of both cars had collapsed.

At the Great Britain Grand Prix at the Silverstone Circuit , the Larrousse occupied the 11th row on the grid. Bernard fell out of the race in 17th place on lap 21 after a gearbox failure, Suzuki on lap 29 after an accident.

At the Hockenheimring , Suzuki beat his team-mate again in qualifying and finished 22nd with 1: 42.474 minutes. Bernard came in 25th place with 1: 43.321 minutes. Bernard covered ten laps of the race before retiring after a differential damage. On lap 19, Suzuki also retired after engine problems.

At the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Larrousse drivers, who had started the race again from the 11th row, were eliminated due to electrical defects.

Suzuki missed qualifying at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps . Bernard achieved 19th place on the grid with a lap time of 1: 53.309 minutes. He retired from the race on lap 22, in 16th place, after a gearbox damage.

Suzuki also failed to qualify at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza . Bernard started from 24th place, but retired on lap 21 due to engine problems.

At the Grand Prix of Portugal at the Estoril Circuit , Bernard failed to qualify for the race. Suzuki, on the other hand, finished 25th on the grid with a lap time of 1: 17.434 minutes. In the race, he retired on lap 41 after a gearbox damage, in 20th place.

At the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain , Suzuki failed to qualify for the third time. Bernard started the race from 23rd place, but collided with Thierry Boutsen's Ligier on the first lap , causing the rear wing and a wheel of the LC91 to break off.

Bernard suffered an accident during Friday training in Japan , in which he broke his left leg. As a result, he was canceled for the last two World Cup races as well as for 1992 and 1993. Bertrand Gachot was deployed for him in Australia . Suzuki was able to qualify for 25th place on the grid in his home Grand Prix with 1: 40.255 minutes. In the race he retired in 17th position on lap 27 due to an engine failure. The end of the Formula 1 season took place on the Adelaide Street Circuit . Neither Gachot (30th place) nor Suzuki (27th place) could qualify for the race here.

Race results

driver	No.	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	Points	rank
1991 Formula 1 season																		2	11.
E. Bernard	29	DNF	DNF	DNF	9	DNF	6th	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNQ	DNF	DNS	INJ
B. Gachot																	DNQ
A. Suzuki	30th	6th	DNS	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNQ	DNQ	DNF	DNQ	DNF	DNQ

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

literature

• Patrice Burchkalter, Jean-Francois Galeron: Tout sur la Formule 1 1991 . Surèsnes 1991, ISBN 2-87636-067-5 (French)
• Patrice Burchkalter, Jean-Francois Galeron: Formula 1 - A complete guide to 1992 . Surèsnes 1992, 2-87-636-107-8 (Eng.)
• Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing . Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9 .
• David Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars 1906-2001 . 2001 (Crowood Press), ISBN 1-86126-339-2 (English).
• David Hodges: Racing cars from AZ after 1993 . Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .
• Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1 . 2nd edition, St. Sulpice, 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 (French).
• Ulf von Malberg, Didier Braillon: Formula 1 1991 Grand Prix , Karl Müller Verlag 1991, ISBN 978-3-86070-269-7
• Willy Knupp : Grand Prix 1991 - experienced live , Zeitgeist Verlag 1991, ISBN 3-926224-21-5
• Heinz Prüller : Grand Prix Story 91 - Grenzgänger , Orac Verlag Vienna-Munich-Zurich, ISBN 3-7015-0239-0

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Burchkalter, Galeron: Tout sur la Formule 1 1991, p. 108.
2. ^ Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1, p. 325.
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Hodges: Racing cars from AZ after 1945, p. 142 f.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars, p. 129.
5. ↑ See Cimarosti: Das Jahrhundert des Rennsports, pp. 430, 443.