Lola T300
Although
Lolas had been numerically dominant in F5000 since the original T140, they
had not necessarily been the quickest car. The Eagles, McLarens and Surtees
had dominated the early years and even the 1971, T192 was struggling to
assert itself. Late in the summer of 1971, Frank Gardner decided he needed
something more refined than his highly developed but hefty T192 and decided
to try a Chevy V8 in the back of Lola's pretty new F2/FB T240. The combination
worked well and Lola quickly dubbed it the T300. It would prove to be the
first step in Lola's utter domination of F5000 through the T300-T330-T332
family.
A large number of T300s were wrecked in accidents: the prototype T242/T300, Graeme Lawrence's HU3, Neil Allen's HU4, Terry Sanger's HU9, Reg Cook's HU16 and, maybe, Eddie Miller's HU12. Thus, of the 18 built, 12 should probably remain. One of those cars has been reconstructed on a new tub so the total becomes 13.
In the UK, only the T242/T300, HU1 and HU9 were raced; two of these were wrecked and the other sold to Australia. Of the antipodean cars, the ex-UK HU1 went to the US and the other three (HU3, HU4 and HU16) were all wrecked. So all the surviving T300s ended up in the US and all known cars come from US stock. Only nine have been found so far.
So it looks like five T300s are still missing. Can you help? Do you know any of these former owners? Mike Brockman, Doug Barrow, Bert Kuehne, Eddie Miller, Arlon Koops, Bill Baker, Ray Stephens, Joseph Schultz or Garth Pollard. Are you one of them? All and any information would be gratefully received. Please email Allen if you can add anything.
| Chassis | History | Current owner |
|---|---|---|
| Lola T242/T300 | 
The new Lola T242 at Huntingdon in August 1971 in a picture taken by Lola employee Bill Wooldridge. Copyright Bill Wooldridge 2007. Used with permission. |
Wrecked |
| Lola T300 HU1 |
Frank Gardner late UK 1971 season (won two rounds). Crashed in practice for Nov 1971 Australian GP and did not start. Won New Zealand GP at start of 1972 Tasman season but then crashed at R2 Levin; retubbed for the first three Australian rounds and Gardner finished second in each race. Sold to Gary Campbell (Liverpool, NSW) after Gardner retired from motor racing at Sandown. Driven by Campbell at Adelaide Tasman 1972; later at Calder 19 Mar and then in Australian Gold Star races at Sandown 16 Apr (crashed), Oran Park 25 Jun, Surfers 27 Aug, Adelaide 8 Oct and Warwick Farm 5 Nov - traded to Carl Haas (Chicago, USA) for new T330 HU4 - Mike Brockman US 1973 (five races plus 1 DNS). Not seen in 1974. Subsequent history unknown. | Unknown |
| Lola T300 HU2 |
Michael Duncan can best describe the next step:
From Drinkwater, it passed to Ian Webb and a new body and other boxes of bits were added to the package. In 1991, Webb sold it to Peter Voigt who has been able to acquire all the other parts:
Retained Nov 2005. |
Peter Voigt (UK) 2005 |
| Lola T300 HU3 |
Invoice undated (sold to 'Lawrence', colour 'Red'). Graeme Lawrence
(NZ): won NZ Gold Star race at Bay Park Dec 1971, intended for 1972 Tasman
races but crashed at R1 Jan 1972 and written off. Tub crushed
at Hamilton
tip but some remains to Reg Cook (NZ) - David Manton
(NZ) late 1989.
Surviving components rebuilt on new tub from Lola as "HU3-R". To Frank Lyons (UK) Sep 2001. |
Original car wrecked Replacement with Frank Lyons (UK) 2002 |
| Lola T300 HU4 |
Invoice undated (sold to 'Allen', colour 'Green'). Neil Allen crashed badly in testing 21 Dec 1971 and sold to Bob Muir and rebuilt on a new tub. Muir: Australian Tasman races 1972; US 1972 (4 races - with Pat Burke Racing?); Australian races 1972 (Calder 3 Dec) - Pat Burke Racing for Warwick Brown (Tasman) 1973 crashed in practice at Surfers Paradise and written off. Some parts to Reg Cook and later to David Manton and used in HU3-R. | Wrecked |
| Lola T300 HU5 |
Invoice date 29 Dec 1971 (sold to 'Haas', colour 'Red'). Horst Kwech US 1972 ("badly damaged" (Autoweek) at the end of the second Road Atlanta heat when Motschenbacher's McLaren M18 hydroplaned into Kwech's Lola; at least retubbed or even written off and replaced with HU18); advertised 17 Feb 1973 ("two races since new") - Tuck Thomas: SCCA Nationals 1973, US 1973 (Elkhart Lake only) - Norman Marx: raced in NE Region SCCA Nationals 1975 (Bryar, New Hampshire National 25 May, Lime Rock Nationals 1 Sep 1975 and the 1975 Run-Offs); raced in SCCA Nationals 1976 (2nd in Northeast Division with 9 pts) - Ted Wenz Fall 76: raced in SCCA Nationals 1976-1978 - Dave Hoover: raced in Can-Am 1979 (Trois Rivieres only), 1980 (Trois Rivieres only), 1981 (2 races: Mid-Ohio and Watkins Glen); Hoover later killed in flying accident - Mike Cannon/Canan (Pomeroy, Ohio) 1982 [ASR and Can-Am 1982 and 1985; Run-Offs 1987] - Mary Shank 1990 (mother of Mike Shank who restored it in 1992 from Can-Am spec); Mike Shank won at HSR Mid-Ohio Aug 1993 - Michael Scott Mar 2002 (Exeter, UK). | Michael Scott (UK) 2002 |
| Lola T300 HU6 |
Invoice date 16 Jan 1972 (sold to 'Haas', colour 'Orange'). Ossie Pohl and driven by Jerry Hansen (Long Lake, Minn) US 1972 (four races); SCCA Nationals 1972 (won Run-Offs); used in IMCA and/or USAC sprint races at some point, probably in late 1972. A picture of this car appears on the front cover of the 1 Sep 1973 USAC sprint race at Minnesota State Fair, suggesting it raced at the equivalent event in 1972 or at a USAC event in early 1973. Entered for R1 Riverside 29 Apr 1973 but DNA. Hansen appears to have used an older T192 in 1973 Nationals. To John McDonald: SCCA Regionals 1974 (only known appearance Riverside Regional 26 May 1974); crashed during 1974 and McDonald broke his back. Several years later the car was rebuilt as raced as an ASR in SCCA Regional races (seen in a SCCA South Pacific Division National event at Riverside 13 February 1977). To Walter J. Simmons (Joe Simmons) about 1986 (SCCA Log Book was issued 17 Jul 1987): raced in SCCA Regionals 1988. To Donald McGreevy (Mill Valley California) about 1989: raced in US vintage racing from 1990 ownwards. Retained 2005 and nearing the end of its rebuild. Was started for the first time in ten years just after Christmas 2004.. | Donald McGreevy (US) 2005 |
| Lola T300 HU7 |
Invoice undated (sold to 'Formula Racing', colour 'White'). Eppie Wietzes
US
1972 - Steve Pieper
US 1973 - Brad Blankenship
(Indianapolis, IN) late 1973 less engine; rebuilt with deformable structures
and a self-built Chev V8 and raced in US 1974 (3 races: debut R1 Mid-Ohio
02 Jun). Dropped out of series after his only engine failed at Road America.
Sold to Gordy Oftedahl (Minneapolis, MN): raced
by
Dick Kantrud (Waterton, MN) US 1975 (one race
only: R4 Elkhart Lake 27 Jul). Subsequent history unknown but probably
used
on a rental basis by other drivers.  Doug
MacCorkindale may have had this
car in vintage racing in the 1990s: raced at at
HSR Mid-Ohio Aug 1993, VARAC Jul
1994, Mosport Aug 1993, Mosport Jun 1995 and High Mountain Aug 1996. A picture of this car 'taken 4 Apr 2002', was sent anonymously to OldRacingCars.com the next day. Further details never followed. |
Unknown |
| Lola T300 HU8 |
 Invoice date 10 Feb 1972 (sold to 'Haas', colour 'White').
John Gunn US
1972 -
Doug Barrow US 1973 ... restored by Les White
of Los Angeles
... Dan Verstuyft (Los Angeles) to Jo Sebastian
(UK) 1999. Raced in FORCE F1/F5000 series 2000 and 2001. 'Jojo' is one of
the few women to have raced a F5000 car. HU8 not raced 2002 or 2003. Retained
2004. |
Jo Sebastian (UK) 2004 |
| Lola T300 HU9 |
 Invoice
undated (sold to 'McKechnie', colour 'Yellow'). The only T300 to stay
in the UK for 1972. Alan McKechnie for Alan
Rollinson UK 1972 (17 races in total; including
2 DNS in Rothmans F5000 round, won at R2 Mallory Park 26 Mar 1972 and
R12 Brands Hatch 24 Sep 1972; also raced in International Trophy, Rothmans
£50,000 and John Player Challenge Trophy) - Research Consultants
for Terry Sanger UK 1973 (debut race at
R8 Misano abandoned, R9 Zandvoort cancelled then crashed in practice
at R10 Mallory Park 8 Jul and very heavily damaged). |
Wrecked |
| Lola T300 HU10 |
 Invoice date 16 Mar 1972 (sold to 'Hogan', colour 'Blue').
Carl Hogan for David Hobbs
US
1972. One of Hogan's two T300s advertised by Hogan 4 Jan 1975 ... Bert
Kuehne US 1976 (5 races) ... Alex Seldon:
at Silverstone 12 Sep 1985 -
Geoff Thomas (Farnham, UK) Aug
86:
UK HSCC historic racing from 1987 onwards (won 1987 HSCC F5000 class in
Pre '71 Series) -
Nick Shrigley-Feigl (UK) 2001: raced in
FORCE F1/F5000 series. Retained 2004. |
Nick Shrigley-Feigl (UK) 2004 |
| Lola T300 HU11 |
Invoice date 16 Mar 1972 (sold to 'Haas', colour 'Blue'). Carl Hogan for Brett Lunger US 1972. Wrecked at R4 Elkhart Lake where Lunger rented Sandy Shepard's T300-Pontiac for the race. One of Hogan's two T300s advertised by Hogan 4 Jan 1975. Subsequent history unknown. | Unknown |
| Lola T300 HU12 |
 Invoice
date 16 Mar 1972 (sold to 'Haas', colour 'Yellow'). Gus Hutchison
US
1972 (from R1)
- Eddie Miller (Vail, Colorado) US 1973
(crashed at first race and replaced by a Lola T330). Marc Rauchfus
reports
that Alfred Wicks (or Wix?) in Denver, Colorado, bought a T300 from
Miller about 1973 and ran it in a few club events. However, the HSCC papers list the next owners after Miller as David Gardner (Long Beach Car Company, CA), Mike Ferraro (US) and Vicent Pumo (Eurospares, Halstead, Essex, UK). Sold mid-1980s to John Beasley (Shrewesbury) and raced in yellow-and-black livery in HSCC historic racing (raced by Gary Pearson at Donington Park on 17 Jul 1988) - John Harper
(Gloucestershire) 1989 or 1990: historic racing (raced by Harper at Donington Park 21 Jul
1990) - Dr Pierre Haverland (Belgium) and painted black - Nick Rini (Ft Lauderdale, FL) 1999: painted cream and bright green and raced in England (at Silverstone
31 Jul 1999 and 21 Jul 2000). Wrecked at Silverstone 2001 or 2002 and the tub was reskinned and rebuilt by McDonald Race Engineering; not raced thereafter. To Simon Hadfield Nov 2005. Retained 2006 and restored to Hutchison's livery. To Bruce Fullerton (London) December 2006. |
Bruce Fullerton (UK) 2006 |
| Lola T300 HU14 |
Invoice date 8 Mar 1972 (sold to 'Haas', colour 'White'). Warren Flickinger US 1972 (7 races, debut R1 Laguna Seca 7 May 1972); US 1973 - Floyd Sable: modified partly to T332 spec and raced in SCCA Nationals 1974 and 1975. Then sold to "someone in WA" [Washington state, NW US]. Subsequent history unknown. | Unknown |
| Lola T300 HU15 |
Invoice date 30 Mar 1972 (sold to 'Haas', colour 'Yellow'). Horst Kroll (Canada) US 1972-1974; driven by Bert Kuehne US 1975 (5 races); Kroll US 1976; damaged in cash at Watkins Glen but rebuilt and converted to Can-Am. Kroll Can-Am 1977; rental car thereafter: e.g. Marcel Talbot Can-Am 1978 (1 race: Trois-Rivieres - 04 Sep 1978), Can-Am 1979 (1 entry in "T300": Road Atlanta - 06 May 1979, entry list only); Mike Freberg 1981; Duff Hubbard 1982; John Macaluso 1983; Walter Lechner 1984; Joe DeMarco 1985 and 1986; John Graham 1986. Rebuilt as "Frissbee KR5" for 1986. Mike Engstrand recalls driving Kroll's T300-based Can-Am car at St Louis and Hallet in 1986; used until 1987 - Chuck Haines (US) 1989 - Don Jensen (US) about 1998: retained 2001. | Don Jensen (US) 2001 |
| Lola T300 HU16 |
No invoice data available. Kevin Bartlett Australian Gold Star 1972 (from Sandown Park 16 Apr?); also Oran Park 21 May, Oran Park 25 Jun, Calder 13 Aug, Surfers 27 Aug, Adelaide 8 Oct, Calder 15 Oct, Warwick Farm 5 Nov, Calder 3 Dec; Tasman 1973 - Reg Cook (NZ) 1973. Later burnt out in a trailer fire. According to Motoring News (7 Feb 1974 p12), the trailer, with the car on it, became detached from the tow vehicle, rolled down into a gully and caught fire. 'After burning for two hours the only salvageable bits left were the engine block and the disc brakes.' Some remains later from Reg Cook to David Manton (NZ) and used in HU3-R. | Destroyed |
| Lola T300 HU17 |
No invoice data available. Kevin Bartlett (Australia) US 1972 (run by Jones-Eisert: 4 races + 1 DNS; debut R2 Edmonton 4 Jun). Bartlett clearly had one car (HU16) in Australia and another (HU17) in the US series. Then entered at #74 by Jones-Eisert/KBIG for Jerry Grant (Santa Ana, CA) US 1973 (one race only: R1 Riverside). Jones-Eisert then took over running Muir's T330. The subsequent history of the T300 is unknown. Then possibly the Eddy O'Brien car from 1974 to 1977 as this is the number presently on a car that is said to be ex-Ongais. Jay Braffett bought HU17 from Gary Wilson around 1980-1982. Wilson told Braffett he had not run it himself but that it had previously been raced by Ongais, suggesting it was the O'Brien car. Braffett raced HU17 in senior competition just once, the CAT race at Hallet on 7 Jun 1987, qualifying ninth, finishing tenth in the qualifier and then retiring after 17 laps of the main race with engine trouble. Retained by Braffett 2002. | Jay Braffett (US) 2002 |
| Lola T300 HU18 |
Invoice date 1 May 1972 (sold to 'Haas', colour 'White'). Unknown. Possibly unsold originally and later used as a replacement for Sandy Shepard's HU2 or Horst Kwech's HU5. | Unknown |
The 1973 mystery cars
All the 1973 mysteries appears to be cleared up but it is still worth summarising what happened to each car in 1973. In the US, Mike Brockman acquires HU1 via Haas, Sandy Shepard's HU2 was for sale right through the regular season, Tuck Thomas buys the ex-Kwech HU5, Steve Pieper buys the ex-Wietzes HU7, Doug Barrow buys the ex-Gunn HU8, Hogan retains at least one of HU10 and HU11, Miller buys the ex-Hutchison HU12, Flickinger retains HU14 and Kroll retains HU15. The Jones/Eisert/Bartlett HU17 also reappears. HU6 temporarily vanishes as Hansen only appears to have raced an older T192 in Nationals. Other cars were wrecked or overseas: HU3, HU4 and HU16 in Australia, HU9 in the UK.
So just one of the Hogan cars has vanished although HU18 also remains a mystery.
The 1974 mystery cars
There is a mass turnover of T300s for the 1974 season, with many cars leaving the Pro circuit and heading off to SCCA Nationals. Norm Marx buys the Kwech/Thomas HU5, John McDonald buys the ex-Hansen HU6, Brad Blankenship buys Pieper's HU7, Hogan retains one of HU10 and HU11, Floyd Sable buys Flickinger's HU14 and Kroll retains HU15. Brockman's HU1, Shepard's HU2, Barrows' HU8 and Bartlett's HU17 all disappear, as does that second Hogan car. That means five on the loose and four new combinations in 1974 to account for them.
| Chassis | History | Current owner |
|---|---|---|
| Lola T300 'the O'Brien car' |
Eddy O'Brien for Danny Ongais SCCA Nationals and Regionals 1974 (first seen Riverside Regional 26 May 1974; 1st in Northern Pacific Division with 42 pts); US 1974 (1 race only: R5 Ontario 1 Sep) and in SCCA Nationals 1974 raced by Ongais in SCCA Nationals 1975 (won Riverside National 17 Feb 1975, 3rd in Southern Pacific Division with 9 pts) - Ray Stephens (Costa Mesa, CA) SCCA Nationals 1975 (crashed in the Willow Springs National 13 Apr 1975), SCCA Nationals 1976 (2nd in Southern Pacific Division with 17 pts); SCCA Nationals 1977 (1st in Southern Pacific Division with 15 pts). Subsequent history unknown but see HU17 above. | Unknown |
| Lola T300 'the Baker car' |
Bill Baker (Pismo Beach, CA) SCCA Nationals and Regionals 1974 (first seen Riverside Regional 26 May 1974); also US 1974 (3 races: debut R5 Ontario 1 Sep). Also raced in SCCA Nationals (1st in Southern Pacific Division with 13 pts). Advertised in Autoweek 11 Jan 1975. Subsequent history unknown. | Unknown |
| Lola T300 'the Koops car' |
Arlon Koops (Denver, Colorado) US 1974 (3 races: R4 Elkhart Lake 28 Jul, R6 Laguna Seca 13 Oct 1974 and R7 Riverside 27 Oct 1974). Did not appear in SCCA Nationals points table 1974. Autoweek identify this car as a "T330" at R6 Laguna Seca and R7 Riverside but it is assumed to be the same car. Subsequent history unknown. | Unknown |
| Lola T300 'the Schultz car' |
Joseph Schultz (Buena Park, CA) US 1974 (2 races: R5 Ontario 1 Sep 1974 and R7 Riverside 27 Oct). Was entered by Larry Lee (also Buena Park, CA) as the blue #40 "Lola/Mod Chev 302" at R4 Elkhart Lake. Also raced in SCCA Nationals (7th in Southern Pacific Division with 2 pts). Note that Autoweek describe the car as a T330 at R5 Ontario. There is a picture of this blue T300 in Autoweek's Riverside report. Subsequent history unknown. | Unknown |
Jim Gustafson (Bessemer, MI) is identified by Autoweek as driving a T300 at R5 Ontario Motor Speedway on 1 Sep 1974. However, at Riverside (R7 - 27 Oct 1974), Gustafson's car is identified as a T190 and as he advertises a T190/2 on 1 Feb 1975, it is assumed that the "T300" identification is in error.
The 1975 mystery cars
With numerous T330s now available on the second-hand market, the T300s largely disappear in 1975. Those that do remain are well down the grid.
| Chassis | History | Current owner |
|---|---|---|
| Lola T300 'the Pollard car' |
The F1 Register's 'Fact Book' on F5000 describes Garth Pollard having a T330 at Long Beach and Laguna Seca in 1975 and again at Riverside in 1976. It appeared as #73 both years. Pollard (of Cobble Hill, BC, Canada) advertised this car in Autoweek on 29 Nov 1975 and stated that it was a T300. When he advertised it again, still in F5000 form, on 5 Mar 1977, he stated it was the ex-Hobbs T300. This should mean HU10 but that car has been identified by Erwin as that driven by Bert Kuehne in the US series in 1976. Maybe Pollard had the ex-Lunger car? | Unknown |
The later cars
After 1975, the T300s quickly fade away. In 1976, only Kuehne's HU10 and Kroll's HU15 competed in the US F5000 series. One other car appears advertised by Mark Dillon (Minneapolis, MN) on 17 Apr 1976.
When Can-Am arrived in 1977, Kroll's car was quickly converted and ran right through to the end of Can-Am in 1986 but the only other T300 known to appear in Can-Am was HU5 in the hands of Dave Hoover and Mike Cannon/Canan. Finally, in 1987, Jay Braffett raced HU17 alongside the Kroll HU15 in the CAT series, a short-lived successor to Can-Am.
By the late 1980s, two Lola T300s were beginning to appear in historic racing in the UK: Alex Seldon and Geoff Thomas racing HU10 and John Beasley and John Harper racing HU12.
| Chassis | History | Current owner |
|---|---|---|
| Lola T300 'the Leong car' |
Dana Leong (Vancouver, BC, Canada) bought a T300 in 1978 or 1979 and ran it at Sears Point and Riverside, wrecking an engine, and then in a SCCA Regional at Portland, where he crashed it. The car passed into the ownership of mechanic Bob Hume but, before it could be repaired, it was stolen and stripped. Bob recovered the tub and retained the engine, but little more. It due course, he sold the tub to a New Zealand mechanic/driver called Peter who worked for Pierre Phillips. Nothing more known. | Unknown |
| Lola T300 | Shayne Windelburn (NZ) bought a wrecked T300 tub and other T300 parts from Ed O'Brien in July 2005. This was a tub that O'Brien had damaged racing his T300 at Phoenix and had acquired another tub to rebuild the car. Shayne plans to build up the tub into a running car. | Shayne Windelburn (NZ) 2005 |
My thanks to Wolfgang Klopfer, Shayne Windelburn, Chris Townsend, Gus Hutchison, Jeremy Jackson, David Manton, Chuck Haines, Marc Rauchfus, Evan McGreevy, Sandy Shepard, Michael Duncan, Brad Blankenship, Bill Peters, Dick Kantrud, Bob Hume, Peter Voigt, Geoff Thomas, Marcus Pye, Simon Hadfield, Bruce Fullerton and others for getting these histories as far forward as they are. My thanks also to Gerr Measures and Jim Thurman for explaining sprint racing; in particular the brief rear-engined invasion of that sport around 1973.
Histories last updated on 6 February, 2007 .