Lola T430

The three Lola T430s lined up in chassis number order at Christchurch in October 2007 following the reconstruction of HU2. Copyright Warbirds Photography 2007. Used with permission. Formula 5000 stumbled into 1976 with the European series moving to a libre format and the US series, even with addition of VDS and Theodore, well down on numbers. Orders for Lola were also well down, excerbated by the problems with the T400, and only VDS were shopping around. VDS tested Broadley's development Lola T450 fitted with a Chevrolet Morand engine at Ricard and ordered two. The production T430 was based directly on the T360 Atlantic chassis, featuring a very narrow tub, twin side radiators and T332-style suspension geometry. Essentially, Lola had built a smaller version of the successful T300/330/332 design. Carl Haas, meanwhile, ordered new T332Cs for his team and customers. The T332C would easily outsell the T430.

VDS raced their pair through the US season but were not really competitive and Redman's Haas Racing car spent much of its season in the transporter, testing often but not racing. Lola would produce F5000-style cars for three more seasons in Can-Am but would base them on the Haas T332C design. The VDS T430s went to Australia where Warwick Brown dominated the 1977 Australian Internationals in one and its sister would also dominate the 1979 Rothmans series in Alfredo Costanzo's hands. One car was wrecked in 1978 but later reconstructed and all three are now racing together in New Zealand.

Thanks to Shayne Windelburn, Wolfgang Klopfer, Chuck Haines and David Abbott for the material used in these histories and to Tom Schultz and Alex Mitchell of Warbirds Photography for the outstanding images used on this page.

All and any help would be gratefully received. Please email Allen if you can add anything.

Chassis History Current owner
Lola T430 HU1 Teddy Pilette in T430 HU1 in 1976. Copyright Tom Schultz 2005. Used with permission.VDS for Teddy Pilette US 1976 (6 races; best result 3rd at R3 Mosport Park 20 Jun); used as spare car to Brown's HU2 in Australian Internationals 1977 - Alan Hamilton (Australia): used as spare car; maybe Jon Davison's car Australian Gold Star 1977 (R1 Surfers Paradise 28 Aug 1977 only). Built up after Hamilton's crash at the 1978 Australian GP and raced by Alfredo Costanzo: Australian Gold Star 1978; Australian Internationals 1979 (won at Sandown Park, Adelaide, third at Surfers Paradise, fifth at Oran Park - WON CHAMPIONSHIP); Australian Gold Star 1979 (won at Sandown 9 Sep); Australian Gold Star 1980 David Abbott's T430 HU1 at Skope, New Zealand in 2003, still with the T332-style nose that it had used in Australia. Copyright Warbirds Photography 2003. Used with permission.(won at Sandown 14 Sep and Winton 26 Oct); Australian GP 1980 (4th) - Bob Minogue: Australian Gold Star 1981, Arco Graphic 1981/82. Minogue still holds several lap records in Australia, including the Sandown International circuit record for F5000, set on 2 Mar 1986 and the Historic F5000 record at Winton on 30 May 1993. Subsequently sold to Gavin Bain - Graham Cameron - David Abbott (Christchurch, NZ) by 2002. Raced by Ken Smith in the Formula 5000 Tasman Cup Revival at the Australian GP meeting 28 Mar 2009 but apparently a non-starter. David Abbott (NZ) 2009
Lola T430 HU2 Peter Gethin using Lola T430 HU2 as a spare car carrying 3T early in 1976. Copyright Tom Schultz 2005. Used with permission.VDS spare car US 1976 (raced by Peter Gethin: 3 races; Warwick Brown: 2 races); VDS for Warwick Brown Australian Internationals 1977 (won at Oran Park and Surfers Paradise, crashed in practice at Sandown Park, second at Adelaide) - Alan Hamilton (Australia): Australian Gold Star 1977 (debut R1 Surfers Paradise 28 Aug 1977); Australian Internationals 1978 (driven by Derek Bell at Oran Park); crashed at Australian GP 1978 and broken in half. All the surviving running gear from the wreck stayed with HU1 through various owners until reaching David Abbott in New Zealand in 2005. Over the next two years David, with Alan Hamilton's agreement, recreated this car and it first ran, with Hamilton driving, at Christchurch in October 2007. Raced by Abbott in the Formula 5000 Tasman Cup Revival at the Australian GP meeting 28 Mar 2009. David Abbott (NZ) 2009
Lola T430 HU3 Tony Stewart bounces T430 HU3 over the kerbs at Sandown in late 2003. Copyright Warbirds Photography 2005. Used with permission.Haas Racing spare car for Brian Redman US 1976 (). Duane Smith Formula A 1978. Converted to Can-Am at some point and identified from photographs as the car driven by James Woodruff in Can-Am in 1980. May be the car (reported by one source to be a Lola T460) that he used in 1979. Sold by Duane Smith to Chuck Haines 1988. To Todd Stewart (Christchurch, NZ) late 2002. Retained 2006. Todd Stewart (NZ) 2006

A note on chassis number identification

Chassis Source
Lola T430 HU1 David Abbott's Lola T430 at Brands Hatch in July 2005, now with an original T430 nose. Copyright Warbirds Photography 2005. Used with permission.Lola invoice records show this car going to VDS. Tom Erwin's notebooks identify HU1 as Pilette's car at R1 Pocono and R3 Watkins Glen. See HU2 notes as well.
Lola T430 HU2 Warwick Brown in T430 HU2 in 1976. Copyright Tom Schultz. Used with permission.Lola invoice records show this car going to VDS. Tom Erwin's notebooks identify HU2 as the VDS T-car at Watkins Glen carrying both 3T and 4T but racing as 3T. The 1978 Surfers Paradise program has detailed notes on the cars and states that HU2 was Brown's 1977 car and Hamilton's 1977 Gold Star and 1978 Sandown Park car, mentioning also that HU1 is "still in bits". The F1 Register also identify HU2 as the car used by Hamilton in 1977 and 1978 but also as the Costanzo car after Hamilton's accident. The March 1979 edition of Chequered Flag Magazine says the car wrecked in Hamilton's crash was HU2 and the spare car then built up was HU1. The 1980/81 Australian Motor Racing Year confirms that Hamilton had a "fearful crash in one of his two Lola T430s..., but the spare car was being rebuilt...".
Lola T430 HU3 The Haas Racing T430 HU3 gets some rare attention during the 1976 season. Copyright Tom Schultz 2005. Used with permission.Tom Erwin's notebooks identify HU3 as car 1A for Redman at Watkins Glen.

These histories last updated on 7 February, 2010 .