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CART: New Lola Chassis Shows Potential

1 February 1998

Cambridgeshire, England: The new Lola T98/00 underwent its first test ever over Tuesday and Wednesday this week - and showed its competitiveness.

The test was run by Patrick Racing at Sebring, with Scott Pruett at the wheel. The team's race engineers ran the car virtually "straight out of the box", using setting chosen from experience. Frustratingly, much of Tuesday's running was affected by rain, and when testing resumed late in the afternoon, the engine let go and had to be changed overnight.

On Wednesday morning, with fine weather, the team got down to the first really effective laps with the car, knowing that they had only until 1 p.m. before they had to pack up. There were a few minor problems and adjustments required, as with any brand-new car. The team only had a very limited amount of fresh rubber available, and one corner of the Sebring track was coned to give drivers the option of the race line or a more conservative approach, which many drivers took including Pruett. Within these constraints, the team put in 65 laps and recorded an encouraging best lap of 54.3, third fastest time recorded by the time the team packed up. Zanardi used the "fast" line and fresh rubber to post the fastest time at 53.6 The difference between the two corner lines was estimated to be worth 0.3 seconds. None of the other runners, who included Lehto, de Ferran, and Castro-Neves, dipped into the 53's.

Ben Bowlby, Chief Designer at Lola, commented: "We're grateful to Patrick Racing that, despite a curtailed test, the car has already shown its potential. With time to dial in the car and really lean on it, I'm sure we'd have been right up there. We know there's more to come when the '98 gearbox casing and rear suspension is delivered. As it is, we've signalled our readiness to take on all-comers already."