History of a Lola T492 Sports 2000 chassis?

[E.B]

Well done Graham... What a difference a month can make. Not long ago you were down in the dumps having invested time and money, trying to get it to run cleanly..... now you have rekindled the "Lola love", are excited about the season, having a ball, and reaping the rewards. What Motorsport should be like.

[911thillclimber]

Thanks for those words, all so true!
It is all like the British weather!!

Tough journey this one, but the whole car has been like this since purchase of the rolling chassis in May 2008,
14 years of the car....

The threads about this engine build have struck home with many as was evident this last weekend, so many questions, so many stories, but all good natured.
Even met 2 off this very forum.

Big clean-down to the car today to check over everything ready for my favorite hill, Loton Park.
We have a good spot in the paddock, and if we get some sun, the Deer Park is a fabulous place to be.

Will have the good company of the TVR driver Mike Luck who will be my main rival for the glass pot on my mantle piece.

Very fast car that TVR and Mike has considerable motorsport experience....

[morninggents]

Well done Graham. Was it a PB?

[MGDavid]

Really pleased for you; it seems like only a few months (but might have been a couple of years) that you were even talking of selling it. Let's hope the TVR needs more than luck to beat you ;-)

[911thillclimber]

The TVR man has a glint to his eye, just as I did (some years ago)!

Not a PB, my PB of 31.58 was set in 2018 when the car got fresh slicks.
31.80 is not so far off esp as I'm 4 years older and have more pains than I did then....

[GCCheddaris]

Is Gerard commentating at Loton Park this afternoon ?

[911thillclimber]

Is he American?
If so, yes, and doing a great job. The mix of USA speak and UK speak is really good!

Just the TVR and me this weekend, 3 practice runs each, and set some good times.

Lola best: 56.47 and a 2.0 something start, TVR 58.61

However, rain forecast for tonight, am tomorrow, or even pm tomorrow, in which case i'm doomed. We shall see.

Car ran great and the more revvy engine is paying off!

PB set 4 years ago, 55.35 secs.

https://youtu.be/Z6xxzirTfyg?t=7383

[911thillclimber]

Sunday, and race day. And wet...
Slippy and tentative practice run in the morning after the Church Service down in the village, then to the timed runs.
A win would give me 4 points each time, so 8 points to be taken.

The Championship organizer, Bill Pardoe, told me to quit moaning and just drive the car!
So, being obedient, I did.

Won both runs!
run 1: 2.11 start and a finish time of 57.06 with an iffy track surface
run 2: 2.00sec start and a time of 55.36.

That is just 1/100 sec off my PB, so well chuffed.

Car was simply ace, sounds fab, corners and stops 2 x fab, and even the driver was nearly on the case.
No trophy, but 8 points.

Great weekend of Club motorsport.

Going to miss the next Shelsley, but back to Loton on the 11/12 June.

What an engine!

[spd(john)]

Great to see you have your enthusiasm back, managed to watch the live stream on Sunday, it defo has more grunt, you must be well chuffed with the end result of your winter of discontent. lol. Sadly health issues are still keeping me away, but hope to get out later this year.

[S griffin]

Glad you're enjoying competing again and I look forward, as always, to you sharing more of how you get on. All that hard work has been worth it so far, so you probably feel very relieved atm

Hope you get better soon John

[911thillclimber]

Yes, hope to see you soon John in the Midlands again.

Yes, the engine is a peach and has re-invigorated the car and the driver!

[midgetman]

Originally Posted by 911thillclimber

Sunday, and race day. And wet...


The Championship organizer, Bill Pardoe, told me to quit moaning and just drive the car!
So, being obedient, I did.
!

Hahahaha, we have a race awning motto: JFDI - Just (Flippin') Drive It

In other words, no prima Donna egos

Seriously. So well done, both on the background work that's got you to this position and the pedalling that's won the day.


Sent from my AC2003 using Tapatalk

[911thillclimber]

Yep, got some MoJo and confidence back in the blood, just hope I can keep ahead of the TVR.
We shall see, but a good start and already 1/3 into the Championship.

Oil change next week to flush the particles out and all should be good. No oil leaks on the engine!

I wanted an engine that could tolerate 8000 rpm, and looks like it is there and co-incident to this thread reaching the dizzy heights of 800,000 hits.

[S griffin]

Glad that you've got that confidence back. Just hope the car can remain competitive. You know you can do it, so that's a fillet. If you avoid any major mechanical problems, that will help, so it's good that the engine is top notch. Glad all the hard work and preparation is beginning to pay off

[911thillclimber]

Haven't seen the official standings updated, but I think the TVR having done last weeks Shelsley is now very close to me....

Anyway, a good holiday in the Channel Islands (first time back after 40 years) and a new neck problem alongside all the other 'I'm now 70' aliments leaves me dependent on 4 paracetamols a day which kills off a lot of pain.

However, did an oil change on the Lola, it has now done about 20 mins running and the rolling roads, so, good and warm to mix all the wear particles into the oil and dropped the lot. No nasty surprises, opened the filter too, all good.

Fresh oil and filter and runs well.

Loton Park this weekend, could have live stream running on the Sunday.
Just the TVR and I in the class (there were 5 runners at Shelsley), will be close!

Fun day the next Saturday when Porsche's take over Prescott hillclimb for the day, 3 in the class, but all for fun.

Just over 1/2 way through the season already.