MasterCard Lola (often described simply as Lola) is a former Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 team that contested one race in the 1997 Formula One season

1997 Formula One season

The 1997 Formula One season was the 48th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 9, 1997, and ended on October 26 after seventeen races.-Season summary:...

. It quickly withdrew from the sport after failing to qualify in its sole race

1997 Australian Grand Prix

The 1997 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 9 March 1997 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Albert Park, Melbourne. It was the first race of the 1997 Formula One season. It was the second Grand Prix to be hosted in Melbourne.-Pre-race:...

. The result was unsuccessful to the point that it is sometimes not even recognized on that season's entry list.

Competition history

After years of providing chassis to other teams, mainly Larrousse

Larrousse

Larrousse Formula One was a motorsports racing team founded in 1987 by Didier Calmels and former racer Gérard Larrousse, originally under the name Larrousse & Calmels. It was based in Antony, in the southern suburbs of Paris. It was renamed Larrousse after the departure of Calmels for legal reasons...

, team principal Eric Broadley

Eric Broadley

Eric Broadley MBE is a British entrepreneur, engineer, and founder and former chief designer of Lola Cars, the motor racing manufacturer and engineering company. He is arguably one of the most influential automobile designers of the post-war period, and over the years Lola has had a hand in many...

 planned a team that would compete solely under Lola ownership. A prototype chassis was first tested in 1995 with Allan McNish

Allan McNish

Allan McNish is a Scottish racing driver. He is a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, most recently in 2008, and two-time American Le Mans Series champion.- Early life :...

 and in late 1996 Broadley announced the team's participation in the near future. The team had originally intended to enter F1 in 1998, but entered a year early in 1997, Broadley saying that this was due to commercial pressures from the team's sponsors, primarily from title sponsor, MasterCard.
The Lola chassis, dubbed the T97/30

Lola T97/30

The Lola T97/30 was the car with which the MasterCard Lola Formula One team attempted to compete in the 1997 Formula One season. It was driven by Vincenzo Sospiri, the 1995 Formula 3000 champion, and Ricardo Rosset, who moved from Footwork. However, the team's tenure in F1 was brief. The first...

, was based on most of their IndyCar

Champ Car

Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...

 technology yet never saw the inside of a wind tunnel and barely had on-track tests. This was mainly due to the fact that the design of the engine fell behind schedule.

Lola Engine

The engine, the responsibility of Al Melling

Al Melling

Al Melling is an automobile engineer.- Fashion Design :At the beginning of the eighties he became involved in the fashion industry. He owned a company in London throughout the eighties which designed ladies’ fashion garments. As owner he became interested in the whole lifecycle of garment...

. was a V10, designed specifically to take into account the rear streamlining of the car and the underneath of the car in the area of the diffuser. Unfortunately the engine was not developed in time and Lola were compelled to use the Ford engine.

Drivers

Vincenzo Sospiri

Vincenzo Sospiri

- Early career :Sospiri started racing in the Italian 100CC Karting Championships at the age of 15. He spent a long time working his way through the karting ladder, eventually becoming World Karting Champion in 1987. Sospiri then progressed to Formula Ford, before working through to Formula 3000 in...

 and Ricardo Rosset

Ricardo Rosset

Ricardo Rosset is a racing driver from Brazil. He participated in 33 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on March 10, 1996...

 were signed to drive, but wound up as the victims of the project. By the time the car made it to the 1997 Australian Grand Prix

1997 Australian Grand Prix

The 1997 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 9 March 1997 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Albert Park, Melbourne. It was the first race of the 1997 Formula One season. It was the second Grand Prix to be hosted in Melbourne.-Pre-race:...

, the team's failings were laid bare, with the cars bottom of the timesheets by a considerable margin. Under 1997 rules, drivers would only be allowed to start a race if they set a qualifying time within 107% of the pole position

Pole position

The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...

 time. At 11 and 13 seconds respectively, with the unintended Ford unit, Sospiri and Rosset were nowhere near achieving this. While fellow newcomers Stewart Grand Prix

Stewart Grand Prix

Stewart Grand Prix is a former Formula One constructor and racing team. The team was formed by three times Formula One champion Jackie Stewart and his son Paul Stewart in 1996. The team competed in F1, as the Ford works-supported team, for only three seasons, from 1997 to 1999...

 had performed respectably, the Lola cars would not be seen at a Formula 1 event ever again.

The cars were tested shortly after the Australian Grand Prix at Silverstone but both were again slowest with times in excess of 10 seconds off the front runners. http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns01022.html

End of the road

On 26 March 1997, the Wednesday before the Brazilian Grand Prix

1997 Brazilian Grand Prix

The 1997 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Autódromo José Carlos Pace near Interlagos, Brazil on March 30, 1997. It was the second race of the 1997 Formula One season.-Pre-Race:...

, Lola announced it was withdrawing from the Brazil race due to "financial and technical problems". Lola's staff, who had already travelled to Interlagos, returned to the team's base in Huntingdon, England. Shortly afterwards, Lola withdrew from the World Championship outright.

In its short existence as a Formula One constructor Lola incurred £6 million in debt; the company went into receivership several weeks later. Irish entrepreneur Martin Birrane

Martin Birrane

Martin Birrane is an Irish millionaire, and owner of Lola Cars and the Mondello Park racetrack. Born in Ballina, County Mayo in 1935, and educated at St. Muredach's College, in Ballina, Birrane made his money in property development. He personally competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours ten times,...

 purchased the company and oversaw a revival in the company's fortunes; however, Lola has not been involved in Formula One in any capacity since.

2010 comeback attempt

On 22 April 2009, Lola announced its intention to launch a full scale works effort for the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.

On 15 May 2009 Lola officially announced its intention to enter a team in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship. The team admitted that they had to re-examine their position after the plans to introduce a budget cap of £30million were raised to £40m but insisted it was "an opportunity not to be missed".

However, on 17 June 2009, Lola announced it had abandoned plans to return to F1 after failing to secure a place on the initial 2010 entry list.

Complete Formula One results

Year	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Points	WCC
1997 1997 Formula One season The 1997 Formula One season was the 48th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 9, 1997, and ended on October 26 after seventeen races.-Season summary:...	Lola T97/30 Lola T97/30 The Lola T97/30 was the car with which the MasterCard Lola Formula One team attempted to compete in the 1997 Formula One season. It was driven by Vincenzo Sospiri, the 1995 Formula 3000 champion, and Ricardo Rosset, who moved from Footwork. However, the team's tenure in F1 was brief. The first...	Ford Zetec-R Cosworth Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...  V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....			AUS 1997 Australian Grand Prix The 1997 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 9 March 1997 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Albert Park, Melbourne. It was the first race of the 1997 Formula One season. It was the second Grand Prix to be hosted in Melbourne.-Pre-race:...	BRA 1997 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1997 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Autódromo José Carlos Pace near Interlagos, Brazil on March 30, 1997. It was the second race of the 1997 Formula One season.-Pre-Race:...	ARG 1997 Argentine Grand Prix The 1997 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez in Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 13, 1997. It was the third race of the 1997 Formula One season.-Pre-Race:...	SMR 1997 San Marino Grand Prix The 1997 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari near Imola, Italy on April 27, 1997. It was the fourth race of the 1997 Formula One season.-Pre-race:...	MON 1997 Monaco Grand Prix The 1997 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 11, 1997 at the Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo, Monaco.- Summary :Qualifying saw Heinz-Harald Frentzen in his Williams-Renault in front of Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari; third was Jacques Villeneuve in the other Williams...	ESP 1997 Spanish Grand Prix The 1997 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 25, 1997 at the Circuit de Catalunya.This classic Spanish Grand Prix is memorable for the great performance of Olivier Panis, starting from 12th on the grid, and finishing 2nd closing on the leader Jacques Villeneuve by 1.5 to 2 seconds...	CAN 1997 Canadian Grand Prix The 1997 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 15, 1997.The race was marred by a big crash involving Olivier Panis, who broke his legs and would be unable to start the next seven grands prix. It has been argued that this crash affected Panis's...	FRA 1997 French Grand Prix The 1997 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Magny-Cours on June 29, 1997.-Race summary:At the start, Michael Schumacher led away from pole with Frentzen in the Williams behind him all the way...	GBR 1997 British Grand Prix The 1997 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 13 July 1997. It was the ninth round of the 1997 Formula One season. Jacques Villeneuve won the race despite being stuck in the pitlane for half a minute during his first pitstop, after a wheelnut problem.Two previous...	GER 1997 German Grand Prix The 1997 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Hockenheimring on July 27, 1997. It was won by Austrian driver Gerhard Berger in a Benetton. This race proved to be his final victory and final pole position, as he retired at the end of the season. Berger had missed the previous 3...	HUN 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix The 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Hungaroring on August 10, 1997.Damon Hill, as defending world champion, had experienced a miserable year in the uncompetitive Arrows-Yamaha, but the team experienced a spike in performance levels at Hungary, mainly due to their...	BEL 1997 Belgian Grand Prix The 1997 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on August 24, 1997. The wet weather associated with the circuit came heavily, causing the race to be started behind the safety car for the first time in Formula One history....	ITA 1997 Italian Grand Prix The 1997 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on September 7, 1997. Jean Alesi, starting from pole position, led the race until the halfway stage; however, David Coulthard, who had jumped from sixth on the grid into third place coming out of the first corner, got ahead of...	AUT 1997 Austrian Grand Prix The 1997 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at A1-Ring on September 21, 1997. Qualifying threw up a few surprises, as the Bridgestone tyres used by several smaller teams proved strong, but it was ultimately Jacques Villeneuve who won...	LUX 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix The 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nürburgring on September 28, 1997. Jacques Villeneuve took what proved to be his final Formula One victory, after the race-leading McLaren-Mercedes cars had identical engine failures within moments of each other...	JPN 1997 Japanese Grand Prix The 1997 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 12, 1997 at the Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka. It was the 16th and penultimate race of the 1997 Formula One season. The race, contested over 53 laps, was won by Michael Schumacher for the Ferrari team after starting from...	EUR 1997 European Grand Prix The 1997 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 26, 1997 at the Circuito Permanente de Jerez, Spain. Originally scheduled as the Grand Prix of Portugal at the Estoril circuit, it was moved when Estoril’s management had financial difficulties. It was the 17th and final...	0	NC
				Vincenzo Sospiri Vincenzo Sospiri - Early career :Sospiri started racing in the Italian 100CC Karting Championships at the age of 15. He spent a long time working his way through the karting ladder, eventually becoming World Karting Champion in 1987. Sospiri then progressed to Formula Ford, before working through to Formula 3000 in...	DNQ	DNP
				Ricardo Rosset Ricardo Rosset Ricardo Rosset is a racing driver from Brazil. He participated in 33 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on March 10, 1996...	DNQ	DNP