Lola Cars has announced today that it is returning to global motorsport in a multi-year technical partnership with Yamaha Motor Company and will enter the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship from Season 11.
The iconic, globally renowned motorsport brand, which has more than 500 championship wins, is working with Yamaha to develop and supply a powertrain to compete in the world’s first all-electric, single seater race series. With track racing deep in the DNA of both Lola Cars and Yamaha, this new technology partnership not only provides an opportunity to join the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship as it moves to the GEN3 Evo platform for the 2024/25 season but also creates opportunities across global motorsport and in the broader zero emissions transportation space.
Mark Preston, Motorsport Director, Lola Cars Ltd “We are thrilled to confirm our entry in Formula E. For us, this is more than just an opportunity to return Lola to the track, it’s also a fantastic platform for technological development.
“Lola Cars has a decorated history of success in chassis and aerodynamic design. This project will allow us to create a unique electrified platform with a software focus at its core to provide a basis for Lola’s wider plans in defining the future of motorsport technology.”
The partnership is the first of several major projects planned to re-establish the British company as an industry leader in sustainable engineering and motorsport, strategically focusing on three areas of electrification, hydrogen and sustainable fuels and materials.
Till Bechtolsheimer, Chairman, Lola Cars Ltd “We are incredibly excited to be partnering with the Yamaha Motor Company as we enter the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. To be selected by one of the most innovative OEMs in the world to partner on a project of this significance is a testament to the caliber of the team that we have been building at Lola.
“The focus of this project is squarely around technological development in which Lola is fully invested. We see the highly efficient 350 kW electric powertrain that underpins the manufacturer’s perimeter in Formula E, as a cornerstone technology with exciting applications across many forms of topflight international motorsport in the coming years.”
Heiji Maruyama, Managing Executive Officer and Director, Yamaha Motor co., ltd.“Yamaha Motor Company is accelerating the research and development of various technologies that contribute to sustainability. As the technical partner, we hope to acquire more advanced energy management technologies through the highest level of electric racing in Formula E. We also share Lola's new philosophy of sustainable motorsport and we are very pleased and honored to form this partnership with them."
Since acquiring Lola Cars in 2022, Bechtolsheimer and his team have been developing their program from a new global headquarters in Silverstone, UK, building on the legacy of the most successful manufacturer of customer race cars of all time.
Founded by Eric Broadley in 1958, Lola Cars has designed and produced nearly 5000 race cars spanning 400 different model types, gaining unparalleled success in motorsport championships around the world, including IndyCar, Le Mans, Formula 1, Can-Am, Formula 3000, Formula 5000, A1GP, Formula Ford and Touring Cars.
This partnership continues Lola Cars’ longstanding prominence in Japan. Lola Cars has a long history of involvement in Japanese motorsport, primarily in what is now known as the Japanese Super Formula Championship, winning 13 Championships in two decades from 1987 when it was known as the All Japan F3000. Lola has also notably partnered with Japanese manufacturers to create iconic vehicles across multiple racing disciplines including Formula 1, IndyCar and Le Mans.
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Nissan Formula E Team secured race victory in the final event of the 2023/24 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with Oliver Rowland putting in a masterful drive in the season-ending Round 16 at the London E-Prix.
The new Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH has hit the track for the first time, as Aston Martin with The Heart of Racing begins a comprehensive testing programme ahead of the British ultra-luxury sportscar brand’s bid to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans outright next year and for the first time since 1959.
The new Hypercar, developed by Aston Martin Performance Technologies and works team The Heart of Racing, completed a shakedown and initial evaluation testing in the UK this week, The car was driven by Aston Martin High Performance development driver Darren Turner (GBR), The Heart of Racing’s Mario Farnbacher (DEU) and Harry Tincknell (GBR), who won the LMGTE class of the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans with Aston Martin.
Aston Martin with The Heart of Racing will now commence a full development schedule to prepare the car ahead of FIA homologation in the autumn and its competitive debut in early 2025. The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH is the first racing car to be built to Hypercar regulations to contest both the FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] and the US-based IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship [IMSA] simultaneously.
The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH is unique in the top Hypercar class of global endurance motorsport in that it is the only one among its contemporaries to derive its roots from an existing production-based extreme performance car – Aston Martin Valkyrie, the ultimate hypercar. Works team The Heart of Racing will enter two Valkyrie AMR-LMH contenders in WEC and a single car in IMSA in 2025.
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, said: “The Valkyrie AMR-LMH sets its own standard as a thoroughbred endurance competition car. It is a pure, leading edge racing machine, and while it is very early in the testing cycle, from what we have witnessed so far, we are satisfied that it is achieving the targets and criteria we have set out for it to accomplish.”
The last day of the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed was nothing short of spectacular. Over the five-day event, hundreds of vehicles, ranging from turn-of-the-century machines to modern hypercars, took on the iconic 1.16-mile hill climb. This year, the top 10 fastest cars showcased a thrilling mix of vintage Formula One racers and cutting-edge sports cars. Some were veterans of the hill climb, while others made their debut in style. Let's dive into the details of the 10 fastest cars at this year's event.
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