ALMS
Lola ends 2000 season on high note
Lola Cars International ended the year 2000 in style when the privately entered Lola B2K/10 SR1 of Franz Konrad, Charlie Slater and Alan Heath claimed an impressive second place in the 'Race of a Thousand Years' in Adelaide, Australia on New Year's ...
Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM
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Lola Cars International ended the year 2000 in style when the privately entered Lola B2K/10 SR1 of Franz Konrad, Charlie Slater and Alan Heath claimed an impressive second place in the 'Race of a Thousand Years' in Adelaide, Australia on New Year's Eve (31 January, 2000). Staged on the 2.4-mile street circuit once home to the Australian Grand Prix, the six hour endurance race was the concluding round of the 2000 American Le Mans Series and as such attracted an all-star entry list with factory entries from Audi, Panoz, Cadillac, Porsche, Chrysler and BMW as well as two independently run Lola B2K/10s. The Konrad entry was joined on the starting grid by the Rafanelli-run Olive Garden B2K/10 of Mimmo Schiattarella, Didier de Radigues and Norman Simon.
Despite facing stiff opposition both Lolas displayed an impressive mix of speed and stamina in what turned out to be a gruelling race with considerable attrition among the fancied front-runners. The championship winning Audi of Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello set the pace throughout but the pair of Lolas were the only two non-factory competitors to feature in the event.
The Rafanelli entry seemed set to claim second place until it was forced out of the running in the final hour, handing the runner-up position to the Konrad B2K/10 which had enjoyed a trouble-free run.
Lola's Managing Director, David Bowes, says: "To see two privately-entered Lolas running so strongly on the streets of Adelaide was a fitting end to what's been a great year for the company. We've seen our cars return to 'victory lane' in the CART Fedex Championship and also put up some strong performances in many of the different forms of international sportscar racing . This fine result in Australia gives us all great heart for the forthcoming 2001 season when we will also be targeting success at Le Mans with our new partner MG."
Lola Cars International will be unveiling a new evolution of the SR1 sportscar called the B2K/10B at the Autosport International Show at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England on Thursday 11 January. Both David Bowes and Martin Birrane, Lola's Executive Chairman, will be present at the launch in Birmingham and they will be available for interview throughout the day.
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