who is aiming to relaunch Lola and make it what it once was: an innovator in global motorsport.Bechtolsheimer, “here goes.” We’re standing in pit lane at Harris Hill Raceway in rural Texas under a blazing July sun. Bechtolsheimer is wearing his full racing suit, standing beside a 1958 Lola Mk1. He slips on his helmet, climbs in, and fires up the four-cylinder Coventry Climax, tickling the throttle with his toe. Then, off he goes onto the track.
Bringing Lola back from the dead will not be easy. But as he is quick to mention, even people who could become his competitors in the future are pulling for him and helping him open doors. Who wouldn’t want to see Lola back on the world’s starting grids? “These days,” he says, “it’s an advantage to be a bit asset light—to focus on the design and engineering of cars and support for those cars once they’re out in the world racing.” Lola is based in the heart of England’s Motorsport Valley, home to all but three F1 teams and endless automotive everything. So a small constructor can contract out the manufacturing.