Why Racing Cars Go Fast

Julian Cooper

Taking its name from a popular Broadway song, the first Lola made its debut in 1958 and soon became the leading customer sports car of the era. Lola quickly established itself throughout the racing world, building off-the-shelf cars for categories from Indianapolis to Formula Ford, and commissioned designs from Formula 1 to Le Mans.

Julian Cooper, Head of Engineering at Lola Cars says, "A lot of our work revolves around balancing the energy equations involved in various aspects of the vehicle. This involves engine power output, power transmission, acceleration, cooling system heat transfer, braking energy dissipation and aerodynamic drag, all as a balanced system contrasted with a road going passenger car."

Recently Lola have designed and produced the 50 cars for the new A1 Grand Prix series. Each car is mechanically identical and built with many technical restrictions to limit performance, reduce running costs and prevent one or a number of teams gaining an advantage through better equipment. This regulation provides a level playing field in which it is hoped driver skill and team effort becomes the primary factor for success.