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Thousands of fans pay tribute to Lola’s Golden Anniversary

On  Sunday  12  October,  an  estimated  10,000  spectators  packed  the  streets of  Huntingdon  in Cambridgeshire  to  support  Lola  Cars  landmark  50th Anniversary  parade  of  racing  cars.  The impressive  display  of  16  cars  represented  the  marque’s  most  iconic models  from  the  past  half century through to Lola’s all-new 2008 designs.

Some of Lola’s most successful drivers were reunited with the winning line-up of cars supporting Lola’s Golden celebration. The Lola legends included John Surtees OBE, Richard Attwood, Hugh Dibley, Teddy Pilette, Chris Craft, Mike Blanchet, James Weaver, Julian Bailey, Anthony Reid and Peter  Ashdown. Current  racers  included Le Mans Series driver Mike Newton, Malaysian A1 Grand Prix driver Fairuz Fauzy and Danny Watts.

At midday and in brilliant autumn sunshine, Councillor Saeed Akthar, the Mayor of Huntingdon, waved  the  Union  Jack  to  officially  start  the  parade  from Lola’s  state-of-the-art  headquarters  in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. The roadside was packed with spectators from start to finish as the snake of 16 cars travelled up the 1.6 route via the local ring road and in to the historic market square where Oliver Cromwell rallied his troops during the Civil War.

Heading up the parade was the all-new RML MG-Lola LMP2 Coupe dressed in the patriotic red, white and blue livery, followed by Lola’s latest track day car B07/90 which had Jonathan Djanogly, MP  for  the  Huntingdon  constituency enjoying  a  passenger  ride  with  sportscar  driver  Calum Lockie. Other star participants included a Lola T70 Mk111B that cemented the marque’s status in world motorsport during the 1960’s, Sir Jackie Stewart’s 1967 Indy 500 Lola T92 driven by Lola owner and Executive Chairman Martin Birrane and the Mark 1, the first car built by Lola driven by James Leslie, son of the late, great David Leslie. At the end of the route the cars parked up in a specially constructed paddock area that had been assembled in Huntingdon’s historic market square. As the crowd eagerly awaited a glimpse of the first Lola cars to enter the paddock they were treated to a display from the Blue Vision Huntingdon Majorette  team  and a demonstration  from  the  Huntingdon  Olympic  gymnast  club,  that  trained Louis Smith who recently claimed a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics. Motorsport presenter and personality Tony Jardine hosted a number of interviews on the Town Hall  balcony  overlooking  the  packed  out  paddock  area,  with  Martin  Birrane  and  the  founder  of Lola cars, Eric Broadley joining racing legend John Surtees for an enthralling Q & A session. Lola has  been located in Huntingdon since 1970 and continues to be an important business for the local community. In recognition of the town’s support, David Monks, Chief Executive of the District Council, presented Martin Birrane and Eric Broadley with a commemorative scroll in front of the applauding audience that had filled the market square.

MARTIN BIRRANE – EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, LOLA “Lola means so much to so many people. It has been a real pleasure to show the people of Huntingdon this exceptional collection of designs. “The fact that personalities such as John Surtees came to Huntingdon today shows terrific devotion to the Lola  name.  The  company  celebrated  50  years  today  but  tomorrow  will  be  hard  at  work  creating  new projects in a wide variety of industries. Lola are now much more than just a motorsport company with key customers  in  Aerospace,  Defence,  Automotive and Communications. I believe that the next 50 years are going to be just as exciting as the first 50.”

JOHN SURTEES – FORMER LOLA DRIVER “This was a superb event and a great way to mark 50 years for a company that is very close to my heart. Like  any  relationship  there  were  ups  and  downs  both  on  and  off  the  track  but  the  fact  remains  that  Lola build world class racing cars. “When I was involved in A1 GP the job Lola did was very good indeed. Martin (Birrane) saved Lola and his business sense and skill have seen it through the tough times to where it is now, back at the top in world motorsport.”

HUGH DIBLEY – FORMER LOLA DRIVER “I  loved  driving  Eric’s  (Broadley)  cars.  They  were  very  practical  and  usually  very  quick.  I  also  tested  the safety of the cars a few times too, especially when I flipped a T70!  That was a biggy. The engine came to rest in a tree and the cockpit about 300 yards away. Interesting times. I wish Lola a very happy birthday!”

JAMES WEAVER – FORMER LOLA DRIVER “I have driven quite a few Lola’s but the one I drove today (the B2K/40) was not one I actually competed in. I did test it at Phoenix in 2000 but I was more familiar with the LMP675 MG car that Lola built. That was a great car, ahead of its time in many ways. Martin Birrane has done a fine job in directing Lola in what is a very volatile industry and it was an absolute pleasure to be here today to witness this very fun event and see some great old colleagues.”

TEDDY PILETTE – FORMER LOLA DRIVER “I always enjoyed racing Lola cars. The T400 that I won the F5000 title with in 1975 was a truly great car and  I  just  loved  driving  it.  Eric  was  a  genius  designer  and  to  recognise  what  he  and  now  Martin  Birrane have achieved is a real honour to be part of.”

TONY SOUTHGATE – FORMER LOLA DRIVER “What a thrilling day. Meeting so many old faces was very nice. The variety of Lola’s that were in the parade was excellent and for the company to be celebrated like this in front of its own people in Huntingdon made for an unforgettable day.”