Sad News

[Moderator]

INDUSTRY: Lola Ceases Operations

Remaining employees at Huntingdon, England workshop laid off as administrators unable to find buyer for famed constructor...

Full story <a href="http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/industry-lola-ceases-operations/">here</a>.

[Preform Resources]

sad but not unexpected, building race cars and parts  is a very diffcult business to be in , Martin Berrane saved LOLA several years ago, injected capital and a new management style, went after new business where they could. It's a very costly business to be in, they branched into aerospace with LOLA composites and were very successful even diplaying at the Farnborrough  air show, they were developing LMP cars, formula three cars, the less than F-1 cars etc etc.I suspect they were stretched pretty thin  over time. Fabricating metal and composite parts is expensive in and of itself, add to that the parts are made using aerospace /aircraft   specs andand have to stand up to legal ramifications, inspection and process requirements
to avoid litigation as well as ensuring the safety and performance .
Dave

[Moderator]

I wonder about the trend toward single-make racing series. Lola submitted a proposal for Indycars in 2010, but lost out to Dallara. I think race fans benefit when there are multiple chassis designs on track. Maybe it's better for constructors too, in the long run.