Lola Mk4
Encyclopedia
The Lola Mk4 and the derivative Mk4A were Formula One
racing cars constructed by the Lola company in 1962. They were designed by Lola founder, owner and Chief Designer Eric Broadley
at the request of Reg Parnell
, proprietor of the Bowmaker Racing Team. The Mk4 was the first design that Lola produced for the top tier of motorsport.
category, with a steel spaceframe chassis braced by bulkhead
s in front and behind the driver. The engine was carried within the chassis, and cooling was by a radiator mounted at the front of the bodywork; two tubes of the spaceframe acting as coolant pipes to and from the engine. Following supply delays with Coventry Climax
's new V8 engine, the cars were initially built up around the older, inline 4-cylinder FPF engine.
The Mk4 had its first outing in the non-Championship Brussels Grand Prix where it qualified in the midfield but failed to finish. Its first World Championship race was the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix
. By now the cars were fitted with the more powerful Climax FWMV V8 engine; the meeting went somewhat better with John Surtees
qualifying his car in pole position
. Once again though, poor reliability let the race performance down, and neither car reached the finishing line. Surtees took the car's first victory in the 2000 Guineas race at Mallory Park
in the middle of the season, but excess chassis flex impeded his Championship hopes.
A stopgap solution to the flexing problems was to weld extra tubes around the cockpit of the Mk4. When the revised Mk4A was introduced its most significant difference was in a number of body panels that were welded to the chassis in what Lola described as a semi-monocoque
design. With the uprated designs results continued to trickle in, but a lack of development funding stunted the cars competitive growth, and by the end of the season both the Mk4 and 4A were completely outclassed. It was only in Intercontinental Formula racing, with the addition of the 2750 cc version of the FPF straight-four, that the car showed some promise. Two such-equipped Mk4 cars were shipped to New Zealand and Australia for their respective Grands Prix in early 1963, where regular driver Surtees was partnered by up-and-coming South African Tony Maggs
. In his last two races for the Bowmaker team, before signing with Ferrari
, Surtees won the New Zealand Grand Prix and finished second in the Australian Grand Prix
, a month later. Maggs failed to finish on either occasion.
With the withdrawal of Bowmaker, Reg Parnell Racing continued with the Mk4/4A cars into the 1963 World Championship season
, but only as second-string cars behind new Coopers
. One Mk4 was sold to privateer
Bob Anderson who entered the car into many Championship and non-Championship races, winning the 1963 Rome Grand Prix
.
† Mk4A chassis.
‡ Car ran with 4-cylinder FPF engine. On all other occasions the cars were fitted with the V8 FWMV engine.
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
racing cars constructed by the Lola company in 1962. They were designed by Lola founder, owner and Chief Designer Eric Broadley
Eric Broadley
Eric Broadley MBE is a British entrepreneur, engineer, and founder and former chief designer of Lola Cars, the motor racing manufacturer and engineering company. He is arguably one of the most influential automobile designers of the post-war period, and over the years Lola has had a hand in many...
at the request of Reg Parnell
Reg Parnell
Reginald Harold Haslam Parnell was a racing driver and team manager from England. He participated in seven Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, achieving one podium, and scoring a total of 9 championship points.-Driving career:Before World War II Parnell was a very successful racing...
, proprietor of the Bowmaker Racing Team. The Mk4 was the first design that Lola produced for the top tier of motorsport.
History
Design of the car broadly followed Broadley's experience in the Formula JuniorFormula Junior
Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI . The class was intended to provide an entry level class where you could use inexpensive mechanical components from ordinary automobiles...
category, with a steel spaceframe chassis braced by bulkhead
Bulkhead
Bulkhead may refer to:* Bulkhead, a compartment of a building for preventing spread of fires, see Compartmentalization * Bulkhead , a retaining wall used as a form of coastal management, akin to a seawall, or as a structural device such as a bulkhead partition* Bulkhead , a wall within the hull of...
s in front and behind the driver. The engine was carried within the chassis, and cooling was by a radiator mounted at the front of the bodywork; two tubes of the spaceframe acting as coolant pipes to and from the engine. Following supply delays with Coventry Climax
Coventry Climax
Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H...
's new V8 engine, the cars were initially built up around the older, inline 4-cylinder FPF engine.
The Mk4 had its first outing in the non-Championship Brussels Grand Prix where it qualified in the midfield but failed to finish. Its first World Championship race was the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix
1962 Dutch Grand Prix
The 1962 Dutch Grand Prix was the eleventh time the Dutch Grand Prix motor race was held. The race also held the honorary designation of the 22nd European Grand Prix. It was run to Formula One regulations as the opening round of the 1962 World Drivers' Championship on 20 May 1962...
. By now the cars were fitted with the more powerful Climax FWMV V8 engine; the meeting went somewhat better with John Surtees
John Surtees
John Surtees, OBE is a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver from England. He was 500cc motorcycle World Champion in 1956 and 1958–60, Formula One World Champion in 1964, and remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels...
qualifying his car in pole position
Pole position
The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...
. Once again though, poor reliability let the race performance down, and neither car reached the finishing line. Surtees took the car's first victory in the 2000 Guineas race at Mallory Park
Mallory Park
Mallory Park is a motor racing circuit situated in the village of Kirkby Mallory, just off the A47, between Leicester and Hinckley. With the full car circuit measuring only 1.35 miles it is amongst the shortest permanent race circuits in the UK...
in the middle of the season, but excess chassis flex impeded his Championship hopes.
A stopgap solution to the flexing problems was to weld extra tubes around the cockpit of the Mk4. When the revised Mk4A was introduced its most significant difference was in a number of body panels that were welded to the chassis in what Lola described as a semi-monocoque
Monocoque
Monocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
design. With the uprated designs results continued to trickle in, but a lack of development funding stunted the cars competitive growth, and by the end of the season both the Mk4 and 4A were completely outclassed. It was only in Intercontinental Formula racing, with the addition of the 2750 cc version of the FPF straight-four, that the car showed some promise. Two such-equipped Mk4 cars were shipped to New Zealand and Australia for their respective Grands Prix in early 1963, where regular driver Surtees was partnered by up-and-coming South African Tony Maggs
Tony Maggs
Anthony Francis O'Connell "Tony" Maggs was a racing driver from South Africa. He participated in 27 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on July 15, 1961...
. In his last two races for the Bowmaker team, before signing with Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....
, Surtees won the New Zealand Grand Prix and finished second in the Australian Grand Prix
1963 Australian Grand Prix
The 1963 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at Warwick Farm Raceway on 10 February 1963. The race had 16 starters.It was the twenty eighth Australian Grand Prix. The race was a final prelude prior to the formation of the Tasman Series later that year, while the engine formula was 3.0...
, a month later. Maggs failed to finish on either occasion.
With the withdrawal of Bowmaker, Reg Parnell Racing continued with the Mk4/4A cars into the 1963 World Championship season
1963 Formula One season
The 1963 Formula One season was the 14th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 14th FIA World Championship of Drivers, the sixth International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and numerous non-championship Formula One races...
, but only as second-string cars behind new Coopers
Cooper Car Company
The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1946 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles' small garage in Surbiton, Surrey, England in 1946...
. One Mk4 was sold to privateer
Privateer (motorsport)
In motor sport, a privateer is usually an entrant into a racing event that is not directly supported by an automobile manufacturer. Privateers teams are often found competing in rally and circuit racing events, and often include competitors who build and maintain their own vehicles...
Bob Anderson who entered the car into many Championship and non-Championship races, winning the 1963 Rome Grand Prix
1963 Rome Grand Prix
The 15th Rome Grand Prix was a motor race, run to Formula One rules, held on 19 May 1963 at the ACI Vallelunga Circuit, near Rome in Italy. The race was run over two heats of 40 laps of the circuit, both of which were won by British driver Bob Anderson in a Lola Mk4.Both heats finished with the...
.
World Championship
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 1962 Formula One season The 1962 Formula One season was the 13th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1962 World Championship of Drivers and the 1962 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers which were contested concurrently over a nine race series that commenced on May 20 and ended on December 29... |
Bowmaker Racing Team Reg Parnell Racing Reg Parnell Racing was a privateer Formula One team during the 1950s and 1960s. The team was founded by ex-Formula One driver Reg Parnell after he retired from racing. The team's best results were a pair of second places in the British Grand Prix and the German Grand Prix of... |
Climax Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H... V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
NED 1962 Dutch Grand Prix The 1962 Dutch Grand Prix was the eleventh time the Dutch Grand Prix motor race was held. The race also held the honorary designation of the 22nd European Grand Prix. It was run to Formula One regulations as the opening round of the 1962 World Drivers' Championship on 20 May 1962... |
MON 1962 Monaco Grand Prix The 1962 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on June 3, 1962.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jim Clark - 1:35.4*Fastest Lap: Jim Clark - 1:35.5... |
BEL 1962 Belgian Grand Prix The 1962 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on June 17, 1962.- Classification :* Dan Gurney practiced in a Lotus-BRM owned by Wolfgang Seidel, but after a few laps he deemed the car unraceworthy... |
FRA 1962 French Grand Prix The 1962 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Rouen-Les-Essarts on July 8, 1962.- Classification :* Scuderia Ferrari withdrew from the event, and their allocated numbers of 2, 4 and 6 were not used... |
GBR 1962 British Grand Prix The 1962 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Aintree on July 21, 1962.- Classification :* Scuderia Ferrari withdrew their other two entries, cars #4 and #6, to which drivers had not been allocated.-Standings after the race:... |
GER 1962 German Grand Prix The 1962 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Nürburgring on August 5, 1962.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings... |
ITA 1962 Italian Grand Prix The 1962 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on September 16, 1962.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jim Clark - 1:40.35*Fastest Lap: Graham Hill - 1:42.3*Final Formula One entry for Gerry Ashmore... |
USA 1962 United States Grand Prix The 1962 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 7, 1962 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:... |
RSA 1962 South African Grand Prix The 1962 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at East London on December 29, 1962.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jim Clark - 1:29.3*Fastest Lap: Jim Clark - 1:31.0... |
19 | 4th | ||
| John Surtees John Surtees John Surtees, OBE is a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver from England. He was 500cc motorcycle World Champion in 1956 and 1958–60, Formula One World Champion in 1964, and remains the only person to have won World Championships on both two and four wheels... |
Ret | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | Ret† | Ret | Ret | ||||||
| Roy Salvadori Roy Salvadori Roy Francesco Salvadori is a former motor racing driver and manager from England. He participated in 50 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 12 July 1952, and achieved two podiums, scoring a total of 19 Championship points.During a varied career he also won the 24 Hours of Le... |
Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | ||||||||
| 1963 1963 Formula One season The 1963 Formula One season was the 14th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 14th FIA World Championship of Drivers, the sixth International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and numerous non-championship Formula One races... |
Reg Parnell Racing Reg Parnell Racing Reg Parnell Racing was a privateer Formula One team during the 1950s and 1960s. The team was founded by ex-Formula One driver Reg Parnell after he retired from racing. The team's best results were a pair of second places in the British Grand Prix and the German Grand Prix of... |
Climax Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H... V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
MON 1963 Monaco Grand Prix The 1963 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on May 26, 1963. It was won by British driver Graham Hill driving a BRM P57.- Classification :* After de Beaufort withdrew, his entry was taken over by Bernard Collomb... |
BEL 1963 Belgian Grand Prix The 1963 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held at Spa-Francorchamps on June 9, 1963. Jim Clark won the race in extremely wet and rainy conditions. After starting eighth on the grid Clark passed all of the cars in front of him, including early leader Graham Hill... |
NED 1963 Dutch Grand Prix The 1963 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zandvoort on June 23, 1963.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: Jim Clark - 1:31.6*Fastest Lap: Jim Clark - 1:33.7-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings... |
FRA 1963 French Grand Prix The 1963 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims-Gueux on June 30, 1963. It was the fourth round of the 1963 Formula One season.- Race report :Jim Clark roared into a familiar lead from the start from Richie Ginther in the BRM... |
GBR 1963 British Grand Prix The 1963 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on July 20, 1963.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings... |
GER 1963 German Grand Prix The 1963 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nürburgring on August 4, 1963.- Race report :Jim Clark led away from pole in his customary fashion. Behind him Lorenzo Bandini spun in front of Innes Ireland who collected him, Willy Mairesse had an accident, and Chris Amon sustained a... |
ITA 1963 Italian Grand Prix The 1963 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on September 8, 1963.- Classification :- Notes :*Pole position: John Surtees - 1:37.3*Fastest Lap: Jim Clark - 1:38.9... |
USA 1963 United States Grand Prix The 1963 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 6, 1963 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York.__FORCETOC__-Summary:... |
MEX 1963 Mexican Grand Prix The 1963 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mexico City on October 27, 1963.- Classification :* Surtees was disqualified for a push-start.- Notes :*Pole position: Jim Clark - 1:58.8*Fastest Lap: Jim Clark - 1:58.1... |
RSA 1963 South African Grand Prix The 1963 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at East London on December 28, 1963.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings... |
0 | 13th | |
| Maurice Trintignant Maurice Trintignant Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant was a motor racing driver and vintner from France. He competed in the Formula One World Championship for fourteen years, between 1950 and 1964, one of the longest careers in the early years of F1... |
Ret† | ||||||||||||||
| Lucien Bianchi Lucien Bianchi Lucien Bianchi , born Luciano Bianchi, was a Belgian racing driver who raced for the Cooper, ENB, UDT Laystall and Scuderia Centro Sud teams in Formula One... |
Ret | ||||||||||||||
| Chris Amon Chris Amon Christopher Arthur Amon MBE is a former motor racing driver. He was active in Formula One - racing in the 1960s and 1970s - and is widely regarded to be one of the best F1 drivers never to win a championship Grand Prix... |
PO† | Ret† | Ret† | 7† | 7† | Ret† | PO† | ||||||||
| John Campbell-Jones John Campbell-Jones Michael John Campbell-Jones is a former Formula One driver from England. He participated in two World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on June 17, 1962. He scored no championship points... |
13 | ||||||||||||||
| Mike Hailwood Mike Hailwood Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, MBE, GM was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time. He was known as "Mike The Bike" because of his natural riding ability... |
Ret | ||||||||||||||
| Masten Gregory Masten Gregory Masten Gregory was a racing driver from the United States. He raced in Formula One between and , participating in 43 World Championship races, and numerous non-Championship races.... |
Ret† | Ret† | |||||||||||||
| DW Racing Enterprises | Climax Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, and speciality engine manufacturer.-History:The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed to Coventry-Simplex by H... V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... |
Bob Anderson | 12 | 12 |
† Mk4A chassis.
Non-Championship
† Mk4A chassis.‡ Car ran with 4-cylinder FPF engine. On all other occasions the cars were fitted with the V8 FWMV engine.