The story of the Lola T97/30

The Lola T97/30 was the car which MasterCard Lola tried to compete in the 1997 Formula One Season.
The car was driven by the 1995 F3000 champion Vincenzo Sospiri and Ricardo Rosset who came over from Footwork. The car was originally planned to compete in the 1998 season, but due to pressure from their main sponsor MasterCard, the car was rushed into service a year before the initial plan.

History

Lola MasterCard was one of two new teams who entered the sport in 1997, the other one being Stewart F1. Because of the eagerness of main sponsor MasterCard to get the car running a year early they barely had any time to test the car.
During the practice sessions at the season opener in Melbourne it showed that the car was both slow in a straight line and in the corners.
On the straights in predused to much drag causing them to be slow in a straight line, but the car also had a big lack in downforce.
This meant the drivers also struggled a lot to get some temperature in the tires. The car turned out the be woefully uncompetitive.

Specs
Engine: Ford ECA Zetec-R V8
Transmission: Lola 6-speed sequential
Weight: 520 kilograms (1,150 lb)
Fuel: Shell
Tyres: Bridgestone

F1 Results

In the end, neither Sospiri or Rosset managed to qualify for the season opener in Melbourne. Qualifying respectively 11 and 13 seconds of the pace set by pole sitter Jacques Villeneuve driving the Rothmans Williams FW19. This would mean that neither of the two Lola drivers were allowed to start the race.
The cars were later shipped to Brazil for the second round of the season. Before their sponsor MasterCard withdrew from the sport leaving Lola without a sponsor and making an early end to their season.
The team was unclassified in the constructors’ championship with no race finishes nor points.

After 1997

Lola never attempted to compete in F1 again after 1997.
The four chassis that were made have been sold. The locations (as of 2007) are:
•T97/30-1 (Sospiri): Canadian Racing School
•T97/30-2 (Rosset): Canadian Racing School
•T97/30-3 (spare car): owned by Martin Birrane, the current owner of Lola.
•T97/30-4 (unfinished): Lola factory, Huntingdon

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