Clockwise from bottom left: On the podium at Sears Point; Robert Tornello; the Lola T-600, restored to its original cherry-red and surrounded by admirers; crew chief Steve Freund with Tornello; Tornello signs an autograph; Tornello with friend and author Amy Tan; the trophy.
"The best-prepared T-600 I've ever driven!" -- Brian Redman
Once it was readied for testing, motorsports legend and friend Brian Redman drove the Lola T-600 HU5 and pronounced it "The best-prepared T-600 I've ever driven." Vintage Motorsports magazine said Tornello's Lola was "as pretty as a race-car gets". And then there was its incredible speed.
In the 2000-2001 race season, in the fully-sorted Lola T-600 HU5, I completed sixteen events. The races included supporting AMLS and new IMSA classes; they were held across the country.
There were 84 elite drivers competing that year in classes GTP1 through GTP4. (The oldest class, GTP4, included early Rondeaus, Lolas, Marches, and Porsche 956's.)
At Watkins Glen, NY
At Road Atlanta, GA
At Daytona Speedway, in qualifying order.
At Sebring International Raceway
There were 84 elite drivers competing that year in classes GTP1 through GTP4. (The oldest class, GTP4, included early Rondeaus, Lolas, Marches, and Porsche 956's.)
Victory! At the end of 2001, driving the magnificent Lola T-600 HU5, I won first place in the GTP championship, both in class and overall, and was awarded the International Thundersports trophies.
In subsequent years, the car was campaigned seasonally as time allowed. Of course, I always maintained it to the highest standards.
At Daytona Speedway at the end of the 2007-2008 season, HU5--with original-style bias-ply Goodyear tires--won its class again, setting times that were up to 10 seconds per lap faster than those set by newer March prototypes driven by their original owners!
The Lola T-600 GTP HU5 is, simply, a brilliant and extremely competitive car, particularly on short tracks like Sebring, where it routinely charges ahead of 962's and late-model turbos. It has a balanced mid-engine design, and boasts a level of torque exceeding that of a Mack truck.
Today, in 2012, the Lola T-600 HU5 remains a formidable historic competitor.
Before v. Current images
Before: Note the early Lucas McKay injection system above: these diaphragm pumps were difficult to keep calibrated and required constant tuning and maintenance, as they fed raw fuel into the intake trumpets.
After: Note the constant-feed fuel injection systems by Kinsler, which deliver fuel on demand and increase torque. The air box, also a Kinsler design, is a carbon box with K&N filtration.
Before: The early T-600 cockpits were spartan, and controls were not easy for the driver to operate.
Comfort and ergonomics in early race cars were an afterthought.
After: With the original hidden below my redesigned dash, all of the gauges are easily seen and read, even in turns. Where the RPM was once centered, now oil pressure and water temperature (more critical) are always in the driver's sightline, without him needing to take his eyes off the track. The gauges are all aligned with the driver's needs, and everything--including lights, radio, track position, and cool-suit controls--are race-glove friendly and within simple reach of a strapped-in driver. All corresponding pop-out breakers are also within reach.
Driving at night is made easy, as everything is adjustably illuminated.
The carbon fibre seat is a 962 seat, fitted and padded. At speed in the turns, the driver's body will not move unless he wants it to.
From the archives
The HSR race poster featured HU5 as it qualified for the featured race.
Above, Victory Lane newspaper covered another class win and top ten finish at Daytona.
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