Lola said Wednesday while it's goal is to the 2010 IndyCar chassis maker and the company has been encouraged by fan response this far, they're not ruling out the possibility of being a sub-contractor contributing to a car designed by another company.
In response to interview questions posed in late February by pressdog.com, Peter McCool, Head of Special Projects for Lola based in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England, said his company wants to build the next 2012 IndyCar, but will keep the door open to staying in the mix if Lola does not get the main contract.
“In the present climate and with the emphasis on adhering to the commercial requirements set out by the IRL, a multi-chassis series will significantly upset the cost requirements, because it instantly starts the chase for increased performance," McCool said. "That is a great challenge for our engineers but it is not great for the future health of the series. So, whether its Delta Wing, Dallara or Swift, Lola sees only one central constructor at this stage.”
Yet even if Lola is not the "central contractor," McCool said his company would be open to working in the role of a sub-contractor on the car.
"We want the next IndyCar to be a Lola bespoke program and we know that a lot of the fans want that too as things stand, but our business has enough agility to accommodate manufacturing with other companies too," McCool said. "Lola supplies a lot of technical solutions and components in its business and it is possible. But as we said at present (our proposal) is very much a Lola USA factory effort.”
Lola's View on their Competition
McCool declined to comment specifically on proposals by the much publicized DeltaWing project or those of the other announced chassis competitors including Dallara, Swift and BAT.
“In general Lola has a policy of not discussing other companies designs in great detail," McCool said. "However what we will say is that any concept car that is designed to promote discussion and thinking is good. Lola has a dedicated Special Projects department that works in exactly this manner and will continue to research similar projects in the future.”
While a full-blown chassis war probably won't work given today's economic realities, Lola has built in a few controlled variables by offering two, distinct, visually different racing kids for its chassis.
"Intense competition and battles with other constructors is a fantastic spectacle and a rich environment for our engineers to be in. However it rarely makes financial and commercial sense," he said. "The R&D alone gets prohibitive and at present it would be counter-productive for the IndyCar series. This is exactly why the dual body style Lola IndyCars will short-cut a lot of the issues here.
"If teams suddenly want to try different elements on the car, they can do so in a controlled way and they can set a car up to how they want it, which is one of the real benefits of the two kits if adopted. A return to multi chassis grids may well happen in better economic times. If the landscape is right, then Lola in terms of the engineering challenge will thrive in this environment.”
Competition limited to a smaller part of the car also didn't seem to make much sense to McCool.
"We don’t see where the benefits are in doing something, because you know in theory a company/constructor should have better buying power than small one-off deals, so commercially we don’t see any real strength there. The other issue you have got then is that of quality control and also, the just-in-time supply, the risk to supply. You are adding risk in the supply chain by introducing more business partners, effectively. We might be happy to consider it but there is a significant risk attached with bringing in new suppliers in this fashion.”
An Economic Answer to the League's Criteria?
McCool said the strength of Lola's proposal lies in its cost-effective achievement of all the stated requirements.
“The key strength is that we have seriously considered and re-visited all of the key elements that were requested by IRL," he said. "We believe that as well as ticking all these boxes we will also provide the new IndyCar in a cost-effective manner. The economy is driving a lot of decision-making at the moment and we have delivered everyone of the key targets to ensure commercial sustainability for at least the next 3 years."
Also key to that notion of "sustainability" is building and maintaining fan interest, McCool said.
“Lola take all fan input very seriously indeed," he said. "The facts are that there really wouldn’t be motor racing in a professional sense without them. They make the series what it is. That is why Lola enjoy interacting with them. We had some good conversations on our social networking sites with the fans and this kind of feedback is very valuable to our engineers.”
McCool said the "vast majority" of fan feedback has been positive so far and "it's nice to see that the Lola name is revered as much as it always has been in the USA." Lola engineers are also fans, which helps translate into fan-friendly designs.
"It is a massive strength for a company like Lola to have this racing passion," McCool said. "It is a major part of what our brand is built on."
What are Fans Looking For?
McCool said fans expectations for the car are quite high. “From what we have heard from the fans and the IndyCar fraternity is that they want a race car they can be proud of, one that stirs them and excites them," he said. "That may sound generic but it is fundamental to the health of the series and Lola thinks they are absolutely right. This is why Lola engineers focused on an aggressive car with visual variations and one that can deliver excellent performance and spectacular racing."
And while aesthetics are important, a car that rewards driver skill is also high on the list of fan priorities.
“When you look at the cars that Lola designed in the CART and Champ Car days then they were very popular because you really saw the drivers earning their corn," he said. "Overtaking is a prime consideration and Lola engineers are completely focused on this. In terms of concerns it seems that fans don’t want something that will get away from the tradition of an aggressive looking open wheeled single-seater. Lola has no intention of getting away from what will be instantly recognizable as an IndyCar.”
Keeping the Fan Dialog Going
Lola continues to see fan input on www.lola-group.com and via its Twitter account at @lolaracer. McCool said fans should continue to speak up about the proposals.
“Lola attended IndyCar events in 2009 and discussed preferences for future concepts with teams, IndyCar personnel and fans alike," McCool said. "We also got contacted from fans of IndyCar and of Lola in general with regards to what they wanted from a burgeoning and healthy race series like IndyCar. The social networking environment is very conducive to this and Lola has over 3,000 contacts within this media of which it monitors and interacts with very regularly.”
The Unique Indy Lights Element
Lola was the lone company, so far, to propose that the Firestone Indy Lights car and the IZOD IndyCar Series car have very common elements. The idea was born out of Lola's effort to drive down costs, McCool said.
"IRL didn’t specifically ask for this concept," he said. "It was creative thinking at Lola to look at generating a cost effective solution in the current economic climate and secondly in trying to assist the teams in terms of pragmatic racing in two series that run on the same bill. The crossover when you look hard at it, helps both series and should encourage new teams to enter both IRL and Indy Lights.”
More Questions for Peter McCool, Head of Special Projects for Lola
pressdog: Fans seem to think that the concept drawings are the final design is that true or how much will things change from the drawings you released through to final presentation and will they change after that?
McCool: We have designated each of the two IndyCar designs in one entity and two body configurations for 2012 with a Lola designated type so therefore the cars as working projects essentially exist within Lola. We have delivered the series criteria requirements at this time and we are prepared for additional requirements that may come to light now that there is strong debate around the future IndyCar product.
From a visual point of view the two cars are clearly distinct and we believe these two IndyCars would work in the way that they are intended to operate and initial CFD study clearly suggests this. If there is anything that we find that needs to be adjusted to ensure that there is technical clarity across the ride height range then subtle changes will be made.
pressdog: Lots of discussion among the fans about what is sticking out in front of the rear wheels. It looks like some kind of air intake.
McCool: What Lola have concentrated on here is to guard against wheel to wheel interlocking scenarios making the cars safer in action. This is the result of our well-considered study in-to preventing this wheel-to-wheel contact and as part of that we have put a structure in front of and behind the wheels. We have also made the front wing wider and its first point of contact is with these protection structures, so it is an initial design to try and ensure wheel to wheel contact safety. Close attention has been made to how and where contact could occur side-to-side and front to rear.
pressdog: When your news release said “work continues within Lola on futuristic designs to continue to challenge thinking and for sure to become more acceptable and better in economic times," does that mean there are other designs we have yet to see?
McCool: Yes, Lola has a very rich history of manufacturing successful open and closed wheeled racing cars in America. Lola have learned to move quickly within different regulations and the engineering parameters that produce. Future and progressive thinking within Lola is very active and our Special Projects department has studied many different concepts. However at present we are very much focusing on what we believe is the best design and those are the ones that we have designated with for the greater good of all elements for the IndyCar series.
pressdog: Is there anything more you can tell us about the cost effective and simple breakthrough to ensure there is a minimum wake for following a car in your designs
McCool: The Lola aerodynamics team utilized their experience in many areas, particularly the underbody design to find a minimum wake solution to promote more overtaking. In essence what happens in the air coming from the back of a race car at speed, you tend to get two vortex rings falling off the back end of the car. The Lola IndyCar will manage these forces via underbody design and bodyplates at the back of the car. This will create a manageable and minimum wake, which is the center part of the car and more cost effective. Better racing all-round.
pressdog: Speaking of cost effective, I take it that you think you can meet the leagues goal of reducing costs, can you talk a bit about that in terms of making the product cost effective
McCool: Lola have assured the IRL board that they are able to meet the financial parameters set out.
pressdog: How are your discussions with the US partners are coming (to meet the league's "American made" criteria)? Do you find a lot of interests for components supply etc.? Do you envision the cars parts being made in Indianapolis or just somewhere in the US?
McCool: We have had a lot of interest from component suppliers for the whole car but aside from that, on the general commerce side, we have had a lot of dialog with property agents, with recruitment agencies and employment bureaus. We have also spoken with local governments to understand the administration involved. So, it is fair to say that we have made useful progress already. In terms of location we do not want to commit just yet on where exactly the cars will be assembled but it is likely to be in Indiana.
pressdog: What can you tell us about your green initiatives beyond the news release? Is this a new area for Lola or do you find that it is a trend in racing?
McCool: Environmental solutions in racing are not a new area for Lola. It is something that Lola has been working on, both internally and hand in hand with local UK based universities to capture the new thinking and new ‘green’ solutions.
A great example of this was our partnership with the WIRMC (Warwick Innovative Research Manufacturing Centre) at Warwick University. We worked with the faculty there for a year on sustainable bodywork solutions and re-cycling of composite materials. The car was raced here in the UK and was also significantly publicized throughout the media.
Lola have also looked at improving the efficiency of the race car, making the car lighter will make it more efficient from an energy perspective and the Lola Special Projects team at Lola continues to work on new fuel technologies such as hybrids, battery powered fuel cells and even gas powered vehicles to see where the future energy technology may take the race car product.
pressdog: Do you feel you have a fair shot at this or is the fact that some owners are Delta Wing give you pause as to the levelness of the playing field?
McCool: Lola wouldn’t have entered the arena if it didn’t think it had a fair shot at being the new supplier Lola has good and solid relationships throughout America with the fans and with the IRL. Lola loves American racing and loves doing business in America with American people. From the in- depth discussions we have had so far we have no objections to the way the process is being undertaken.
Related links:
- Swift Urges Fan Input, Says Designs Still Evolving
- Dallara Eager to Build on 14 Years of Success with IndyCar
- BAT Becomes Fifth Entrant in Design Derby
- Ben Bowlby talks to Robin Miller about the DeltaWing
- Ben Bowlby talks to Curt Cavin of the Indy Star about the DeltaWing.
- John Barnes, owner of Panther Racing, talks to Chris Estrada of IndyRacingRevolution.com about the DeltaWing.
- More pressdog.com posts on the chassis competition.
Make yourself heard. Please comment below or on your favorite blog, add your votes to this online poll, and leave comments in the HVM 2012 IndyCar concept fan forum.
Too bad SWIFT hasn't "been encouraged" by fan reaction (as they easily have the SEXIEST 2012 concepts)!!!
Although the latest LOLA B12/01 is the best looking of their designs
Posted by: AZZO45 | March 10, 2010 at 02:04 PM
You just like Lola because he used the phrase "earned their corn". Sooooo transparent. If McCool had thrown in a "here at Lola, we do our designs while sipping a couple of pints of lager", I bet your head would have straight up exploded.
Seriously, you are hitting journalistic home runs on a near-daily basis. And I don't like it. It's making the rest of us look bad.
Posted by: The Speedgeek | March 10, 2010 at 02:15 PM
The Speedgeek is wrong, Bill. You're not making US look bad ... you're making the REAL journalists who are paid to do this look bad. Because they're not doing this, obviously. Probably at the request of Uncle Chippy. Brilliantly done.
(Oh, and HOLY SHIT that heat-sensor picture of the car is totally RAD!!! It looks like how The Predator sees IndyCars.)
Posted by: Roy Hobbson | March 10, 2010 at 02:44 PM
The "heat sensor" image is just a screen dump from the ALIAS or CATIA 3D software. Once the model is built that software can execute a crap-load of environments or ways to review the surfaces
Posted by: AZZO45 | March 10, 2010 at 09:02 PM
@AZZO45 is that similar to "finite element analysis" or am I dating myself here?
Posted by: Josh | March 11, 2010 at 08:20 AM
I am now determined to work "earn their corn" into one conversation every day.
Posted by: Gurney Eagle | March 11, 2010 at 08:41 AM
Swift is also encouraged by fan response: http://tinyurl.com/yls75h6 Note the links at the end of the story. There are links to similar interviews I did with Swift and Dallara, plus several to others on the DeltaWing. No favoritism here, although massive points for "earn your corn" from Mr. McCool.
Posted by: pressdog | March 11, 2010 at 08:48 AM
My Swift comment wasn't directed at your reporting P-Dog...
...it was more MY frustration that Swift will be the "pup" left at the pound (& sadly we all know what happens after 10-14 days at the pound). :( :( :( The Lola or the DW are gonna get "adopted".
Posted by: AZZO45 | March 11, 2010 at 05:02 PM
I get your vibe, AZZ. I kind of share it. BUT, you never know. They are going to have some formal presentations, etc. I think, personally, Dallara will be tough to dislodge given their 14-year-relationship. The league is likely looking for someone they think they can work with, be a partner, etc.
Posted by: pressdog | March 11, 2010 at 06:34 PM