On the Grid

Featured Photo:

2002 Lola EX257-MG AER #20

On Display Now

Four class victories; including the 12 Hours of Sebring
Advanced Engine Research designed and built 2-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder, 500HP engine
Driven by Chris Dyson, James Weaver and Butch Leitzinger

When sanctioning bodies dropped Group C at the end of the 1993 season, the age of prototype racing appeared to end as attention turned to production based GT cars that had more spectator appeal.

Ferrari’s introduction of the 333 SP led to the development of a new generation of cars labeled “Le Mans Prototypes” that competed in North America and at Le Mans. This led to Lola’s 1998 launch of their first sports car since 1992, supplied at first to private racing teams. Then MG commissioned a new chassis for the LMP675 class, which Lola designated as the B01/60, though MG labeled it the MG EX257.

Compared to the LMP900 class, the cars were lighter, with smaller engines, but were expected to be competitive overall with their lighter weight. Carbon fiber panels covered a monocoque chassis with double wishbone suspension in the front and rear. Power was provided by an MG badged AER 2-liter turbo engine rated at 500 bhp.

While the cars set sixth and twelfth fastest times in qualifying for the 2002 Le Mans race, it turned out that while the lighter, more nimble cars were competitive with their heavier counterparts, but they were also fragile and dropped out of the race. At the end of the season, MG retired from racing and sold the cars to private teams.

Teams like Dyson, Intersport, and RML showed the car’s true potential in following seasons, with the Dyson team being particularly successful in the American Le Mans Series from 2003 to 2005. Their two-car team showed the Lola’s capabilities on the shorter, twisty North American tracks, where the races were much shorter, and durability was less of an issue.

Rule changes eventually made the cars obsolete, but by then their winning reputation, and the Dyson team’s as well, was solidly in the record books.

On loan from The Rob Dyson Collection, Millbrook, New York.

Past Display Cars

When the founders of the International Motor Racing Research Center were working on the details for the new archival and research facility they knew they wanted the look and feel of a library. Some exhibit space was important, and, foremost, they envisioned space for a race car. Wide double doors have accommodated the rolling in and out of dozens of different cars since the IMRRC opened in June 1999. The cars are displayed for a few months, often complementing a Center Conversations talk or another event.

If you have an interesting race car you’d be willing to display at the IMRRC in Watkins Glen, NY, please email Kip Zeiter, the Coordinator of Visitor Services and Outreach.

Among the cars the IMRRC has hosted: