The GTPs of the 1980s and early 1990s put IMSA on the same footing as CART and Formula 1 when it came to cutting edge racing technology,
Take the Lola T600, for example, which became the first GTP car to win an IMSA race in the hands of Brian Redman at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in 1981.Conceived and built in a matter of months, Redman’s Lola was hardly years-in-the-making like the new hybrid prototypes. Instead of messaging to the world about a new era of sustainable cars from manufacturers, the goal was to build and sell enough chassis to keep Lola Cars Ltd.
After a visit to England by Redman, Broadley agreed to produce two Lolas and delivered the first one on time in March of 1981, despite a reputation for late deliveries and last-minute fiddling with car designs. But Haas declined to order the first T600s and instead instructed Redman to locate buyers for the first two chassis. “Carl said, ‘You find someone to buy those first two cars and I’ll split the profit with them on the sale of the additional cars.
“So, off we go in the race,” said Redman, who quickly advanced because after qualifying the Porsche Turbo drivers had to turn down the boost to make the finish without a pit stop. “In those days there was none of those infield parts at Laguna,” said Redman. “There was a very fast lefthander and a bit of banking at Turn 1. I didn’t have to brake, but I had to lift to get the nose down a bit. About the fifth or sixth lap, the car gave an unpleasant wiggle.
The “unpleasant wiggle” through Turn 1 early in the race turned out to be a rear wheel starting to disengage. “We were examining the car the next day and the rear door covers were off,” said Redman. “I bent down and looked in at the rear wheel nut. I said to Eric, ‘Take a look at that.’ He bent down, looked in, stood up, took his glasses off and polished them. He said, ‘Well, Brian, that’s actually what’s supposed to happen. But I’ve never seen it happen.
“We had that diabolical Le Mans thing,” recalled Redman. “I was in England in May and rang up John Bright and said, ‘Everything alright John?’ He said, ‘Well, kind of. We’re putting a Porsche turbo into the second chassis and going to Le Mans.’
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