Synopses & Reviews
The definitive racing and development history of one of Britain’s most important sports racing cars includes international competition history & completely revised individual chassis histories of T70, T160 & T165. Over many years, John Starkey – T70 owner and ex-Curator of the famous Donington racing car collection – has compiled a huge amount of information on the cars and interviewed many past and present owners and drivers about their experiences with the T70. This book contains the history and specification – where known – of each individual T70 chassis.
Review
Speedscene, July 2008 The magazine of the Hillclimb and Sprint association
This revised 4th edition of Lola T70 owner/driver John Starkey’s excellent marque history, which also contains a complete chassis record of the cars, has been produced to mark the 50th anniversary of Lola Cars, originally founded by Eric Broadley back in the late ‘50s. Beautifully produced by Veloce – and happily without the annoying plugs for the publisher’s website and adverts for its other publications that clutter some of their other books – this is a fine record packed with photos, reproductions of spec sheets and cutaway drawings that will appeal equally to nostalgia buffs and current historic racers, with pictures of the cars undergoing restoration sure to be of particular interest to the latter. A former curator of the Donington racing car collection, the author has compiled a huge amount of information on the cars that Broadley, having sold his original Lola MkVI to the Ford Motor Company as the forerunner of the GT40, had really intended to build. Unlike the GT40 it proved to be no great endurance racer but, in the hands of John Surtees, the T70 won the 1966 CanAm series and was a major force in the Group 7 sportscar races of the time and later in shorter events such as the TT. After meticulous research including numerous interviews with other owners and drivers, the author has come up with a book which contains the history and specification, where known, of each individual Lola T70 chassis. Historic cars continually change hands, of course, but there are few more comprehensive records than this.
Review
Classic & Sports Car, August 2008
UK magazine
Circulation: 82,000
First published in 1993, John Starkey's 'Lola T70' has had a fourth revision for the marque's 50th birthday year. As a former owner, Starkey writes with authority on these brutish prototypes and this edition includes an updated chassis log of both coupes and spiders.
Review
Startline magazine, October 2008
UK magazine
The Lola T70 was the car that Eric Broadley wanted to build for Ford instead of the GT40. He thought the GT40 too conservative in specification for a state-of-the-art sports racing car so he split with the giant corporation to build the T70 under the aegis of his own company: Lola. Immediately successful, the T70 carried John Surtees to the Championship in the 1966 Can-Am series. The cars were also very successful in Group 7 races until the series ended in 1966, by which time the likes of Denny Hulme, David Hobbs, and Brian Redman had all driven T70s to victory. Under continuous development until the Mk Ill Coupe of 1969, the T70 was never a great endurance racer, but achieved major successes in shorter events such as the TT and Martini races. Today, the T70 is a leading force in historic racing. Over many years, John Starkey – T70 owner and ex-Curator of the famous Donington racing car collection – has compiled a huge amount of information on the cars, and interviewed many past and present owners and drivers about their experiences with the T70. Uniquely, this book contains the history and specification where known – of each individual T70 chassis. Here is the definitive development and racing history of the Lola T70.
Review from Track & Race Cars, September 2008
UK magazine
Ford Motor Company wanted to win Le Mans, with this in mind they became affiliated with Eric Broadley the founder of Lola. This was short lived as Broadley felt the GT40 was too conservative. The result was the Lola T70. With some good details on the T70, the book mainly focuses on the its racing success. Some of the original data sheets and paper work are put into the book, as well as photos of the car at its peak. The layout of the book is a bit all over the place, with pictures on the page the text often gets forced into an awkward position and it really disrupts the flow of reading. There is some good information about the car as it goes through the years and plenty of results with an appendix which contains most of the individual results compiled by the writer himself.
New Zealand Classic Car, October 2008
NZ magazine
The Lola T70, in Spyder and coupé form, remains a fabulous-looking car that featured on the racing stage for some years – though it had limited success at the very top level. Starkey has owned a T70, among other competition cars, and is a former curator of the Donington collections, so he knows his stuff. But this book is a mixed bag. First published in 1993, this is the fourth reprint but the only changes this time around are some updates to the record of all T70s. This comprises 34 pages and has some interesting material, but I notice the current owner of the ex-NZ Cambridge-sponsored car hasn't been included. The early development of the model is covered well: it is followed by a full and well-illustrated coverage of the T70s competition career from 1965-'70. It was often a winner in Denny Hulme's hands, but the numbers made meant that many drivers took the wheel of this model. Most were Chevrolet-powered, but the unsuccessful attempt to use Aston Martin motive power for Le Mans is also covered. The T160 series of CanAm cars get a chapter, as does the place of the T70 in historic racing. It's an interesting book, but I feel it would have benefited from more effort having gone into its presentation and updating. As it stands, this doesn't have the look or feel of a $150 book, compared with other titles at a similar price.
Review
Track & Race Cars, August 2008
UK magazine
Covering the every year of the F1 team Minardi, this book covers the history of the much loved back-markers. Known as the team occupying the back of F1 grids, Minardi once had potential in its earlier years. This book describes the bad luck and decisions that shaped Minardi to the team we know. This well-written account is a good humored read with some great pictures detailing things you might not have know, like Senna’s close relationship with the team ... Well worth a look. 4/5
Review from AutoXChange, 2008
www.autox.in
Indian website
Gian Carlo Minardi’s F1 team was known by a lot of names – ‘Bunch of no-hopers’, ‘The Other Italian Team’, ‘Everybody’s second-favorite team’, and ‘F1’s nursery’ come to mind immediately. It was the team that, seemingly by birthright, owned the last two spots on the F1 grid and was always the underdog. Under-funded and running under-developed cars, Minardi made its way into every F1 fan’s heart simply by its gutsy showing at every race. If Ferrari and McLaren were Goliaths, Minardi was almost David. The name is gone now, the team having been bought over by the insensitive Mr. Mateschitz of Red Bull who obviously doesn’t have a sense of history, unlike BMW – the Germans being sensitive enough to retain Peter Sauber’s surname for the Bavarian firms new team. 'Forza Minardi!', a book by Simon Vigar, gives you an insight into the goings-on at Minardi HQ, Faenza, through the years of struggle. Simon Vigar is a motorsport correspondent for LBC Radio in London. He’s been driven by Michael Schumacher in a F430 at Fiorano, taken on Nigel Mansell in a go-kart, and has a self-confessed soft spot for the erstwhile Italian minnows. 'Forza Minardi!' tells you the Minardi story as relayed by those on the inside – including the team management and drivers who raced for Minardi starting from 1985. You know, of course, that Minardi contested 21 seasons in F1 without once getting on the podium. But did you know that Gian Carlo Minardi once subjected the non-smoking Enzo Ferrari to an entire packet’s worth of cigarette smoke for three hours while trying to get Enzo to support his team’s bid for the junior Formula Italia championship? Or that he regrets not punching Ron Dennis at Mugello in 1978, because he had not realized that Dennis was insulting him and Italy since he did not speak English? Or for that matter, did you know that, in 1990, one Ayrton Senna of Brazil actually contemplated joining Minardi? 1985 started badly though, with Alfa Romeo backing out of an agreement (not contract) to supply engines at the last minute. Engines and engine supply was always a problem for Minardi throughout its life in F1, and, lets face it, that’s like going into a battle with one hand tied behind your back. For anybody who was or still is a Minardi fan, Forza Minardi is a damn good read and worthy of space on the bookshelf. One gets the feeling of being made privy to insider stuff, and the choice of images, thanks to various sources, makes the book a complete package. Simon takes you through the ownership changes, to Gabriele Rumi of Fondmetal first, and then, as Rumi fell ill, to Paul Stoddart, the feisty Australian aviation man.
Each year of Minardi’s existence is dealt with in a way that makes the reader discover more and more about Minardi as he or she reads on. All through, the text is replete with quotes that together make the reader go through various realisations like, ‘I didn’t know that!’, or ‘Oh, I see ...’, and ‘So that’s why!’ The bonus, of course, is getting an alternative look at F1 from the back of the grid!
Review
"When in doubt, have no doubt. Go to the source. In the case of the legendary Lola T70, that source is John Starkey. Indispensable for the true racing fan." – Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car
Synopsis
The Lola T70 has achieved the recognition it deserves. In its day, although powered by what was basically a “road car” engine, it could usually be counted upon to give a hard time to the opposition in short distance events, be they Ford or Ferrari mounted. That it could not survive most of the endurance races it was entered in was due either to the low octane fuel allowed in Europe or lack of development by a small factory that, in order to survive financially, had any number of projects running at the same time.
About the Author
John Starkey has owned many sports and racing cars including Lola T70, Ferrari 250GT, Porsche RSR, several Porsche 911 road cars (including RS 3.0 and 2.7 versions) and numerous Jaguar XK120s.