JULY 29, 1996

Lola to form its on engine company?

THE current trend towards teams building their own engines - or at least considering it - continues. Tom Walkinshaw's TWR has already designed its own V10 engine and there have been rumors in recent weeks that Sauber might do the same through its Sauber Engineering offshoot.

We now hear whispers that Lola is going down the same route, having got fed up with trying to find a sensibly-priced F1 engine supply. Such a program would need considerable backing and long lead times but as it now seems certain that Lola will again decide not to enter F1 in 1997, and will start work on a program for 1998.

Lola is still talking to potential sponsors about 1997 but time is running out and a definitive decision will be needed within weeks. We hear that Lola's engine plans would probably be financed by badging the engine for a manufacturer or a company which might be interested in using F1 to promote its engineering skills, such as the Reynolds Metals Co of Richmond, Virginia.