1971 Lola T212 FVC

Lola T212 HU22 has been a fixture in the Wigan workshops of TPC300 Racing for 10 years. TPC boss Phil Clark fielded the car under the Isla Racing banner for Neil Primrose, the drummer with Glaswegian rock band Travis, and then ran it for two more owners before it was sold earlier this year to Gary Furst.

The car required a major rear-end rebuild around its period chassis after Primrose’s purchase in 2008.

“It was obvious that the car had taken a knock on the right rear, which had twisted the engine frame and the roll hoop,” explains Clark. “We put in a new rear bulkhead and engine frame, while undertaking the normal recommissioning.”

Initially painted yellow in deference to its owner’s name, this T212 was subsequently re-liveried in Helmut Marko colours after Clark began researching its history. It is certain that it was raced by the Austrian for Karl von Wendt’s BG squad in the early part of 1971, although he did subsequently switch to the team’s sister chassis.

The car is known to have travelled to Africa for the Springbok series at the end of the year, and was used by Team Gunston, in whose orange colour scheme it has most recently competed in the hands of previous owner Frank Jacob. It was then sold for use in the Greek hillclimb championship.

“The history is a bit hazy, like so many of these cars,” says Clark. “But one thing we can say is that it was one of the chassis raced by Marko to win the championship in 1971.”

TPC300 Racing, Wigan, Greater Manchester
Tel: 07776 133751, tpc300racing.com