Eric Broadley MBE (b. 22 September 1928) is a British entrepreneur, engineer, and founder and former chief designer of Lola Cars, the motor racing manufacturer and engineering company. He is arguably one of the most influential automobile designers of the post-war period, and over the years Lola has had a hand in many high-profile projects in Formula One, Indycar, and sports car racing. Broadley sold Lola to Martin Birrane in 1999. Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... An entrepreneur (a loanword from French) is a person who undertakes and operates a new enterprise or venture and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks. ... Look up engineer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a racing car engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon, United Kingdom. ... Formula One - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The term IndyCar has multiple uses: Indycar (sometimes spelled Indy car) is a generic name used in the United States for a type of open wheel race car. ... GTP sports cars racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 1991 Sportscar racing is a form of circuit racing, with cars that have two seats and enclosed wheel wells. ... Martin Birrane is an Irish millionaire, and owner of Lola cars and the Mondello Park racetrack. ...

Early years

Eric Broadley trained as an architect in the late 1940s, and after completing his studies took a job as a quantity surveyor. In his spare time Broadley was heavily involved in motor racing with the 750 Motor Club. In common with the majority of other competitors - including Colin Chapman, Frank Costin and Brian Hart - he built his own cars around Austin 7 chassis, using home-made and proprietry parts. His first car, the Broadley Special, was built to comply with rules governing the "Ford Ten Special" class, using a 1172cc side valve engine, originally introduced for the pre-war Ford Model C. A quantity surveyor is a professional person associated with the construction industry. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Colin Chapman Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman (born 9 May 1928 in London - died 16 December 1982) was an influential designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry. ... Frank Costin pioneered monocoque chassis design. ... Brian Hart (aka B.E. Hart, thelemurgod) is a prolific, multiple media artist best known for his webcomic Disassemblance, and his industrial music produced under the monkier, lemur. ... The Austin 7 was a vintage car produced from 1922 through 1939 in the United Kingdom. ... The cam-in-block valvetrain layouts are ones in which the camshaft is placed within the cylinder block, usually beside and slightly above the crankshaft in a straight engine or directly above the crankshaft in the V of a V engine. ... The Ford Model C Ten was a car from Ford built in the United Kingdom between 1934 and 1937. ...

The Broadley Special was an instant success, winning a number of local and national events in the UK. On the back of this record Broadley immediately began to design a chassis to accept a more powerful Coventry Climax engine. This car, with its up-to-the-minute space frame chassis, was to be come the Lola Mk1; named after the lyrics of a song from the contemporary musical Damn Yankees: "whatever Lola wants, Lola gets". Although, as Broadley freely admits, the Mk1 was too powerful for his level of driving skill[1], in 1958 he became the first man ever to lap the Brands Hatch Indy circuit in under one minute. This level of sucess soon attracted the interest of other motor racing privateers, and Broadley and his cousin were prevailed upon to build three further copies of the Mk1 chassis. Lola Cars had been born. Coventry Climax was a British specialty engine manufacturer. ... Simplified space frame roof with the nearest unit polygon hightlighted in blue A space frame is a truss-like, lightweight rigid structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. ... Damn Yankees is a musical comedy, a modern retelling of the Faust legend set in Washington, D.C., with book by Douglass Wallop and George Abbott and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. ... Brands Hatch is a British motor racing circuit. ... In motorsport, privateer is a general term used to describe any entrants into a racing event that are not factory-backed by an automobile manufacturer. ... Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a racing car engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon, United Kingdom. ...

Setting up shop in West Byfleet using £2000 of his own savings, Broadley's Lola company produced over thirty more of the Mk1 sports car chassis, with ever improving results on the track. Despite its limited experience, in 1960 Lola produced its first single-seat open-wheeled model: the Lola Mk2, for the Formula Junior category. Performance was promising rather than electric, but Broadley quickly followed up with the mid-engined Lola Mk3. As with the Mk2, the Mk3 showed some promise, but consistently finished behind contemporary Lotus and Cooper models. Modern Formula One Renault 1993 Indy Car Open wheel car is a term for cars, usually purpose built racecars, with the wheels located outside the cars main body, as distinct from cars which have their wheels below the body or fenders, in the manner of most street cars, stock... Formula Junior is a racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (Controller of International Motorsport, now FIA). ... In Automobile design, an MR or Mid-engine, Rear wheel drive layout drives the rear wheels with an engine placed just in front of them, behind the passenger compartment. ... Lotus Logo with initials of its founder, Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at Hethel, Norfolk, England. ... Jack Brabhams 1961 Cooper-Climax, the car that began the rear-engine revolution at the Indianapolis 500 The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1947 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. ...

Formula One and international fame

On the back of his initial success, in 1961 Eric Broadley was approached by Reg Parnell to design and build a Formula One chassis for his Bowmaker-Yeoman Racing Team. The Lola Mk4 was driven to pole position in its first ever race, the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix, by future World Champion John Surtees. However the car failed to finish, and performed only adequately for the remainder of the 1962 Formula One season. However, Broadley and his team at Lola had made their mark. Reg Parnell was a Formula One driver from Britain. ... Formula One - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Results from the 1962 Formula One Dutch Grand Prix held at Netherlands on May 20, 1962 Classification Notes Fastest Lap: Bruce McLaren 134. ... John Surtees (Ferrari) at the British Grand Prix 1964 John Surtees MBE (born February 11, 1934) is an English World Champion motorcycle racer and race car driver. ... Season Summary Season Review 1962 Constructors Championship final standings 1962 Drivers Championship final standings Categories: Formula One seasons ...

External links

• Brief biography at grandprix.com
• History of Lola at lolaheritage.com