1985 Corvette GTP
This is the first of the Corvette badged Lola GTP cars delivered. Although it is chassis number 711 HU2, it was delivered to Lee Racing in time for the Sunbank 24 at Daytona in 1985. Chassis HU1 would be delivered to Hendrick racing for Sebring that same year. Unlike Hendrick, Lee Racing was a small, fully independent team with limited resources. Their ability to run in the top 10 in a very competitive field is quite impressive. They ran 10 races in 1985 with a best finish of 9th in Miami. For 86 the car ran Daytona and Sebring and then it was retired from professional competition. Afte being sold to various Corvette enthusiasts, Dave Force acquired the car and convinced HSR president Joe Pendergast to allow GTP cars into historic racing. Dave enjoyed several seasons of HSR before selling HU2 to Aussie Paul Stubber. Paul sent the car to Damax in the UK for a complete rebuild. A completely new aluminum small block with full Motec management and data acquisition was installed. The chassis was reinforced at the rear. The gearbox was completely rebuilt, Full new wiring loom, instrumentation, fuel cell, AN hoses and fittings. Wheels were enlarged to 18", new paint, windows and windscreen. A new splitter and diveplanes were made along with louveres for the fron arches.
The car was then used for Spa, Lemans and Silverstone Classics in 2014. From there it sat dormant until being run at a few events recently in Australia. It was then sold to Florida where it was thoroughly gone through at Alex Job Restorations and the engine was rebuilt at RB Engineering (who built the engines for Dave Force). In August 2024, the car competed without issues at the Rolex Reunion at Monterey 50th anniversary. It is currently the only running example of the 7 Lola Corvette chassis that were constructed.
POA