Lola's first appearance at the Indianapolis 500 had been in 1965 when Al Unser and Bud Tingelstad raced a pair of T80s, sadly a number of problems largely stemming from late completion that prevented sufficient testing meant they were also-rans. Both drivers complained particularly of a handling problem that caused the car to "heave" as it entered a corner, this was later discovered to be caused by a flaw in the suspension geometry. Despite this, and a number of other teething troubles, Unser finished ninth and Tingelstad ran as high as fifth until a broken casting (not Lola-made) caused a rear wheel to fall off.

For 1966 Lola would return with a new car, the T90, that incorporated all that Eric Broadley had learnt from the previous year's difficult debut.

Lola mechanics prepare the Ford V8 T90 prior to flying it to America. Note the fuel cells and fillers have not yet been fitted. (The Lola Archive)

The rear view of the T90, the asymmetric suspension is evident as is the "nerf" bar and the slave battery plug on the back of the gearbox. (The Lola Archive)

The T90 consisted of a aluminium monocoque constructed from the 16-guage aluminium that the Indy regulations stipulated. Sheet steel diaphragms were fitted at the front and the rear of the tub with additional internal stiffness coming from four braces housed within the pontoons that would take the Firestone-designed fuel cells whilst externally a sloping scuttle in front of the instrument panel gave additional rigidity.

Tubular steel subframes were attached to both the front and rear of the chassis, the front subframe carrying the oil tank, radiator and the forward mountings for the lower wishbone. At the rear there were two subframes above and below the two-speed Hewland gearbox, the upper one carrying the attachment point for the single top link and the top spring/damper mounting. The lower subframe had the mounting points for the lower wishbones.

The T90 was designed to accept either the 2.8-litre, 4-cylinder Offenhauser engine or the 4.2-litre 4-cam Ford V8. The Offy, built by Meyer-Drake in California was fitted with Hilborn fuel injection and a Paxton Roots-type supercharger and gave some 520 bhp, the Ford, whilst slightly less powerful, was a more known quantity having won the 1965 race in Jim Clark's Lotus 38.

Graham Hill proudly sits in his winning T90 on the Indianapolis main straight. Hill's car was fitted with the 4.2 litre Ford 4-cam V8. (The Lola Archive)

A smiling Roger Ward poses alongside the Indianapolis grandstands. Ward's car is powered by the 2.8 litre supercharged Offenhauser engine. (The Lola Archive)

A cutaway of the Lola T90 with the Ford V8 engine. (The Lola Archive)

The complex anti-surge fuel system of the T90. (The Lola Archive)

Learning the lesson from 1965 Lola made sure the T90 was ready in plenty of time for the 1966 Indy 500 and the John Mecom Racing Team-entered car made it's debut at the March season opener, held at the Phoenix International Raceway. Success was immediate with Roger Ward finishing second in his Offenhauser-powered T90 and a month later Ward took the winner's laurels at Trenton's 1-mile paved oval when he won a rain-shortened race ahead of Gordon Johncock.

Come the month of May and there were three T90s, all entered by John Mecom's Houston-based team, ready to run at Indy qualifying, Roger Ward in his successful Offenhauser-engined car and Rookies Jackie Stewart and Graham Hill who were both Ford-powered. There was nothing much between the cars at the end of qualifying, Stewart was 11th fastest at a speed of 159.972 mph, Ward 13th at 159.46 mph and Hill 15th at 159.243 mph. Graham Hill replaced the original driver Walt Hansgen who was tragically killed driving a 7-litre Ford GT during the Le Mans Test Days.

The bare tub of the T90, one of the rear subframes can be seen. (The Lola Archive)

The T90 chassis built to take the supercharged Offenhauser engine. (The Lola Archive)