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The T163 testing at Silverstone.
The back of the T163, the rear wing stays mounting on to the rear suspension can be seen.
The rear of the Penske "lightweight" chassis. (Copyright unknown)
The Penske T163 of Mark Donohue at Mid Ohio in 1969. (Copyright unknown)
The T163s of Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons lead the the McLaren of George Eaton, the Chaparral of John Surtees and the Porsche of Jo Siffert at Mid Ohio in 1969. (Copyright unknown)
The 1972 Times GP at Riverside, Ron Grable's T163. (From the Collections of The Henry Ford)
THE LOLA T163
All pictures copyright Lola Heritage unless otherwise stated.
The T163 testing at Silverstone.
The T163 was the third design in the T160 family and, in what was becoming a regular pattern with Lola, it wasn't delivered to customers until the third round of the 1969 Can-Am series immediately putting everybody on the back foot. It was tested with a high rear wing but many of the teams (see pictures below) opted for large air dams on the rear of the bodywork. The body was similar to that used on the T162 and some changes were made to the suspension etc.
The chassis supplied to Penske for Mark Donohue (SL 176/13) was, at the request of Roger Penske and against Eric Broadley’s advice, a “lightweight” version. It was skinned in 20-gauge aluminium instead of the usual 16 or 18 gauge and other lightweight materials were also employed. In spite of additional bracing being applied to the tub it flexed badly and in testing and it’s only Can-Am race it regularly broke its driveshafts, in Donohue’s opinion a result of the flexing.
It proved a competitive proposition, provided you ignored the usual works McLaren domination and Chuck Parsons in particular had some good runs with two thirds the highlights and he finished the year in 3rd in the Championship behind Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme. The design proved popular with customers, scoring numerous top ten finishes and being surprisingly long-lived still racing in the 1974 Championship.
N.B. The last two races of the 1969 Can-Am season saw Carl Haas enter a "T163B" for Chuck Parsons, this was in fact the one-off T164.
Year(s) of Construction: 1970
Total Built: 3
The helmet design suggests the driver is Richard Attwood.
T163 RESULTS
1969 Canadian-American Challenge Cup
| DATE | RACE/VENUE | ENTRANT | DRIVER | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13th July | Round 3 - Six-Hours and The Glen Can-Am "200", Watkins Glen Grand Prix Course | Carl A. Haas Racing Team Jefferies-Robbins Racing Team | Chuck Parsons Ronnie Bucknum | 5th DNF |
| 27th July | Round 4 - Klondike 200, Edmonton, Speedway Park | Carl A. Haas Racing Team | Chuck Parsons | DNF |
| 17th August | Round 5 - Buckeye Can-Am, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington | Robbins-Jefferies Racing Team Wilson Racing Carl A. Haas Racing Team Roger S.Penske | Peter Revson Gary Wilson Chuck Parsons Mark Donohue | 7th 10thDNF DNF |
| 31st August | Round 6 - Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | Carl A. Haas Racing Team Robbins-Jefferies Racing Team Wilson Racing | Chuck Parsons Peter Revson Gary Wilson | 3rd 4th DNF |
| 14th September | Round 7 - Inver House Can-Am, Bridgehapmton Race Circuit | Carl A. Haas Racing Team Robbins-Jefferies Racing Team | Chuck Parsons Peter Revson | 7th DNF |
| 28th September | Round 8 - Michigan International Can-Am, Michigan International Speedway | Carl A. Haas Racing Team Wilson Racing Robbins-Jefferies Racing Team | Chuck Parsons Gary Wilson Peter Revson | 6th DNF DNF |
| 12th October | Round 9 - Monterey-Castrol GP, Laguna Seca Raceway | Carl A. Haas Racing Team Robbins-Jefferies Racing Team Wilson Racing | Chuck Parsons Peter Revson Gary Wilson | 3rd DNF DNF |
| 26th October | Round 10 - 12th Annual Los Angeles Times Grand Prix, Riverside International Raceway | Robbins-Jefferies Racing Team Wilson Racing | Peter Revson Gary Wilson | 5th 6th |
| 9th November | Round 11 - Texas International Can-Am Round-Up, Texas International Speedway | Wilson Racing Robbins-Jefferies Racing Team | Gary Wilson Peter Revson | 12th DNF |
The back of the T163, the rear wing stays mounting on to the rear suspension can be seen.
1970 Canadian-American Challenge Cup
| DATE | RACE/VENUE | ENTRANT | DRIVER | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14th June | Round 1 - Labatt's Blue Trophy, Mosport Park | David F. Causey Racing Associates Inc. M. Brooke Doran Wilson Racing Eno de Pasquale | Dave Causey Dick Durant Brooke Doran Gary Wilson Eno de Pasquale | 7th 8th 9th 12th DNF |
| 28th June | Round 2 - Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant, St. Jovite | Wilson Racing David F. Causey | Chuck Parsons Dave Causey | 8th 9th |
| 13th July | Round 3 - Six-Hours and The Glen Can-Am, Watkins Glen Grand Prix Course | David F. Causey Wilson Racing EDP Engineering, Inc. M. B. Doran | Dave Causey Gary Wilson Eno de Pasquale Brooke Doran | 13th 15th 21st DNF |
| 26th July | Round 4 - Klondike 200 Can-Am For The Molson Gold Brick, Edmonton International Speedway | David F. Causey Wilson Racing | Dave Causey Gary Wilson | 5th 6th |
| 23rd August | Round 5 - Buckeye Can-Am, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington | Wilson Racing Racing Associates Inc. David F. Causey | Gary Wilson Dick Durant Dave Causey | 5th 7th DNF |
| 30th August | Round 6 - Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | David F. Causey Wilson Racing Racing Associates Inc. | Dave Causey Gary Wilson Dick Durant | 3rd 4th 9th |
| 13th September | Round 7 - Road Atlanta Can-Am, Road Atlanta Circuit | David F. Causey Racing Associates Inc. Eno de Pasquale Wilson Racing | Dave Causey Dick Durant Eno de Pasquale Gary Wilson | 2nd 8th DNF DNF |
| 27th September | Round 8 - Can-Am Minneapolis Tribune, Donnybrooke | David F. Causey Racing Associates Inc. Eno de Pasquale Wilson Racing | Dave Causey Dick Durant Bob Brown Gary Wilson | 8th DNF DNF DNF |
| 18th October | Round 9 - Monterey Castrol Grand Prix, Laguna Seca Raceway | David F. Causey Wilson Racing Racing Associates Inc. | Dave Causey Gary Wilson Dick Durant | 8th 9th 15th |
| 1st November | Round 10 - 13th Annual Los Angeles Times Grand Prix, Riverside International Raceway | David F. Causey Wilson Racing | Dave Causey Gary Wilson | 8th DNS |
1970 Other significant race results
| DATE | RACE/VENUE | ENTRANT | DRIVER | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4th October | SCCA National Races, Non-spectator Event, Indianapolis Raceway Park | Steve Weaver | 1st |
The rear of the Penske "lightweight" chassis. (Copyright unknown)
1971 Canadian-American Challenge Cup
| DATE | RACE/VENUE | ENTRANT | DRIVER | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13th June | Round 1 - Labatt's Blue Trophy, Mosport Park | Racing Associates Inc. | Dick Durant | DNF |
| 27th June | Round 2 - Labatt Can-Am, Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant, St. Jovite | Racing Associates Inc. | Dick Durant | 10th |
| 11th July | Round 3 - Road Atlanta, Atlanta Circuit Georgia, Gainesville | Racing Associates Inc. | Dick Durant | 6th |
| 22nd August | Round 5 - Valvoline - Can-Am, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington | Jim Butcher Racing Associates Inc. | Jim Butcher Dick Durant | 10th 12th |
| 30th August | Round 6 - Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | Jim Butcher Racing Associates Inc. | Jim Butcher Dick Durant | 11th DNS |
| 12th September | Round 7 - Minneapolis Tribune Can-Am, Donnybrooke, Brainerd | Racing Associates Inc. | Jim Butcher | DNF |
| 26th September | Round 8 - Molson Can-Am, Edmonton | Racing Associates Inc. W. R. Cupp | Jim Butcher Bill Cupp | 14th DNF |
| 17th October | Round 9 - Monterey Castrol Grand Prix (Can-Am Race), Laguna Seca Raceway | Tool Crib Inc. | Bill Cupp | DNF |
| 31st October | Round 10 - 14th Annual Los Angeles Times Grand Prix, Riverside International Raceway | William R. Cupp Jim Butcher | Bill Cupp Jim Butcher | DNF DNF |
The Penske T163 of Mark Donohue at Mid Ohio in 1969. (Copyright unknown)
1972 Canadian-American Challenge Cup
| DATE | RACE/VENUE | ENTRANT | DRIVER | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11th June | Round 1 - Labatt's Blue Trophy, Mosport Park | Jim Butcher Racing Racing Associates Inc. William Overhauser Racing Ltd. | Jim Butcher Dick Durant John Cordts | 12th 14th DNF |
| 23rd June | Round 4 - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington | Jim Butcher Racing Racing Associates Inc. | Jim Butcher Dick Durant | 15th DNF |
| 27th August | Round 5 - Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | Racing Associates Inc. Jim Butcher Racing | Dick Durant Jim Butcher | DNF DNF |
| 17th September | Round 6 - Donnybrooke, Brainerd | Jim Butcher Racing | Jim Butcher | DNF |
| 1st October | Round 7 - Can-Am Challenge Race for the Molson Cup, Edmonton International Speedway | Jim Butcher Racing | Jim Butcher | 14th |
| 15th October | Round 8 - Monterey Castrol GTX Grand Prix, Laguna Seca Raceway | Ron Grable | Ron Grable | DNF |
| 29th October | Round 9 - 15th Annual Los Angeles Times Grand Prix, Riverside International Raceway | Wm. Overhauser Racing | Ron Grable | DNF |
The T163s of Mark Donohue and Chuck Parsons lead the the McLaren of George Eaton, the Chaparral of John Surtees and the Porsche of Jo Siffert at Mid Ohio in 1969. (Copyright unknown)
1973 Canadian-American Challenge Cup
| DATE | RACE/VENUE | ENTRANT | DRIVER | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th June | Round 1 - Labatt's Blue Trophy, Mosport Park | R. D. Klempel | Dick Durant Bob Klempel | 17th DNS |
| 14th October | Round 7 - Monterey Castrol Grand Prix, Laguna Seca Raceway | Charles P. Semple | Tony Settember | DNF |
| 28th October | Round 8 - 16th Annual Los Angeles Times Grand Prix, Riverside International Raceway | Charles P. Semple | Bob Klempel | DNF |
1974 Canadian-American Challenge Cup
| DATE | RACE/VENUE | ENTRANT | DRIVER | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16th June | Round 1 - Labatt's Blue Can-Am Weekend (Mosport 200), Mosport | R. D. Klempel | Bob Klempel | 13th |
| 7th July | Round 2 - WQXI Can-Am, Road Atlanta | William Morrow Bob Klempel | Bill Morrow Bob Klempel | 10th 15th |
| 25th August | Round 5 - Road America, Elkhart Lake | R. D. Klempel William H. Morrow | Bob Klempel Bill Morrow | 12th DNS |
The 1972 Times GP at Riverside, Ron Grable's T163. (From the Collections of The Henry Ford)