The Lola B2K/40, the rising star in SR2 and LMP675

The Lola B2K/40 was developed for the 2000 season by Lola Cars International specifically for the SR2 and ACO LMP675 class. Winner of numerous class victories in both the United States and Europe, this prototype was a real success with private teams, and 15 examples were built. It was finally replaced in 2005 by the Lola B05/40 LMP2.

 

The more affordable version of the Lola LMP900s

In the purest LOLA tradition, the B2K/40 is above all a beautiful car. Under its beautiful carbon-fibre bodywork lies an aluminium honeycomb chassis, the design and build quality of which are faithful to the brand's tradition of success. This B2K/40 is a car built for high speeds, and the results will not be long in coming...

The engine is a 3.0-litre Nissan VQ V6 modified by Advanced Engine Research (AER), which will be uprated to 3.4 litres on some cars, as was the case with the HU05 chassis offered for sale. Some private teams subsequently used other engines. These included Lola B2K/40s with Mazda, Judd V8, Ford turbo and Porsche Flat 6 engines. The gearbox is the Lola Hewland 6-speed sequential gearbox, which was used on all the brand's prototypes from 1999 to 2005.

 

The Lola B2K/40 outclassed the competition in its very first year, both at Le Mans and in the Grand Am

The Lola B2K/40 made its competition debut during the 2000 season in the United States and Europe. Multimatic Motorsports won the LMP675 class at the 2000 Le Mans 24 Hours with a B2K/40, the first ever victory for a Canadian team in Le Mans.

At the same time, the Archangel team won the SR2 Grand-Am title. In 2001, it was towards this championship that most of the exemplars were heading. The Snow/Schumacher, Archangel, TRP, Northstar Racing, Porschehaus Racing and Multimatic Motorsports teams, not forgetting Rand Racing, entered B2K/40s. 

 

B2K/40-HU05: Class winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2001 and entry for the 24 Hours of Le Mans 

The B2K/40 that Ascott Collection is pleased to offer for sale was entered on both sides of the Atlantic by the Roock-Knighthawk team. A direct descendant of the Roock Motorsport team that made a name for itself in Europe in the early 1990s, the team is still run by Fabian Roock. This speedy Lola took two class wins in Texas and the 12 Hours of Sebring early in its career, although it did not finish the races.

Competing in the LMP675 class at Le Mans, the Lola was driven as at Sebring by Roock Racing regular driver Claudia Hürten. The crew was completed by Richard Fairbanks and Christopher Gleason from across the Atlantic. The Lola failed to reach the finish due to engine overheating.

The rest of its sporting career was spent exclusively in the USA, where it was entered in the ALMS by its original team, then by Archangel Motorsport Services in 2002 and the Ven Der Steur Racing Inc. team from 2004 until 2006. For the 2005 season, the naturally-aspirated Nissan AER engine was replaced by the 4-cylinder, 2-litre, single-turbo AER that powered many of the LMP2 cars of the period.

 

Back on track in Endurance Racing Legends and Masters Endurance Legends

Imported from the USA to the UK, it has been fully restored by John Danby Racing. The car was restored to its 2001 Le Mans 24 Hours configuration, with a 3.4-litre Nissan V6 engine and superb livery. It has since taken part in the Paul Ricard round of the 2019 Endurance Racing Legends (in its old livery) and then in two rounds of the Masters Endurance Legends.

It is therefore a ready-to-run car that is being offered for sale. It comes with a very interesting parts package consisting of a second engine and a second gearbox.

This LOLA B2K/40 in its 2021 Le Mans 24 Hours livery is eligible for a large number of historic races in Dubai GP Revival, the United States, Europe in Masters Endurance Legends and Endurance Racing Legends and of course Le Mans Classic.