2005 Lola B05/52 Monoposto

This Lola B05/52 A1 Grand Prix car was raced by the A1 Team Ireland franchise throughout the 2007-2008 A1GP season. It made its first appearance at the official Silverstone test in August 2007 where it was driven by series Test (and former Jordan Grand Prix) driver Ralph Firman, who also raced it in the first race of the season at Zandvoort where he finished eighth in the Sprint race and sixth in the Feature race.

After the inaugural race, driving duties passed to GP2 frontrunner and BAR-Honda F1 test driver Adam Carroll. At Brno, he finished third and sixth in the Sprint and Feature races respectively. Throughout the remainder of the season, the car earned a further seven top-six placings with the high point being the Mexico City round in which Carroll placed first in the Feature race, having already secured fourth in the Sprint race the previous day. The car earned two additional podium finishes with a third in the Shanghai Feature race and a third in the Sprint race at Brands Hatch. At the end of the season, the team was in sixth place in the championship.

The current owner acquired the car in 2020 and was subsequently given a comprehensive overhaul. The work included a complete rebuild of the engine and gearbox.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2021