In 2011, Lola won both the American Le Mans Series championship with Dyson Racing and the European Le Mans Series LMP1 Championships and were the first placed petrol car in the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans. Dyson Racing has run Lolas for ten of the past twelve years, starting in 2002 with the Lola EX257.
The B12/66 LMP1 Coupe is a one-piece carbon composite monocoque. The body panels are of lightweight pre-preg carbon composite construction. The suspension is double wishbone with pushrod/rocker-activated coil spring/adjustable dampers. The six-speed sequential gearbox is lightweight cast magnesium and features a pneumatic/automated paddle-shift system.
The Dyson Racing entries run on Michelin tires in 2013 and are Mazda-powered with their 2.0 liter four-cylinder in-line turbocharged engines built by Advance Engine Research (AER). Dyson Racing was the first to run the bio-fuel Isobutanol in 2010, paving the way for others to look at the new power source. In 2012, the team introduced a new kinetic energy recovery system in their #16 Mazda-powered ModSpace/Thetford entry at Virginia International Raceway in September. The Flybrid Automotive developed KERS system is based on a high-speed, light-weight flywheel that is located in the car's bell housing and stores braking energy for later use under acceleration. The steel and carbon fiber energy storage flywheel weighs eleven pounds and can rotate up to 60,000 RPM inside an evacuated chamber to allow storage of up to 134 BHP for up to five seconds during each braking maneuver. Energy storage and release is automatically controlled by a computerized hydraulic system and released when the car accelerates back up to speed, boosting acceleration without burning additional fuel.
