John Surtees' 1966 Can-Am winning Lola T70s ...
At the recent Monterey Motorsports Reunion, the front row of the first ever Can-Am race was imitated in the paddock with the very cars. It featured John Surtees' Chevrolet powered Lola T70 (right) on pole and Dan Gurney's Ford engined T70 (left) in second place. Surtees would go on to win the race on his way to the championship title. In the latter part of the season he used a different chassis to win two more races. This second car is in Europe and was out at the Goodwood Revival where John Surtees' fabulous career was celebrated.
The cars used by Surtees to win the 1966 Canadian-American Challenge Cup were the second generation T70. Compared to the original launched in 1965, the 'Mk2s' were considerably lighter thanks to the increased use of aluminium for the chassis. The Lola prototypes dominated the 1966 season on both sides of the Atlantic in the sprint events. In the Can-Am Cup, the Mk2 T70 won five of the six races with Surtees taking three, Donohue one in his Penske entered example and Gurney scored Ford's only Can-Am with his Ford powered car. For 1967 a new version was developed but it was not much to Surtees' liking and was outpaced by the new McLaren M6; a sign of things to come in Can-Am. 'Il Grande John' reverted back to his championship winning T70 halfway through the season and added another victory to its tally.
Both cars used by Surtees in the historic 1966 season are pictured in great detail in our 24-shot gallery with images from both the Monterey Motorsports Reunion and the most recent Goodwood Revivals.
Enjoy the links:
[url="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/4151/Lola-T70-Mk2-Spyder-Chevrolet.html"]1965 - 1966 Lola T70 Mk2 Spyder Chevrolet - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]
[url="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/3514/Lola-T70-Mk2-Spyder-Ford.html"]1965 - 1966 Lola T70 Mk2 Spyder Ford - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]
