SCCA Jack Pine Sprints Event Feature
Hey everyone! I have to start off by saying thank you for what a great year this has been. I have enjoyed being the official photographer for Land O' Lakes Region SCCA-racing.com this year, meeting so many of you and covering the events this year. Recently I have looked to feature cars from each event and find an opportunity to meet with the driver and crew. I like to not only talk about the car in its current build, but also its history, the driver’s history with it, and their passion in the car community. When I saw this Lola on Saturday, I knew this was a car I had to feature.
Meet Peter Jankoviskis, a member of SCCA Inc. from Illinois and his Lola T70 Mark III D Replica. Peter has been a lifelong fan of vintage racing, specifically of Mark Donohue. This project first came to life in 2006, when he met with the team at Race Car Replicas of Detroit to design and start this build. Race Car Replicas not only builds Lola’s such as this, but they also build Ferrari P3’s, Porsche 917’s, and various platforms of the Ford-GT. In addition, they build and service various other chassis of vintage racing.
Peter’s vision for an overall theme was to match Mark Donohue’s monocoque chassis used in the 1969 24 Hours of Daytona race livery. Three years later, the Lola was ready to start its journey on various tracks around the country. However, that was only the beginning for this build. Being a specialized build, and something Peter wanted to enjoy on the track, is where his relationship with Elite Autosport Inc. (Official) came into play. Ryan and his team with Elite Autosport Inc. (Official) typically work on various Spec Racers but were glad to take on this special ASR class build. During this time, they have swapped engines, researched and designed components to better aid with cooling and reliability, and tackled other challenges with great precision.
Originally, this car started out as a 383 stroker, however now is a 400ci Chevy small block. With a rev limit of up to 7,000 RPM, the Lola has around 550 hp with 550 lb-ft of torque. Peter tells me the wide torque band is what really makes this car fun, with over 450 lb-ft of torque available at 3,500 RPM to the redline. For the transmission, it features a four-speed transaxle out of a Porsche 930 that was built, turned 180 degrees relative to the Porsche, and mounted upside down to better put the power to the wheels. Relative to the Porsche, flipping the transmission upside down and turning it 180 degrees, the forward drive that would be that in the Porsche is now the forward drive for the Lola.
Fuel storage is managed by two 11 gallon tanks, one on each side. Comparative to the original, 30+ gallon tank that would’ve been in the Lola, these are safer and easier to manage. Additionally, Ryan has fabricated custom parts unique to the narrow space between the engine and firewall, a dry-sump system, transmission cooler, Penske Racing Shocks dual adjustable shocks, and Wilwood Disc Brakes (custom engineered by Wilwood to fit this car). The headers and exhaust are part of the replica kit; however, wrapping was applied by Ryan to better manage the heat.
As it sits, the car is 2,300 pounds of pure fun and heritage. Peter has taken this to many events, where it always draws a crowd. He tells me everyone is always excited to see the Lola, and of course sit in the cockpit if the ability arises. He went on further to say some people have been so excited to experience the Lola and what car culture has to offer, they have joined SCCA because of it.
Thank you, Peter, Ryan, and the rest of the crew, at Elite Autosport Inc. (Official) for taking the time Sunday to talk with me about this featuring the Lola. You guys all share the passion of car culture, and have shown this in the build quality. Excellent, excellent work. Looking forward to seeing you guys at future events!
As far as the rest of the content from Jack Pine Sprints races with Land O' Lakes Region SCCA-racing.com at Brainerd International Raceway, it will be available in a couple of weeks. Full-res downloads and prints will be on my website linked below.
https://digitaldisplacement.mypixieset.com/
Thanks again, hope you enjoyed the read!
Shane
