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ALMS: AutoCon Upgrades to ex-Chamberlain LMP1 Lola
Written by: Marshall Pruett   
09/12/2008
Charlotte, NC
 
Chamberlain's familiar yellow will be replaced with AutoCon's, well, we don't exactly know how to describe their colors... (Photo: Marshall Pruett) » More Photos


The popular privateer AutoCon Motorsports American Le Mans team has made a switch from their familiar Creation-CA06/Judd for the ex-Chamberlain-Synergy Lola B06/10 in a bid for greater competitiveness and increased manufacturer support. AutoCon will debut the car at Petit Le Mans and use the retain its twin-turbo AER V8 power through the end of the season. Their choice of power for 2009 is still being evaluated. The team heads into Petit Le Mans with regulars Bryan Willman, Chris McMurry, and Tony Burgess scheduled to pilot the Lola in AutoCon's distinctly-colored livery.

The team made use of the Creation after graduating from a Lola-EX257, so the return to the marque was made with a full understanding of the resources and expertise available. "Our Creation gets retired immediately," said AutoCon owner/driver Michael Lewis. "We were happy to work with Creation, and we wish them luck in their core effort in the LMS."

Lewis' team has served as the sole
Creation entrant in the ALMS, and has suffered a lack of engineering support and readily available spare parts. Lewis is looking forward to fielding their new mount.
Willman, McMurry, and Burgess will drive at Petit Le Mans. Nigel Mansell had hoped to find funding to run with his sons in the Chamberlain car at Petit before it was sold to AutoCon. (Photo: Marshall Pruett) » More Photos

"The Chamberlain car is maintained beautifully and may be the most developed Lola B06 or B07 on the planet. They’ve done a ton of development work and we’re happy to work with them. We intend to maintain a very tight relationship with Chamberlain-Synergy on both an engineering level as well as possible collaborative efforts in other areas."

AutoCon will continue on Dunlop rubber -- the same used by Chamberlain at Le Mans and in the LMS. Lewis expects the team to make the most of their return to the Lola platform.

"We had nothing but positive experiences with the Lola we bought from Dyson -- it was really easy to use and incredibly reliable. We went with the Chamberlain car because it's proven, it's fast, and that's just what we need."
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