Lola takes on Formula E entry from ABT

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Lola takes on Formula E entry from ABT

Lola has taken over the Formula E entrants' licence from ABT, as team owner Till Bechtolsheimer doubles down on the electric world championship.

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Bechtolsheimer, the owner of Lola Cars, cited the technical roadmap for Formula E from GEN3 to Evo to GEN4, as well as the championship's new majority owners Liberty Global were catalysts for the decision.

"The first and most important step for Lola was establishing the partnership with ABT as an operator" to get things up and running for the GEN3 Evo era, which got underway proper this week at testing in Madrid.

In conversation with The Race, Bechtolsheimer added that "it was a little bit of an open question in terms of what exactly the kind of deal structure and financial arrangement would look like off the back of that, and we've now finalised that as well.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about one of two newly-branded teams on the grid, Lola Yamaha ABT

“Team ownership in Formula E was never something I was aspiring towards, or necessarily the be-all and end-all for Lola," continued the former racer, and chairman of Lola Cars.

"It was more our role as a manufacturer that was important to us. But we were always open to it, and it depended on what was the most efficient pathway in.

“I think what has definitely been certain is that this is the most efficient pathway for us. We [Lola] own the asset now and I’m really happy with where we are at."

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'Formula E's trajectory is exciting'

“My view on Formula E has evolved, and I do think there are certainly some interesting ingredients in place now that make the teams look more attractive.

“Liberty's recent involvement [in becoming the majority owner of Formula E] is exciting for Formula E, and it's quite necessary for Formula E to have a backer like that.

“The technical trajectory that Formula E is on is exciting. The all-wheel drive element is a nice step, but I think really as we get into GEN4, it's going to get super exciting. 

ABT will continue to run the team operationally.


Lola acquires majority stake in software specialists

Lola has also acquired a majority stake in German-based motorsport and automotive software company PACETEQ, as the outfit looks to accelerate its development following its leap into Formula E.

PACETEQ's co-founder and CEO, Alexander Bodo, has previously held key technical roles at Mercedes-EQ and NEOM McLaren.

“Software is such an important part of motorsport and automotive - everything, really, going forward," added Bechtolsheimer in his interview with The Race.

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"When we started out rebuilding the technical capabilities of Lola, the question was 'how do we approach the software side? Do we build out an in-house software department, or do we look to essentially partner with an established group?'

“I think the culture of software developers is quite different - how you manage them, how you get the most out of software developers and how to build a team is very different to traditional motorsport or traditional automotive.

“That is why I think you see a lot of the big OEMs struggle with software departments, and you've seen some much larger transactions in the automotive world, where big companies are trying to get exposure to that.

“In our mini way, we've done something similar, partnered with PACETEQ. It's an arm's length partnership where it's board-level involvement, not day-to-day operational involvement, in terms of what Lola has in PACETEQ's business, but PACETEQ are very much integrated into the software development, the on-car software development of this particular project, and others as well.”


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