INTERSPORT PREPARING LOLA-AER FOR PETIT DEBUT

Photo by John Thawley With a new prototype in hand for Petit Le Mans and the Monterey Sports Car Championships, Intersport Racing is preparing its new AER-powered Lola for an initial test in two weeks at Road Atlanta. Clint Field, Jon Field and Richard Berry will pilot the No. 37 entry in the cornerstone event of the American Le Mans Series.

"We've had it for a couple of weeks," Clint Field said. "We pretty much know what to expect. We've been working with both Lola and AER for awhile. We'll test at the track Saturday and Sunday before the race."

The Lola isn't exactly new but it's new enough to Intersport. It was one of the prototypes fielded by Dyson Racing last year before the New York-based team moved to LMP2 with a pair of Porsche RS Spyders. Coincidentally Intersport's American Le Mans Series entry in 2005 and 2006 was an AER-powered Lola in LMP2 but Field said the two prototypes are worlds apart.

He did admit the team thought about installing a Judd engine similar to what powered Intersport's Creation CA06H for the first 10 rounds of the 2007 season. The package for 2008 remains up in the air and could largely be dependent on how the Lola-AER package does at Road Atlanta and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

"We want to give them both a shot to see which engine is better," Field said. "They both have really good products. It comes down to performance and reliability."

The next round of the American Le Mans Series is the 10th running of Petit Le Mans, the annual 1,000-mile/10-hour endurance classic at Road Atlanta. The start is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, October 6. SPEED will provide live coverage from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and again from 6:30 to 10 p.m. American Le Mans Radio and IMSA's Live Timing and Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com.