Lola unveils new simulator as transformation into standalone FE continues

Lola's Formula E team has continued its transition to a standalone entity with the addition of a new simulator to its Silverstone base. 

From next season the revived British marque will split from Abt, with which it has been partnered for its first two Formula E seasons, to bring its team in-house. As part of that transition, Lola has adopted a new simulator to aid in the development of its upcoming GEN4 platform. 

The simulator in question is the Delta T1 Sport simulator from Ansible Motion, with Lola being the first top-level organization to adopt the new high-fidelity compact setup.

“We are delighted that Lola will be the first user of the pioneering Delta T1 Sport simulator, which will efficiently connect to our existing workflows, enabling us to accelerate our engineering processes and improve development as we strive to drive innovation through motorsport,” said Till Bechtolsheimer, chairman of Lola Cars. “Ansible Motion is an ideal partner for Lola with a shared ambition to push boundaries and shape future technologies.”

Peter McCool, technical director of Lola Cars, added that the simulator will aid future Lola projects, not just Formula E, and will be able to help clients in conjunction with the simulator’s manufacturer.

“We do not underestimate the impact this technology will have on our car development, software validation and race preparation, for both Formula E and future projects,” he said. “As part of our relationship with Ansible Motion, we will also be able to offer this technology to our customers and clients, giving them the opportunity to experience first-hand the benefits of Driver-in-the-Loop simulation.”

Simulators, particularly driver-in-loop simulators, are not new to motorsport, but they are costly and take up a lot of space. What Lola will have is something that Ansible Motion’s managing director Dan Clark believes will open doors for other teams to access simulator technology where they otherwise might not have been able to.

“This new class of simulator will unlock fresh opportunities for teams to efficiently pursue and extract vehicle performance gains by leveraging a streamlined, optimized approach” he said. “Our customers will benefit from best-in-class, combined solutions in terms of technical integration, technical support and value, with the freedom to distinctively configure aspects of their DIL simulation environment that ultimately lead to competitive advantages.

“This is just the beginning of Ansible Motion’s collaboration with Lola, which will go on to leverage emerging technologies at the cutting edge of motorsport and engineering services.”