MG-LOLA EX257
Reid only raced the lightweight Mg-lola twice – retiring at Le Mans in both 2001 and 2002 – but its capabilities earn it a place in his top three. The car ran in LMP675 (akin to a more competitive version of LMP2) and Reid believes it had the potential to take on the best of the LMP900S (LMP1), such as Audi’s legendary R8.
“That was possibly the best racing car I ever drove,” says the 58-year-old, who shared with Warren Hughes and Jonny Kane on both La Sarthe outings. “It was built by Lola and they made great racing cars, super handling cars.
“I think it had the speed to win Le Mans, with the way the [race organiser] ACO set out the rules. It wasn’t as powerful as the LMP900S, but it was lighter and could accelerate faster, and we were as quick through the corners.”
Sadly, the project became one of the victims of the fallout between MG and Lola in 2001-’02: “The money that should have been spent on the car seemed to get spent on the lawyers I think!
“In 2002 we had a fast car, but I knew it wouldn’t finish the race, so we agreed to cane the car’s arse. We got it up to third before it inevitably broke [gearbox failure], but we left with our heads held high.”