<< Prev Page 2 of 2 Encouraged by the great result in 1976, De Cadenet had a second car built by John Thompson for a two-car entry at Le Mans in 1977. Sadly, the car that had placed third in 1976 failed to qualify but the new De Cadenet Lola shared by De Cadenet and Craft once again impressed with a fifth place finish. The original T380 was sold at the end of the year, and a second car was built by Thompson for De Cadenet's own team. All three were raced at Le Mans but only the latest chassis finished, once again driven by De Cadenet and Craft, who crossed the line in 15th. In the fall of 1978, De Cadenet brought one car to North America for the Can-Am series, with a fifth as the best result.
Following the relatively successful venture to North America, De Cadenet decided to race his cars more often and from 1979, he also competed in several rounds of the World Championship. His best result that year was a second at Silverstone and first in class with Francois Migault as co-driver. There was more success in 1980 when De Cadenet and Desiré Wilson won the Monza 1000 km and Silverstone 6 Hours outright. The De Cadenet-Lolas would continue to be raced until well in the 1980s and at least one was fitted with a Coupe body to turn it into a Group C racer.
With a successful career spanning over half a dozen seasons, the De Cadenet-Lola certainly ranks as one the great sports cars of the 1970s, especially considering its humble beginnings. De Cadenet himself would continue to compete at Le Mans until 1986 but he would never again match the third place finish achieved with his own car back in 1976. It is believed that at least two of the three De Cadenet-Lolas as well as the T380 have survived. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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Encouraged by the great result in 1976, De Cadenet had a second car built by John Thompson for a two-car entry at Le Mans in 1977. Sadly, the car that had placed third in 1976 failed to qualify but the new De Cadenet Lola shared by De Cadenet and Craft once again impressed with a fifth place finish. The original T380 was sold at the end of the year, and a second car was built by Thompson for De Cadenet's own team. All three were raced at Le Mans but only the latest chassis finished, once again driven by De Cadenet and Craft, who crossed the line in 15th. In the fall of 1978, De Cadenet brought one car to North America for the Can-Am series, with a fifth as the best result.