Description:

1962 Lola Mk5 Formula Junior

The Lola-Ford Mk5 was Lola’s answer to Formula Junior and came just in time to give Chapman’s all-conquering Lotus 22 a run for its money. Compact, purposeful, and unmistakably influenced by the marque’s contemporary Formula 1 thinking, it borrowed heavily from the sleek design philosophy of the Mk4 Grand Prix car. It arrived to replace the underwhelming Mk3 and, unlike its predecessor, looked every inch the serious contender. Its debut season began with genuine promise. Works Lola Equipe entries driven by Richard Prior and John Hine announced the Mk5’s intent immediately with first and third places at Goodwood in the opening round of the B.A.R.C. Championship. Privateers quickly proved the car’s versatility too, with Dennis Taylor extracting a string of strong finishes, including a runner-up spot at Snetterton and a hard-fought battle against the works Lotus machinery at Goodwood. Elsewhere, Hugh Dibley delivered silverware for Scuderia Light Blue, securing a brace of victories at Goodwood and underlining the Mk5’s pace in the right hands. As the season progressed, the Mk5 continued to build a reputation as a capable and well-sorted Junior single-seater. Under Ron Harris’ stewardship, the former works cars enjoyed a productive late-season resurgence, with John Fenning regularly troubling the front-runners – podiums at Oulton Park, Snetterton, Silverstone and a deserved victory at the B.A.R.C. Members’ Meeting showcasing the car’s enduring competitiveness. Further podium finishes from Hugh Dibley and Peter Ashdown only strengthened the impression that the Mk5 was a serious weapon, albeit one seen less frequently than its rivals. With just nine examples built, it was a rare and intelligently engineered machine that consistently punched above its weight –  elegant, fast and an important chapter in Lola’s early competition history.

This car – Chassis BRJ52

An exceptionally significant and wonderfully documented example, BRJ52 is the sole Mk5 of the nine cars produced to have been exported from the UK in its launch year of 1962. Its competition history began in Sweden under the stewardship of renowned racing driver Picko Troberg, who campaigned the car with notable success before passing it to Freddy Kottulinsky, who continued its competitive career throughout much of the 1963 season. With the conclusion of the Formula Junior era in 1964, BRJ52 was converted to Formula 3 1000cc ‘Screamer’ specification. Like many period competition cars, it subsequently passed through several custodians and underwent a variety of transformations, ultimately concluding its active career in 1600cc Formula Ford guise before being placed into long-term storage.

The car re-emerged in 1999 when International Historic Vehicle Organisation Chairman Horst Brüning sold it to fellow Swede Anders Eriksson. Under Eriksson’s ownership, BRJ52 enjoyed a celebrated return to historic motorsport, appearing at prestigious venues including Goodwood Motor Circuit in 2002 and the Brands Hatch Golden Jubilee meeting in 2008. It’s provenance is further strengthened by appearances in respected publications, including Bernard Cowdrey’s authoritative Formula Junior book, as well as Picko Troberg’s ‘Femman Och Fullt’.

Passing into the current custodianship in 2012, BRJ52 left Sweden for Portugal, where it underwent a comprehensive restoration to its original 1962 specification. Today, it is presented exactly as raced by Picko Troberg, complete with its distinctive yellow chassis and striking bodywork finished in the colours of the Swedish flag. An all-new engine was built by Richardson in 2012 (always maintained by them subsequently), with the gearbox fully rebuilt by PDS around the same time. Robin Longdon and Tony Thompson provided much advice and componentry, whilst a professional geometry and vehicle dynamics set-up was carried out by GSD RaceDyn. More recently the car passing through the expert hands of Andrew Hibberd, who prepared and ran the car at the 2025 Oulton Park Gold Cup and Silverstone Festival meetings (last invoices on file £23,000+).

A potential outright FJ race winner in the right hands, this Lola has exceptional provenance, period competition history, all safety equipment in date and strong eligibility for the world’s leading historic racing events – It even features on the cover of the Nurburgring special edition Monopoly game set!

Eligibility –
FJHRA Silverline UK Championship
Lurani Trophy
Goodwood Revival
Goodwood Members Meeting
Swedish Historic Racing Club
Copenhagen HGP
500OA
VSCC Pre-66 Racing Cars
HRSCC (NZ)

Spares –

Full car set of wheels and tyres, fuel tank, ARBs x2, dampers, springs, crown wheel and pinion, bearings, a foam seat (untrimmed), oil, paint and other consumables, plus a printed display board for events.

A larger spares package is available by separate negation and is currently in storage with the vendor in Portugal. This includes 23x gears (in wooden Hewland case) jigs for the uprights and un-machined castings, body moulds, a full car set of wishbones and radius rods, engine stands and used brake discs.

 

Please Note – this vehicle is available to be viewed strictly by appointment at our Cheshire showrooms.

 

Priced at £86,950 FIRM

Website:

https://adamsykes.co.uk/cars-for-sale/competition-cars/1962-lola-mk5-formula-junior/

Keyword Search Terms:

FJ, Formula Junior, FJHRA, Goodwood, Cosworth, HSCC