David Scotney was, for many years, the face of Lola Cars at motor racing events around the world. Born and bred in the Huntingdon area of Cambridgeshire, David honed his mechanical skills at local garages during and after his apprenticeship. In 1978 he joined Lola, working on the T500 USAC car that took Al Unser to victory in the Indy 500 and the other two 500-mile USAC Triple Crown races at Pocono and Ontario that same year.
Throughout the 1980s David was instrumental in overseeing Lola’s Formula 3000 operation and acted as chief mechanic for the works team. He particularly enjoyed his time with the Barcelona F3000 team in 1987 where Luis Perez Sala so nearly took the title, and frequently shared his anecdotes of working with Mark Blundell who drove for Lola between 1987 and 1990. A lifelong fan of the Le Mans 24 Hours, David took part in 22 such events with teams as diverse as Dorset Racing, de Cadenet and the Nissan works squad.
David also held a keen interest in historic racing, and for a number of years prepared cars for Martin Birrane who would later become his boss, having bought the ailing Lola concern. David went to work on Birrane’s vision of re-energizing Lola at Le Mans from 1998 onward. Under David’s supervision Lola-built cars achieved podium and class-winning places for teams such as Multimatic, Binnie, RML, Speedy Sebah and Aston Martin, who won the Le Mans Series in 2009.
In a tribute to David, Lola Chairman Martin Birrane said: “I got to know David at Le Mans in 1981 when he helped Dorset Racing with a De Cadenet that I was driving. We became firm friends immediately, and he continued to work on and run my various racing cars for many years, both before and after my purchase of Lola. I had complete trust in him to provide me with a safe racing car.”
After a valiant and typically courageous battle against illness over the last three years, David passed away peacefully at the Royal Marsden hospital in London. He is survived by his wife Alison, to whom Vintage Racecar offers sincere condolences.
By Glyn Jones
