Friday, 4th January 2008

Coyote, Riley, Lola unveil new designs ahead of final pre-season test.

The traditional early-season Grand-Am Rolex Series test days get underway today [Friday], but the new season was officially marked a day early as Riley, Lola and Coyote unveiled new looks for their respective chassis.

The three cars all feature significantly different bodywork as the second generation of Daytona Prototype competition gets underway, allowing alterations to the inaugural styles launched at the beginning of the category in 2004. Riley has captured all four constructor titles since then, but 'newcomers' Lola and Coyote hope that their efforts will close the gap from 2008.

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Owner-driver Eddie Cheever has resurrected the Coyote name to mark his transition to constructor, having obtained the Daytona Prototype license from Fabcar in September last year. The brand name, made legendary by four-time Indianapolis 400 winner AJ Foyt, will replace the Cheever moniker used in post-season testing, and the CC/08/1 will make its public debut this weekend.

The new entry was configured in record time and features a complete revision of the previous technical design, yielding a new body shape and a car that is lighter without sacrificing strength.

"We did this in honour of the great success AJ achieved in his driving career, much of it behind the wheel of race cars bearing the Coyote name," Cheever explained of the name change, "It's a great racing heritage, and I sincerely admire his achievements both as a driver and as a manufacturer."

Foyt has no personal business stake in Cheever's Coyote Cars venture, but does have a supportive interest in reviving the Coyote name.

"I respect Eddie Cheever - he was a good Formula One driver and an Indy 500 champion," the veteran said, "Normally, I don't do things like this, but he wants to make the Coyote name come back to the way it was when I was building cars and winning races. It went dormant since I retired from driving, so I'm looking forward to him building a good car."

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