2003 Dome S101 Pilots: A. Wallace, J. Lammars, J. Bosch Team: Racing for Holland Race: 6th overall (4th in LMP900 class) at Le Mans in 2003 Ebbro - 43490 (diecast)
Published 06/02/18
Founded in 1978, Dome written in Japanese means “a child’s dream”. Despite the name, they were all business, and in 1979 they debuted at La Sarthe with the Zero RL. The manufacturer was active until 1984, but stayed away from Le Mans until 2001. That year they were back with a totally new prototype car, the S101. For the powerhouse they used Judd’s GV4 unit. The GV4 is a naturally aspirated 72º V10 displacing 3997 cm³. With 40 valves and DOHC, it can deliver around 600 hp. Shifting duty was the responsibility of an ubiquitous X-Trac 6-speed gearbox. And to hold all that together, Dome used a carbon fiber and aluminum honeycomb monocoque chassis.
Jan Lammars founded Racing For Holland in 1999 and initially only competed in endurance racing. In 2001 they started a partnership with Dome, using the Dome S101 powered by a Judd engine. In 2003 they had two cars in the 24 Heures du Mans. That year they had their best result ever in the race, with car #15 coming in 6th place overall.
However, what really makes this S101 stand out is the livery. With the difficulty in obtaining major sponsorships the team innovated by using many small sponsors. Brilliantly, the brands appeared as small squares all over the car, consequently giving their cars a checkered flag look. And one of these small sponsors was Ebbro, that certainly did a VERY nice job in replicating the S101 #15 in 1:43rd scale. The livery really impressed me, despite being basically monochromatic I have to say it’s one of the coolest liveries in the W-143 Garage.
When I got the S101 #15, I was under the impression that the engine cover was removable. But alas, that is only possible with the 2001 models. It’s also not the case with the 2008 S102. Hence, DON’T try to open it. Yes, I did try, and NO, I didn’t break anything, fortunately.