It was a hectic end to 2010 for the boys from Norfolk with no less than five new models previewed at the Paris Motor Show and a new directionality in terms of their branding. So with 2011 finally upon us, it would appear that the hectic lifestyle will not be coming to a halt as the Lotus group saw three driver announcements, an international motorsport show, a 24 hours endurance race, the unveiling of their Formula One car and new partnership announcements.
Nonetheless, all that was bested by the podium finish of the Lotus Motorsport team at the Dubai 24 hours race, taking third spot in the GT4 class and winning the ‘Best Stand’ award at the Autosport International Show.
In the Dubai endure, the team ran their Evora GT4 Endurance machine with the Mansell brothers, Leo and Greg, Lotus GT factory driver Johnny Mowlem, WTCC driver Stefano D’Aste and Gianni Giudici behind the wheel. The team crossed the chequered flag third in their class and placed 22 overall.
When you take into account the circumstances, it was indeed a miraculous feat to finish the way they did. Having started at the back of the grid due to logistical delays that saw them miss testing and qualifying, it was further compounded by two driveshafts having to be replaced, which was done in record time by the team mechanics.
“I am happy with the debut of the new endurance version of the Evora. Due to the high variation of temperatures between night and day, the Dubai 24 hour race is one of the most severe endurance races in the desert, and I think that the car has shown fantastic handling and reliability, important characteristics already demonstrated on the road version of the Evora,” said Claudio Berro, Lotus Director of Motorsport.
The podium finish at Dubai is not the group’s only cause for celebration though. Lotus Motorsport and Lotus Renault GP officially unveiled their 2011 Formula One machine in its new liveries at the Autosport International show a week earlier. Their stand at the show impressed the judges too and lead to them being awarded the ‘Best Stand at Autosport International 2011’ award.
While most of the visitors to the Lotus stand were there to admire the black and gold liveries on the car that tipped its hat to the old John Player Special cars from yesteryears, there was a stronger buzz for the Type 125 that was also on display. The Type 125 is a race car inspired by Formula One and is exclusively for Lotus customers only. It will make its track debut at Vallelunga before heading over to the Yas Marian circuit in Abu Dhabi next week for the first lucky customers to get some seat time.
Via ZerotoHundred
