24h Le Mans
Lotus is back
The British marque has chosen its home race for its return to prototypes this weekend.
The last Lotus prototype campaign - or similar - back in the 1997 season in which the fragile Elise struggled to keep pace with the monstrous Porsche, McLaren and Nissan. Even earlier, in 1957, the Lotus Eleven won the performance index in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, validating the mantra of designer Colin Chapman; "light is right" .
Times have changed. Colin Chapman died in 1982 and the company he had founded in 1952 now belongs to the Malaysian company Proton... But the passion remains, as shown in their aggressive sporting strategy. Lotus have been active on circuits in recent years. After a timid approach in the GTE class in 2011, then learning prototypes with a developed Lola chassis, Lotus has finally released its own LM P2! Two of them will compete this weekend's opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, just ten weeks before the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
6 HOURS OF SILVERSTONE - FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Lotus T128 # 31: Kevin Weeda, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Christophe Bouchut
Lotus T128 # 32: Thomas Holzer, Dominik Kraihamer, Jan Charouz
Christophe Bouchut: "After racing four years in the ALMS and after winning the last two titles, this is another great opportunity for me to work with Lotus. Participation in the first race of the T128 in the opening round at Silverstone of the FIA WEC is just fantastic. Everyone at Lotus is extremely professional and the atmosphere is friendly, which I appreciate.”
Dominik Kraihamer: "The goal is to develop and work on the development of the new car, which is really interesting for me. I get along with everyone in the team and also with other drivers, which is an important factor for the work to be successful throughout the season. “
