Lotus Cars – “I think everyone is looking to next year….”

Posted on 14th November 2011

Another news item today from Lotus Cars, with Jean Alesi having his say on the penultimate race of the season.

Group Lotus ambassador Jean Alesi looks back at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix…

As Marina Circuit used to be a cure for insomnia until the double DRS zone was created this year. It made a real difference on Sunday, didn’t it?

Sure there was more overtaking, but I think there’s room for improvement on the locations of the two zones. One car would overtake, take the corner, and then immediately get re-passed in the second DRS zone, and for me that felt rather artificial. Had they just had the one zone I think it would have worked better. That said, I’m sure the spectators and the viewers at home enjoyed it and that’s the most important thing. I enjoyed watching Fernando Alonso because he was pushing all the time to catch Lewis Hamilton, but when Sebastian Vettel went out after just 200 metres the race, for me, was a little bit damaged. Continue reading →

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Lotus Cars – Success for Group Lotus at the GP2 and Intercontinental Le Mans Cup Finales

Posted on 14th November 2011

Lotus Cars have posted up on a weekend of mixed fortunes in motorsport, with a win for Lotus-ART in the non-championship GP2 race at Yas Marina and a strong finish for the Lotus Jetalliance team, but a disappointing performance in the F1.

A win for James Calado, Lotus-ART in GP2 and strong results at the ILMC race in China for Lotus Jetalliance overshadow disappointing F1 performance. Continue reading →

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Lotus Jetalliance – Zhuhai 6H

Posted on 14th November 2011

After a poor result at Road Atlanta, the Lotus Jetalliance team bounced back this weekend with a strong finish in the Six Hours of Zhuhai ILMC race in China.

Lotus Jetalliance: Both cars at the finish – and with P4 and P6 it was an appealing result as well!

Fastest time in class in free practice the highlight

Lotus Jetalliance has achieved its set goal in today’s finale of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cups in China: Both Lotus Evora GTE made it to the finish at the “Six Hours of Zhuhai”. What is more: With a fourth place by Martin Rich/Oskar Slingerland/Rene Rasmussen (GBR/NED/DEN) and a sixth place by James Rossiter/Johnny Mowlem/David Heinemeier-Hansson (GBR/GBR/DEN) in the GTE/Pro class the race also produced an appealing result after all to end the season!  Continue reading →

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LRGP – Abu Dhabi GP – Race – Lotus Renault GP Report

Posted on 13th November 2011

Another difficult race today for Lotus Renault GP, with both cars finishing outside the points while the Force India’s both snuck in to the Top 10 and closed the gap in the Constructors Championship – although with just one race to go it seems unlikely they’ll be able to take the 16 points required to topple Lotus Renault GP in the standings even if the black and gold cars fail to score points again in the final race of the season.

Vitaly Petrov, P13, R31-06
Bruno Senna, P16, R31-04

With the DRS failing, Vitaly was unable to advance from his starting position of P12; he crossed the line in P13. Being unable to overtake anyone else, Vitaly tried to do a one stop race but the hard tyre couldn’t last long enough so he had to stop for the soft tyre.

Bruno had a problem with his KERS which really cost him, and put him back between half a second to a second each lap. There’s no real positives to take from today. Lotus Renault GP will now just have to ensure to do the best job possible to prepare for Brazil…

Source: LRGP – Abu Dhabi GP – Race – Lotus Renault GP Report
Discussion: SELOC Chat – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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Gallery

Lotus on Track, November 12th, Castle Combe Photo Gallery

Posted on 13th November 2011

This gallery contains 75 photos.

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LRGP – Saturday Practice and Qualifying – Abu Dhabi GP

Posted on 12th November 2011

Lotus Renault GP had another tough day today, failing to break in to the Top 10 in either FP3 or Qualifying, where they were outpaced by Championship rivals Force India.

LRGP – Abu Dhabi GP – Practice 3 – Lotus Renault GP Report

Bruno Senna, R31-04
P11, 1:41.509, 21 laps
Vitaly Petrov, R31-06
P14, 1:41.594, 18 laps

LRGP – Abu Dhabi GP – Qualifying – Lotus Renault GP Report

Vitaly Petrov, R31-06
Q1: P6, 1.40.955, 10 laps
Q2: P12, 1.40.919, 8 laps
Bruno Senna, R31-04
Q1: P12, 1.41.391, 9 laps
Q2: P14, 1.41.079, 6 laps

Discussion: SELOC Chat – Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix TV schedule

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LRGP – Friday Practice – Abu Dhabi GP

Posted on 11th November 2011

Friday practice, and as the team predicted a tough day, with none of their drivers making it in to the top 10 in either sessions.

As scheduled, Romain Grosjean drove in place of Bruno Senna in FP1 before the Brazilian took back his seat for the second session.

LRGP – Abu Dhabi GP – Practice 1 – Lotus Renault GP Report

Romain Grosjean, R31-04
P12, 1:42.685, 29 laps
Vitaly Petrov, R31-06
P13, 1:43.118, 13 laps

LRGP – Abu Dhabi GP – Practice 2 – Lotus Renault GP Report

Vitaly Petrov, R31-06
P13, 1:41.947, 31 laps
Bruno Senna, R31-04
P15, 1:42.369, 36 laps

Discussion: SELOC Chat – Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix TV schedule

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Classic and Sports Cars – Lotus racers flock to Fuji for superb show

Posted on 11th November 2011

Classic and Sports Cars have posted up a short piece on Classic Team Lotus’s appearance in Fuji for the Japan Lotus Day.

This year saw some 550 Lotus’s in attendance, along with the first ever running of the controversial Lotus Type 88B in Japan.

Classic Team Lotus also donated a number of items for auction, with proceeds going to support those affected by the Tsunami earlier this year.

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LRGP – Drivers prepare for Abu Dhabi GP

Posted on 10th November 2011

Practice starts tomorrow for the penultimate race of the 2011 season at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, and LRGP have interviews with both their drivers and a set-up guide online.

LRGP – Vitaly Petrov on the Abu Dhabi GP – “I want to end the season on a high”

What are your goals and targets for the final two races of the season?
To score more points in these last few races – that is my first target. We have shown that we have good pace in high speed corners.

LRGP – Bruno Senna on the Abu Dhabi GP – “Abu Dhabi and Brazil were probably my best two races last season”

You talked about high expectations going into India – how will you manage your expectations as you approach the penultimate race of the season?
Well, we need to be realistic but also put in a massive effort to extract the maximum possible from the weekend. In terms of managing our expectations, fortunately we always wait until Friday to know what to expect in terms of results, and we believe that we can do a good job again in Abu Dhabi.

LRGP – Set-up guide – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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Lotus Cars – Naming Dispute Resolution – Joint Press Release

Posted on 9th November 2011

We reported on it the other day and now Group Lotus and 1Malaysia Racing Team have issued a joint Press Release confirming that the F1 naming dispute over the Lotus name has been officially resolved.

Group Lotus Plc and PROTON Holdings Berhad
1Malaysia Racing Team, Caterham Cars and Tony Fernandes

Proton, Group Lotus, 1Malaysia Racing Team and its owner Tony Fernandes are delighted to announce that the legal dispute in the English Courts relating to the “LOTUS” and “TEAM LOTUS” brands has now ended amicably with the parties agreeing settlement terms earlier this month. Continue reading →

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