Lotus Cup News http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:35:01 +0000 30 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/images/rss.gif http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58823-lotusjet-alliance-team-contest-intercontinental-le-mans/ The 2010 Intercontinental Le Mans Series was the inaugural running of an International Championship for manufacturers and teams.
The Cup features races from the ALMS Series, Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. The blue ribbon event is the infamous 24 hrs of Le Mans.

DATE TRACK
7th May 6h of Spa
11th June 24h of Le Mans
3rd July 6h of Imola
11th September 7h of Silverstone
1st October Road Atlanta
12th November 6h of China]]> Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:35:01 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58823-lotusjet-alliance-team-contest-intercontinental-le-mans/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58506-zhuhai-6h/

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!

Team manager Jan Kalmar: “Congratulations to the entire team. We did have some problems again this weekend, but in the end still can take pleasure in a good result. Above all our drivers were struggling with the great heat in the cockpit. On top of that there were problems with the gearbox, a tyre failure, two off-track excursions and hostile contact with a competitor. But we’ve come through all that in one piece today.”

The highlight of the weekend for the Lower Austrian team was the best time in free practice which James Rossiter set in heavy rain and difficult conditions!

Team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer: “The fastest time in difficult conditions has once more shown that handling-wise the Evora is a sensational car and which great potential there is. Unfortunately we’re still lacking in speed. But we can be satisfied with the result of the race.”

This post has been promoted to an article]]> Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:05:43 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58506-zhuhai-6h/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58473-6-hours-of-zhuhai/  
The first challenge has already been overcome simply by the team being in attendance at the race this weekend. After the team’s last outing in Atlanta which saw both cars retire with severe damaged there was uncertainty as to whether all the repairs could be completed on time, however the Lotus Jetalliance team pulled out all the stops to finish repairs in record time.
 
Team Principal Jan Kalmar: “One car is completely ready and we’re carrying out the final activities on the second Evora early this week in China as we were waiting for several spare parts. As it stands, I’m confident that we’ll be on the starting grid with both teams – and that our hard work will be rewarded with both cars crossing the finishing line after six hours.”
 
There is only a small change to the driver line-up: James Rossiter, Johnny Mowlem (both GBR) and David Heinemaier-Hansson (DEN) will drive the number 65 Lotus Evora GTE, while in the sister car the Scandinavian Ferrari Challenge winner Rene Rasmussen (DEN) will go into action for the first time alongside Martin Rich (GBR) and Oskar Slingerland (NED).
 
Team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer: “We had to do a lot of development work this year with the new cars, but our crew of mechanics remained dedicated to the cause despite several setbacks, such as the Atlanta race result. Now I really hope that their hard work will be rewarded with a good result in China.”

This post has been promoted to an article]]> Mon, 07 Nov 2011 23:28:19 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58473-6-hours-of-zhuhai/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58418-steve-quick-is-lotus-cup-uk-champion/ Mark Fullalove claimed the overall win, beating Steve Williams by ten seconds, repeating his victory on the GP circuit back in July. Pete Storey made it a 2-Eleven podium, after holding off Exige Cup winner Jamie Stanley for several laps. Alternator failure put paid to early challengers David and Rob Fenn, leaving the other father and son pairing, Doug and Chris Setters, as Open Class victors. Production honours were claimed by Stuart Plotnek, whilst Quick finished fifth in class.
Savage’s later win in the final Elise Trophy race of the year went some way to making up for his heartbreak but not before Stuart Rowland had added a second victory of the year with an assured drive. Newcomers Martin Wills, Warren Scott and Andrew Wright made a big impression on their debuts, although first-night nerves saw a few spins, including a botched move on second place from the former, which spoiled a great drive from Phil Stratton-Lake. Two appearances on the podium for second completed a great day for Quick.
Lotus Cup UK 2011 Class Champions
2-Eleven: Steve Williams
Exige Cup: Glenn Sherwood
Evora: Greg Rasse
Lotus Open: Vitthal Chauhan
Production: Steve Quick

This post has been promoted to an article]]> Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:25:36 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58418-steve-quick-is-lotus-cup-uk-champion/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58366-lotus-cup-uk-champion-set-to-be-crowned/ Meanwhile Steve Williams’ class lead in the 2-Eleven category will come under serious attack from Mark Fullalove. The latter led the former to victory in the July rounds on the GP circuit and the former BTCC competitor must be favourite on the Indy loop. However multiple winner Simon Deacon cannot be counted out either, assuming he has a drive for the race following a car fire at the end of race two at Spa-Francorchamps.
Meanwhile Glenn Sherwood will be aiming to confirm the Exige Cup crown, whilst Vitthal Chauhan has done enough to claim the Open class honours. The final race for a successful championship, where grids for qualifying rounds have averaged over 40 cars, is joined by the ever-popular Elise Trophy, which concludes its season with two sprint races. Quick and Savage will be challenged by recent Brands Hatch winner Stuart Rowland and Spa-Francorchamps class victor Ben Hyland, whilst rookie Chris Dunster will be keen to cap an impressive season with success.

This post has been promoted to an article]]> Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:57:09 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58366-lotus-cup-uk-champion-set-to-be-crowned/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58363-2011-lotus-cup-europe-season-review/
The increased opportunities for the European Lotus racer changed the makeup of the grid, focusing it more on the French, Belgian and German drivers, and whilst British drivers still entered the races, the balance was now firmly in favour of those from the mainland. Despite this, grid numbers were higher than ever, with the 2-Eleven and Exige Cup classes experiencing huge growth. The Production class, which had provided up to a third of the field in the past, was now a sideshow to the main event but no less competitive for it.

A new class was also added for the V6-powered Evora GT4 race cars. 2010's outstanding driver, Gregory Rasse, was joined by Thierry Verheist and whilst the former's season started well with a podium at Dijon, he was unable to extract as much from the car as he had from his Exige. Verheist was as solid as ever and so it wasn't until the final round, with Lotus Motorsport ace Gavan Kershaw on board that the first Evora victory was claimed. With the top classes as equal as ever, drivers still had to make up the extra tenths to win races.

Even so, as with previous years, the majority of the wins came from the 2-Eleven class. In 2010, Bourcier Competition provided one of the stars of the season with Romain Ratureau. This year they had a new driver but despite an appearance somewhat less youthful than their previous winner, Rémi Pochauvin came with plenty of experience, including the Le Mans 24 Hours. He was no slouch either, and dominated the first two rounds at Dijon-Prenois and Magny-Cours.


It seemed as though he couldn't be beaten early in the season but missing from those early grids was regular Jon Walker, with a variety of mechanical maladies. However he and the car were back on form at the Nürburgring, taking a brace of victories. Meanwhile although Pochauvin didn't take the top step of the podium again he was usually to be found at the sharp end of the field and established himself as the one to beat.

The series joined forces with Lotus Cup UK at two rounds and since they were both at circuits familiar to the British contingent, it was no surprise that they dominated. Finishing second to Kershaw at Spa, Mark Fullalove took the Brands Hatch wins, with Steve Williams and Walker the challengers.

Christophe Lisandre upheld mainland honour at Brands Hatch and he could be relied upon to challenge in all the races. Unable to add to his 2010 Magny-Cours win, he came very close at the same circuit, even led, but could not resist Pochauvin. He found himself amongst a strong 2-Eleven contingent this year, with Phillippe Loup and Karl Vivion providing particularly tough competition. Jean-Pierre Genoud Prachex and British drivers Pete Storey and Simon Deacon also challenged on occasion in a very competitive class.

Whilst the Exige Cup class rivalled the 2-Elevens for numbers, one man stood above the rest in the races. With his brother having moved to the Evora category, John Rasse took almost every class win and sealed his season with an overall win at Zolder, a feat that Gregory had come very close to achieving the previous year. Awarded the best driver of the season overall, John's challengers ended up squabbling between themselves – Olivier Cunat was the only other victor, benefitting from John running wide at turn one in race two at Magny-Cours, whilst Jean-Baptiste Meusnier, Gregor Zetsche and Herbert Metzker joined him as best of the rest.


The Open Class was often fought out between veteran David Harvey, Xavier Georges in an immaculate Gulf-liveried series 1 Exige, and father-and-son pairing David and Rob Fenn. Harvey suffered a few problems and was unlucky not to score a class win, whilst Georges picked up a number of wins along the way. However it was the Fenns that were the frontrunners, in a superbly-liveried motorsport Elise but their season only lasted until Brands Hatch, so Georges had to share the honours with Campbell Cassidy and Matt Cherrington's Europa at the final Spa round.

Whilst not in the hunt for overall victories, the Production class provided plenty of entertainment as José Vaslin and Nigel Ayres usually fought it out for victory, the pair being joined by Elise racing returnee Paul Pattison part-way through the season. They were joined by occasional visitors from the UK's Elise Trophy and so the winners' roster featured many names, including Matt Bartlett (Magny-Cours), Adam Bewsey and Dan Plant (Nürburgring), Steve Quick and Ken Savage (Brands Hatch) and Ben Hyland (Spa-Francorchamps). The class also saw two new regular runners, Alain Adoud and Jan Christe, who fielded the first 2010-facelift Elise racer.

The 2011 season has provided many new faces, some of them visiting the podium, as the series establishes itself as a popular proving ground on the race circuits of western Europe. More of the same is expected next year as the Lotus brand continues to go from strength to strength.



2011 Driver of the Season – John Rasse

2011 Class drivers of the Season

2 Eleven – Rémi Pochauvin
Exige – John Rasse
Evora – Greg Rasse
Open Class – Xavier Georges
Production - José Vaslin

This post has been promoted to an article]]> Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:06:01 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58363-2011-lotus-cup-europe-season-review/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58326-bad-luck-at-the-petit/ No sense of achievement for Lotus Jetalliance in the penultimate race of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup: Following huge technical problems and several racing incidents, neither of the two Lotus Evora made it into the final classification of the ten-hour long “Petit Le Mans” at Road Atlanta, since neither the triumvirate of James Rossiter/Johnny Mowlem/David Heinemaier-Hansson (GBR/GBR/DEN) nor their sister car of Martin Rich/Oskar Slingerland/Kaspar Jensen (GBR/NED/DEN) managed to complete the required 70 percent of the total running time.
Since both cars suffered sincere damage, the team’s appearance in the final event in China on November 13th has now been called into question as well . . .



Team principal Jan Kalmar: “This was the worst race of my career. It’s really incredible that so many negative things can happen in a single event. Unfortunately even all the night shifts didn’t help. What makes me glad is the fact that at least our appearance has been appreciated. For instance the organisers told me that they’ve never seen a team working that hard. Now we first need to analyse our own situation and take a look whether we even have all the spare parts needed to get both cars ready to race again in Zhuhai.”



Team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer: “Of course we’re all very disappointed. Actually it already became apparent during the free practice sessions that nothing would work out at all this time. An engine failure for the #65 Evora, a heavy crash by Oskar Slingerland on top of that, in which the #64 Evora was heavily damaged. Basically it already was a small miracle that our team was able to put both cars onto the starting grid. For that reason alone they deserve the highest praise.”



This post has been promoted to an article]]> Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:41:41 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58326-bad-luck-at-the-petit/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58244-zolder-race-report/
Jon Walker, the winner of race two here last year returns as favourite but faces strong competition from Rémi Pochauvin, who dominated the early French races, and Christophe Lisandre, who has yet to record a win this year. Gregory Rasse almost won at this circuit in 2010 and will want to be the first Evora victor, and his brother, who missed that race, will also be keen to perform well.

Practice & Qualifying




Saturday's sessions were solely concentrated on preparation for the next day's races. Walker started as he meant to go on from the first session and was two seconds clear of the rest, led by John Rasse. Philippe Loup and Jean-Baptiste Meusnier were close together, with Lisandre and Pochauvin in the next bracket. Olivier Severini, Gregory Rasse and Olivier Cunat were also in the top ten, whilst Nigel Ayres just headed Paul Pattison and José Vaslin in the Production class.


Walker was still fastest by the afternoon qualifying session, however his advantage had been eroded by Lisandre, last year's poleman. The gap still remained a daunting nine tenths and despite a late spin, Simon Deacon claimed third on the grid, a further seventh tenths behind.


Philippe Loup and Pochauvin completed a top five made up entirely of 2-Elevens, the pair within two-tenths of third place. The next spots on the grid were taken up by the Rasse brothers, the Exige-mounted John faster on this occasion.


There was a trio of Exiges next, with Jean-Baptiste Meunier, Herbert Metzker and Olivier Cunat completing the top ten. Sole open runner Xavier Georges will line up seventeenth for both races, whilst Vaslin turned the tables to take the Production class pole in twenty-sixth place, nearly a second clear of closest challengers Pattison and Ayres. However all eyes were on the weather forecasts now, as reports conflicted between sunshine and rain.

Race One





Overnight storms gave way to a clear day on Sunday and from the rolling start Walker made the perfect getaway to lead Lisandre into the first left-hander, whilst Deacon challenged for second place but eventually had to give best to Loup. Behind, John Rasse and Remi Pochauvin swapped grid order, whilst promising positions for Cunat and Meusnier came to nought with early retirements.


Deacon later joined them as he pitted with troubles but not before he had lost places to John Rasse and the unfortunate Meusnier. This promoted Greg Rasse, who had been fighting with the pair and he chased after his brother as he continued to get to grips with the Evora. Verheist's similar car was working its way up the order and would eventually finish eighth, behind Vivion, the pair battling with Metzker's Exige around the circuit.






With Georges assured of two Open class trophies provided he finished, the Production class was a three-way fight between season-long rivals Vaslin and Ayres, plus occasional interloper Pattison, who was setting the pace in the races this weekend. However, despite Vaslin being overhauled early on, Pattison's car suffered a loss of coolant and a spin, putting paid to his race. The resulting slippery surface at turn one caught a few drivers out, especially Georges and Nicolas Ferrer, who almost came together in the gravel trap.


Meanwhile Lisandre caught up with Walker and for a while looked like he was up to the challenge. However, Walker stepped up a gear and pulled out a twenty-one second gap by the chequered flag. Lisandre, Loup and John Rasse were separated by just two seconds in the final reckoning, whilst Gregory Rasse and Pochauvin weren't much further behind. Vivion stayed within a minute of the winner, with Verhiest, Metzker and Laurent Feve rounding off the top ten.

Race Two




The second race was turned on its head moments before the start as Walker's car failed to fire up. Frantic work was carried out in the pitlane as the grid formed up but there was to be no appearance from the fastest man around Zolder as the field set off from the standing start.


This time Deacon made an even better start and he and Pochauvin jumped Lisandre as they led the field down the straight. Deacon may have had a nose in front but Pochauvin held the inside line and he converted this into the lead on lap one. Also challenging the last-minute poleman were John Rasse and Loup. The first lap was a very productive one for Rasse as he was in the lead by the time everyone returned to the pit straight.


Deacon's day was completed when he retired once more, a promising weekend yielding no results and this ended the British challenge for the race win. Meanwhile Pochauvin was struggling to uphold 2-Eleven honour, as Rasse performed a fine job of leading the race. The two of them fought their own private battle at the front and whilst the order did switch early on, a brief drizzle shower brought with it a return to the status quo.




John Rasse's reassertion of the lead coincided with a dip in Pochauvin's performance and he fell into the clutches of Lisandre and Loup. The latter passed both for second and looked to be another possibility for the lead. However he later oversteered into the barrier before resuming to pick up fifth place, behind Vivion, who was driving another strong race to keep in touch with the leaders.


Lisandre and Pochauvin staged an entertaining fight, which was resolved in the former's favour and they joined a podium topped by an ecstatic John Rasse, who recorded his maiden victory in the series. Overall wins have tended to come from the 2-Eleven class so this achievement was very special indeed.


Sixth place was claimed by Jean-Pierre Genoud Prachex, whilst Meusnier picked up seventh after his race one disappointment. Feve, Metzker and a feisty Guillaume Gomez completed the top ten. Verheist and Georges were next up, winning the Evora and Open classes respectively, whilst Vaslin completed a Production double. Once again he had to give best in the early stages to Pattison and Ayres but a retirement for the latter gave him no chance to pick up the pieces when the former's clutch failed, leaving him to lap the circuit in third gear.

Conclusion


John Rasse's debut win was a popular one in the paddock after a season of class dominance. However, up until that point Jon Walker had been very much the man to beat. That takes nothing away from the achievement, for Rasse's race was won from the front, holding first Pochauvin, then Loup at bay and maintaining a safe distance from the rest.


Elsewhere there were strong performances from Pochauvin, Loup and Vivion once again, and class winner Vaslin will certainly be grateful that reliability made up for a lack of speed this weekend.


The final round of Lotus Cup Europe takes place at Spa-Francorchamps in just two weeks' time, where the series joins up with Lotus Cup UK and the Elise Trophy for a huge grid and guaranteed action!

This post has been promoted to an article]]> Tue, 20 Sep 2011 18:46:18 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58244-zolder-race-report/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58054-ilmc-fifth-round/
Lotus Jetalliance celebrated as two Lotus Evora GTE cars crossed the finish line of the fifth round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup at Silverstone yesterday. After six tough hours the general conclusion was: The cars are now more consistent and faster - but to be able to keep pace with the front runners more power needs to be found.



Team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer: "Both Lotus Evora GTE cars have improved compared to the previous race, no question. I'm also very pleased that we've both cars to the finished. But unfortunately we still continue to lack in speed. That's where we have to pull out all the stops for the next race."



In his comeback race Karl Wendlinger drove the number 65 Lotus together with the two Englishmen Johnny Mowlem and James Rossiter. The trio reeled off the six hours without any problems, eventually finishing twelfth in the GTE Pro classification.
Karl Wendlinger: "It was nice to be back competing in a race once again. The ILMC really is a great series – plenty of cars, a lot of different makes."



For the second Lotus, in which Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer stood in for the Netherlands' Oskar Slingerland, alongside Martin Rich (GBR) and David Heinemaier-Hansson, things didn't exactly go without incident: The suspension broke in a crash with an LMP1 resulting in just under one and a half hours of turnaround time in the pits. Therefore the race was all but over. The remaining race time was used for test purposes.



Team principal Jan Kalmar: "The Silverstone race demonstrated that we've taken steps forwards but nevertheless there's still a lot of work awaiting us. One must never forget that we're dealing with a completely newly-developed car."



This post has been promoted to an article]]> Mon, 12 Sep 2011 21:17:10 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/58054-ilmc-fifth-round/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/57571-lotus-cup-uk-brands-hatch-race-report/ Round 6 of the 2011 Lotus Cup UK held at Brands Hatch on 2-4 September 2011.

Introduction




A last-minute addition to the calendar, the DTM-supporting round was a non-points scoring race, so all of the drivers will be out for victory. Steve Williams looks to be favourite but Chris Setters was quick on the GP loop in July and Jamie Stanley decided to race shortly before the meeting.

Practice & Qualifying

Steve Williams was immediately quick in practice and Matt Cherrington continued to show the speed that he had demonstrated at Donington. Meanwhile Marcus Jewell was finding more speed in his 2-Eleven, with Mark Gooday also enjoying himself.

Stuart Plotnek was having a good afternoon in lieu of Ken Savage in the Production class. However it was Tom Bradshaw that was impressing in fifth.

Williams carried his good practice form into qualifying and Jewell performed similarly too. Problems for the Cherrington/Cassidy Europa did nothing to help their cause, whilst Stanley and Sherwood held third from Gooday, McNeily/Chong and the Setters pairing. A revitalised Jewell was trying hard to take pole, falling short by just three hundredths, whilst Chong pulled in with a very smoky right rear wheel, ending his session.

Tom Bradshaw was continuing his giant-killing exploits in eighth, nearly a second quicker than Vase, whilst Savage didn’t appear to have the speed in this session. John LaMaster and David Hay then took second in class but they were eight tenths away from their benchmark.

Behind Williams and Jewell on the grid, Stanley/Sherwood and McNeily/Chong were set for row two, with Gooday, Setters/Setters, Cassidy/Cherrington, Harvey, Livsey/Bradshaw and David Seear completing the top ten.

Race

On a damp track Williams and Jewell fought a private battle from the start, with Gooday taking third, Seear fourth and Sherwood/Stanley fifth. Problems for Cherrington and Cassidy early on ruined their day, whilst Livsey spun at Druids, dropping him back to twentieth. Behind the Setters and Harvey, Savage was the top Production car, from Carr and Vase.

Jewell and Williams ran two-abreast through Paddock Hill and with the inside line, Jewell claimed the lead, and while he looked to be pulling away, a spin at Paddock Hill next time round lost him vital seconds. By lap ten they were lapping the backmarkers and Jewell was closing the gap.

Savage’s loss of form continued as he relinquished the lead in Production to Carr and Vase, whilst Plant, LaMaster/Hay and Plotnek tracked them closely.

As the race progressed, Jewell was rapidly finding himself unable to keep with Williams’ pace and the gap opened out. In fact, Williams had lapped everyone up to third-placed Gooday as the pit window opened. Sherwood was one the first in, as was Livsey, Seear, Gooday and Vase, after a brief spin.

Williams pitted with half the race completed and rejoined in ninth place. Jewell waited until there were twenty-three minutes to go and Williams fought to regain the two-lap deficit. Just as Williams was crossing the line to take the lead, Jewell’s stop was completed but he had an agonising drive through the pitlane at reduced speed, the gap now opened up to fifteen seconds.

Meanwhile Jamie Stanley was making the difference in the GWS Exige, passing David Seear and on the hunt for the Setters, Chris now in the car and lapping at a rapid pace. The Production fight was between Plotnek, Carr and Savage, the latter performing a robust pass, losing Carr time.

Jewell could make no impact in the final laps and the focus was on Chris Setters, chasing after Stuart Malt and although it was academic – the Production driver had yet to stop – he still had to keep a similarly charging Stanley at bay. However Gooday was lapping at a fine pace too and wasn’t prepared to give up easily.

Malt finally got the black flag with three minutes remaining, whilst Stanley’s pace was dropping relative to Gooday. This left the Setters on the final step of the podium, from Williams and Jewell. Seear took sixth, with Plotnek the Production winner in seventh, from Harvey, Stothert and Savage.

Conclusion

Williams finally breaks his Lotus Cup UK duck but the surprise was the pace of Jewell, finally at one with his car. Great performances from the Setters and Gooday were also highlights, with the Exige Cup class another win for Sherwood and Stanley and Production going the way of Plotnek.

The next round of Lotus Cup UK is at Spa at the end of September, but some of the drivers will be taking part in Lotus Cup Europe at Zolder in two weeks’ time.



This post has been promoted to an article]]> Mon, 05 Sep 2011 20:51:41 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/57571-lotus-cup-uk-brands-hatch-race-report/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/57557-ex-formula-1-driver-celebrates-comeback/  
Team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer has managed to sign up the Tyrolese in a lightning operation. After almost three years the former Formula 1 driver will therefore celebrate a comeback with the Lower Austrian team, with whom he had been enjoying great success in the FIA GT1 World Championship for three years (from 2006 to 2008).
 
For Wendlinger himself it is the end of an involuntary time out that resulted from the withdrawal of his team Swiss Racing from the FIA GT1 World Championship . . .
 
Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer: “I’m just so very happy to have Karl back in the team. He will certainly be able to help us along thanks to his experience.”
Karl Wendlinger: “Most of all I’m pleased to finally be back behind the wheel of a racing car, of course. Especially in a team I’ve achieved really nice results with over three years in the GT1 World Championship.”
 
In England Wendlinger will drive the number 65 Lotus Evora GTE together with the two local heroes James Rossiter and Johnny Mowlem. Martin Rich (GBR), Oskar Slingerland (NED) and the 31-year-old Dane David Heinemaier-Hansson, who is going to compete for the racing team from Oeynhausen for the first time, will take a seat in the second Evora GTE.
 
Prior to the race in the motherland of the traditional Lotus marque everyone in the Lower Austrian team is quite confident – and rightly so.
 
Because the two Evora GTE have been completely revised over the summer
break at the factory in England and equipped with a total of nine updates.
 
Team principal Jan Kalmar: “Among other things we worked hard on the engine, the brakes, the weight and the aerodynamics. With these changes we really ought to take a crucial step forward.”
 
Lichtner-Hoyer thinks along similar lines as well: “I hope that we’ll be competitive and reliable on Lotus’ native soil with all these new updates – so that we’re able to finish the race in the upper third.”
 
For Karl Wendlinger everything is unknown territory, of course: “I have no experience with the Lotus, but I’m going to try to adapt to the new car in the practice sessions as quickly as possible. Moreover I do have two experienced team-mates who’re certainly able to give me a few valuable pointers.”
 
Following Silverstone things will then happen thick and fast: For a week the cars will be revised at Lotus, subsequently the team will move to America, where the sixth event is on the schedule on October 1st with the traditional “Petit Le Mans” at Road Atlanta. From there the cars, along with all the equipment, will be flown directly to China, where on November 13th the season finale of the ILMC – the “Six Hours of Zhuhai” – will be run.
 
Whether Karl Wendlinger will also be there then is not yet certain: “We have agreed to wait and see how the race goes and to sit down together once again after Silverstone”, Lichtner-Hoyer says.

This post has been promoted to an article]]> Mon, 05 Sep 2011 12:09:06 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/57557-ex-formula-1-driver-celebrates-comeback/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/56865-lotus-cup-uk-donington-race-report/
Introduction

Round five of the championship took place at the revived Donington Park circuit near Derby, a venue that is popular with Lotus drivers and was held on the same weekend as the Club Lotus show in the track’s exhibition centre.

With a late withdrawal from Mark Fullalove; Steve Williams and the David and Rob Fenn pairing looked to be favourites for the overall win. With Jamie Stanley committed elsewhere this weekend, Elise Trophy frontrunner Luigi Valentino Mazza joined Glen Sherwood in his Exige, an intriguing prospect. Chris Setters, who had gone so well at Brands Hatch from the rear of the field, joins his father Doug in their Open class Exige, whilst in Production, Tom Bradshaw and Neil Livsey renew a partnership that worked so well in round one, to challenge championship leaders Ken Savage and Steve Quick.

Qualifying

There was drama in the early stages as David Fenn left the road at the Old Hairpin and was beached in the gravel, facing the track. This left many drivers unable to post competitive times, with a live snatch underway, leaving Matt Cherrington on provisional pole from Williams and Marcus Jewell, the only drivers under a minute and twenty seconds.

Williams was first to respond once the yellow flags had been withdrawn, seventh tenths quicker than the Cherrington Europa. He then went even faster, which the Europa almost matched. Meanwhile, Simon Deacon was barely a second behind and a quick turnaround for the Fenn car brought them back into contention with fourth.

Production qualifying looked to be going the way of Livsey and Bradshaw but Quick wasn’t too far off, whilst Savage needed to find a second. However another off at the Old Hairpin, this time for the BJ Chong/Paul McNeily car, brought out the yellows once more, with ten minutes remaining.

With six minutes to and the green flags waving, Rob Fenn placed the Go Green Motorsport Elise on provisional pole, just seven hundredths quicker than Williams. The session started to wind down at this point and engine troubles for David Harvey at Redgate added another yellow flag interruption and left just a few seconds of the session remaining once it had been dealt with. With no further improvements of note, the Fenns were celebrating their first pole of the championship, with Williams joint favourite on the front row.

Cherrington also had much to cheer about with his best starting position on the second row with round one winner Deacon. Mark Gooday shared row three with McNeily and Chong, whilst Jewell and Pete Storey sat behind them on the grid. Ninth place fell to Sherwood and Mazza, with the Setters Open class Exige tenth.

Livsey and Bradshaw started on the Production class pole, thirteenth on the grid, which was promoted a place, thanks to Harvey’s troubles. They sat three places ahead of Quick and Andrew Napier/Rob Woolridge, who pipped Savage for third in class.

Race

Rob Fenn made a good start as Williams had to fend off Cherrington and Deacon, with the latter eventually taking third place. Vitthal Chauhan quickly found himself in the gravel at Redgate, rejoining dead last, whilst Greg Noble ended lap one in the pitlane. Livsey, Quick and Savage held the podium positions in the early running for Production, meanwhile Mazza was only one place ahead of Jonathan Mobbs in the Exige Cup class.

As the race settled into the early laps, Fenn was being chased hard by Williams and the pair were dragging Deacon along with them, Cassidy and Storey were keeping in touch, whilst Gooday tried to hang on from Jewell. A heavily-fuelled Deacon was soon holding up Cherrington and Storey and on lap 8 the Europa passed him for third, to challenge the leaders. Storey also made his move at the chicane further round as Gooday set his targets on Deacon, repeating Cherrington’s move next time round. Meanwhile behind them, Mazza made his way past Jewell for seventh.

Production leader Bradshaw was a few seconds clear of Quick, with Savage coming under extreme pressure from Napier/Wooldridge. However an important development in the Production field had a major effect on the race as an off involving Tania Mann caused a safety car intervention just as the pitlane window was about to open.

The pit window opened as the safety car completed its final tour and both Savage and Doug Setters took immediate advantage. Williams came in on the next lap, splitting his race into two parts, whilst Rob Fenn stayed out for as long as possible to take advantage. Cherrington was next in, giving the leader some breathing space, with second-placed Production man Quick in a lap later.

Williams rejoined in fairly clear traffic, keen to lap as fast as he could to avoid losing as much ground as possible to Rob Fenn, who was being chased by Deacon, Storey and Gooday. Rob pitted with twenty-five minutes to go, followed by Mazza (who missed his pitbox), Gooday and a very quick Bradshaw, who had once again kept up with the faster cars in front.

Whilst David Fenn sat in the pitlane waiting to rejoin, Cherrington had jumped Williams during the stops and looked likely to be David’s main challenger until needing to make another, this time unscheduled, pitstop which led to retirement. The current leader once Deacon had pitted, however was Storey and as he made his stop, Williams held the lead from David Fenn, whilst Deacon and Storey hoped to gain some ground on their return to action.

With the window closed and all stops completed, Deacon sneaked out into the lead, but only just, from Williams and Storey. The gap closed even more when Stuart Plotnek and Neil Livesey both spun at Redgate, causing a second safety car period. On the restart, Williams went with Deacon, whilst Gooday and David Fenn battled for fourth, leaving Storey in a relatively quiet third place.

Williams went straight on the attack, trying every line possible, and the leading pair were together for several laps, both giving no quarter, nor taking any. Time after time they would run side-by-side along the straights, Williams dropping behind into the corners but tracking Deacon as close as he dare. It didn’t matter which part of the circuit, the yellow 2-Eleven would be right on the tail of the black example, always threatening, yet the battle was clean and despite the pressure Deacon was posting some of the race’s fastest laps! With just five minutes remaining Williams made his move into Redgate, around the outside, and emerged the leader.

If Williams expected a cruise to the flag, it wasn’t happening and a determined Deacon stole the lead back at Redgate. He then used the traffic to his advantage and by the final lap had just enough space to take the win at his local circuit, from Williams and the Fenns. Storey finished fourth after being penalised for a pitstop infringement, with Gooday fifth and Jewell sixth. Chris Setters made up a few places in the final laps, taking seventh place, with Sherwood and Mazza eighth. Quick took the Production class win from Savage, the pair completing the top ten, with the third-placed Production car of John LaMaster and David Hay eleventh.
Overall
1. Simon Deacon 2. Steve Williams 3. Fenn/Fenn 4. Pete Storey 5. Mark Gooday 6. Marcus Jewell

Conclusion

This was the best Lotus Cup UK race so far, the epic Deacon/Williams fight a highlight of the season, once which took place after fifty minutes of racing and kept the crowd enthralled for several laps. However this is not to take away from fine performances from David and Rob Fenn, plus Matt Cherrington, who was a dark horse for victory today and likely to challenge again.

This post has been promoted to an article]]> Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:16:09 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/56865-lotus-cup-uk-donington-race-report/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/54829-short-appearence-in-italy/

Jetalliance Lotus Evora GTE



Following the successful outcome the last time out at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Lotus Jetalliance wanted to score points again in the fourth round of the ILMC. But the Autodromo “Enzo e Dino Ferrari” in Imola was no hospitable land for the team from Lower Austria: Both Lotus Evora GTE had to throw in the towel prematurely due to engine failures...



The triumvirate of Mowlem/Rossiter/Hirschi was already affected after just ten laps, a little bit later the working day was over for Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer, who shared a car with Martin Rich and Oskar Slingerland, as well.



A sobering experience for the team owner, but also a comprehensible one: “We had a good run at Le Mans as far as the result was concerned, and we also had a lot planned for this race. But unfortunately we were let down by technology. An event that can always occur with such a developmental project like the one we’re running at the moment. We even allowed for setbacks of that kind beforehand. But then, when they really happen, it’s always cruel, of course”, Lichtner-Hoyer said, who is also looking forward however in a positive way: “The cars will now return to the factory in England, where everything will be thoroughly analysed and where new stages of development will be incorporated. These improvements should then have a positive effect at the next ILMC race in Silverstone.”



This post has been promoted to an article]]> Mon, 04 Jul 2011 21:38:15 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/54829-short-appearence-in-italy/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/54828-lotus-cup-europe-nurburgring/
John and Greg Rasse were competitive as ever, taking the Exige Cup and Evora wins, whilst David and Rob Fenn each took a class trophy in their Motorsport Elise. In Production, Adam Bewsey was the clear victor in race one but problems early on in the second encounter left him at the back of the field. He fought his way up and despite an entertaining tussle with Dan Plant, was just unable to follow up his earlier triumph.

Round four of the 2011 Lotus Cup Europe will take place at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, on 22-24 July.



This post has been promoted to an article]]> Mon, 04 Jul 2011 21:23:16 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/54828-lotus-cup-europe-nurburgring/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/54826-lotus-cup-uk-snetterton-race-report/ Round 3 of the 2011 Lotus Cup UK held at Snetterton 300 circuit on the 26th June 2011.

Introduction



After a two-month break, the Lotus Cup UK Championship returns to the scene of the opening round at the Snetterton 300 circuit, as part of the annual Lotus Festival. Last time the series was there Simon Deacon and Pete Storey benefitted from a safety car period late into the pit window, to take first and second. However Mark Speller, the Exige of Jamie Stanley and Glenn Sherwood plus the Motorsport Elise of David and Rob Fenn were in contention for the win.

However round two was dominated by Mark Fullalove and he is entered for this race, along with the first Evora to enter the series. This car is piloted by Martin Donnelly, in his first works drive for Lotus since Formula 1 in 1990, who is partnering Lotus driving guru Gavan Kershaw. A further wildcard entry is provided by World Series by Renault driver Olly Webb.

Practice and Qualifying

Kershaw and Fullalove dominated practice until Webb jumped into Harvey’s 340R. On his first lap he was second, on the next he was fastest!

However he could not replicate this pace later as a tense session where the Evora and Fullalove traded fastest times, Donnelly put the car on pole with seconds to go. Safety Cars intervened twice, giving many little chance to really get to grips with the circuit.

So, with Donnelly and Kershaw on pole, Fullalove second and Harvey/Webb third, Stanley and Sherwood lead the Exige class, making it four classes in the top four places. Next up was Pat McBennett, making a welcome return on the pace, then Steve Williams, Mark Gooday and Pete Storey in the 2-Elevens, with the Fenns and Marcus Jewell completing the top ten. Production was led by James Knight in fifteenth, with Steve Quick and Mike Vase close behind.

Race

Donnelly maintained the lead at the start, followed by Fullalove and a threatening Webb. Meanwhile Knight’s tough season continued as a few of the production cars tangled at Hamilton corner, leaving him several seconds off the tail of the field. Bennett didn’t even get to see the end of the pitlane, the car succumbing to a broken driveshaft.

Donnelly proceeded to pull out a sizeable gap to Fullalove, who was also putting space between himself and Webb in the early laps. Meanwhile McBennett was keeping the 340R’s star driver honest, with Williams and Gooday in the hunt too. Sherwood was dropping back, however.

Knight was beginning his fightback in earnest, visibly pushing his Elise as aimed to emulate Jenson Button’s famous Canadian GP comeback drive, but the rapidly approaching Donnelly showed the magnitude of his task, so far back was he.

With Donnelly and Fullalove off into the distance, Webb was holding off McBennett, with Williams chasing him down. Then there was a short gap to Gooday, Storey, Deacon, the Fenns and Chatterway. Jewell was suffering an issue with his car that kept him back and tried to pit for a cure.

Quick was leading Production at this point, from Plotnek and Savage but the latter passed both as the pit window opened. Williams was one of the first in, soon followed by Quick and Gooday, whilst Sherwood stopped at half distance, as did, significantly, the race leader.

The pitlane became a very busy place as drivers headed in, and there would be no late safety car this time. Webb, McBennett, Storey and Deacon were the top four but all headed into the lane as the window was soon to close. McBennett was in too late as there was no room in pit road for him and he had to queue up for his stop.

However as Kershaw and Fullalove resumed the lead, the latter and Harvey were given a 2 lap penalty for leaving the pits too quickly. Stanley’s race was then over with a rear suspension failure. So Williams held second from Storey but Deacon and a delayed McBennett were keen to take the last podium position. Tussling around the track, Deacon slowed with problems. However he finished in fifth place, behind Donnelly and Kershaw’s Evora, Williams and Storey’s 2-Elevens and McBennett’s Open class Elise.

The Fenns were sixth, from McNeily and Chong, Cassidy and Cherrington and Vitthal Chauhan’s Open class cars. David Sear was the Exige winner in tenth, whilst Savage won production from Plotnek and Quick.

Overall 1. Donnelly/Kershaw 2. Steve Williams 3. Pete Storey 4. Pat McBennett 5. Simon Deacon 6. Fenn/Fenn Conclusion

No safety cars this time meant that whoever was quick on the circuit, provided they finished and followed pitstop procedure, would do well. The winner was in little doubt and both Donnelly and Kershaw showed their class, indeed this was a works effort that Lotus took great pride in, showing the calibre of this championship.

Fullalove and Harvey/Webb’s pit issues were to Williams and Storey’s benefit, the latter finding the 300 circuit a happy hunting ground. McBennett will be pleased with his performance, despite a delayed pitstop losing him a potential podium, however the class win will be fine consolation. Finally, Savage will be pleased to have picked up a class win, keeping his championship hopes on track.

The next round is in a months’ time on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit. Steve Williams has a fine record on this track, will he break his duck at this circuit? In the meantime, look out for TV coverage on Motors TV very soon.



This post has been promoted to an article]]> Mon, 04 Jul 2011 21:22:19 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/54826-lotus-cup-uk-snetterton-race-report/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/54550-ahead-of-imola/

ILMC, fourth race at the weekend in Italy



The team from Lower Austria will again enter both Lotus Evora GTE



The venerable Autodromo "Enzo e Dino Ferrari" is the venue for the "6 Hours of Imola" at the weekend – at the same time the fourth race of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. Also competing will be Lotus Jetalliance – the team from Lower Austria will enter two Lotus Evora GTE.



According to team manager Jan Kalmar things should go similarly well as the last time out at the classic event in Le Mans, where as reported the new Lotus completed the 24 hours in its very first outing and where the team took a podium finish in the ILMC classification on top of that . . .
Jan Kalmar: "We brought one Evora home at Le Mans, in Imola I want to see both cross the finishing line."



But it will be hard enough to fulfil this ambition. Both Lotus have been revised and completely reassembled after the classic race, but owing to the short period of time between the two races the team still has to manage on the same stage of development in Italy. The new updates with regard to performance will only be ready for the next round in Silverstone.
Kalmar: "We learned a lot in France, especially as regards durability – and I place my bet exactly on this fact in Imola. There the drivers can push the limits of the car's performance – which we didn't do yet at Le Mans because of the length of the race. We still have a lot of potential left."



There is not much change regarding the driver line-up: One Evora GTE will be driven by the recently successful triumvirate of James Rossiter, Johnny Mowlem (both GBR) and Jonathan Hirschi (SUI), but this time team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer will also have a seat in the other car besides Martin Rich (GBR) and Oskar Slingerland (NED): "I'm very much looking forward to my participation, and at the same time I hope that the entire team will sell itself similarly well in Italy as it did the last time out at Le Mans. We're still entirely in a development stage with this project, during which any success can't be rated high enough."

This post has been promoted to an article]]> Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:34:30 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/54550-ahead-of-imola/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/53785-great-appearance/
Foto: Der Jetalliance Lotus Evora GTE von Rossiter/Mowlem/Hirschi - Credit: Jetalliance - Abdruck honorarfrei
 
James Rossiter, Johnny Mowlem and Jonathan Hirschi finish 22nd overall in the Jetalliance Lotus Evora GTE – and take third in the GTE Pro ILMC classification.
 
The second appearance by Jetalliance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans ended in success as well! After the team was able to claim a sensational third place in class in 2009, it was no less content with today’s achievement: Starting as an official “Lotus Jetalliance” factory team for the first time, the crew from Oeynhausen in Lower Austria managed to bring a new Lotus Evora GTE to the finish straight away – as the only Austrian team, mind you . . .
James Rossiter (GBR), Johnny Mowlem (GBR) and Jonathan Hirschi (SUI) were ranked in 22nd position overall and in seventh place in the GTE Pro class after tough, strenuous 24 hours and a total of 21 pit stops.
But there was another podium finish this time as well, because the race also counted towards the ILMC – resulting in P3 in the GTE Pro class!
 
The second Lotus Evora GTE of Martin Rich, John Hartshorne (both GBR) and Oskar Slingerland (NED) did not fare so well – they had to throw in the towel prematurely at 4.30 in the morning: There was a spin following a broken-off wheel, then several tyre failures afterwards – and the pits could no longer be reached on just two wheels.
 
Team manager Jan Kalmar: “An incredible moment for all of us. Many of us haven’t slept for three days – but it was worth it. This result is an achievement you simply cannot describe. We’ve shown that we’re doing an absolutely professional job.”
 
Team owner Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer and Jetalliance’s chairman of the board of directors Vitus Eckert left France with mixed feelings. After all both were initially also entered as drivers, but then had to pass at short notice, since they are urgently needed within the company and hence were unable to summon up the time for an optimum preparation.
 
Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer: “Congratulations to the entire team. They have done an outstanding job over the past few weeks, thus really making this great appearance possible for us – because bringing a brand new car that far in such a short space of time to be able to make it to the finish of the world’s toughest endurance race is really worth to be cherished. The experts also see it the same way – which pleases me in particular. It makes the anguish of not having been at the wheel myself definitely bearable.”

This post has been promoted to an article]]> Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:03:34 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/53785-great-appearance/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/53705-first-12-hours/  
The cars have more or less behaved as expected.
 
The race has been influenced by two very long safety car periods due to some very scary collision. Fortunately, none of our vehicles involved in the incidents.
 
However, the # 64 suffered a minor collision, but could come back to the pits. After a great job of mechanics the car came fairly quickly back on track.

This post has been promoted to an article]]> Sun, 12 Jun 2011 06:44:26 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/53705-first-12-hours/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/53480-first-night-session/





The first official qualify session showed that the improvements on the cars had worked. The cars was faster than before. That was all the competitors too, so more work ahead!



The session started with a 45 minutes delay for car # 64 (Slingerland, Rich, Hartshorne). A leak in the petrol supply had to be fixed before the car could enter the track.



On the other hand the car # 65 (Hirshi, Rossiter, Mowlem) completed a smooth session with only the scheduled pitstops.



This morning the team are sleeping to be ready for the waiting tasks. After the last qualification session has finished at midnight to night, the cars will be dismantled and more or less rebuild to be 100% fit for the race.



To night there will be two sessions. From 19.00 to 21.00 and again from 22.00 to 24.00.



This post has been promoted to an article]]> Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:20:03 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/53480-first-night-session/ http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/53393-splendid-practice/



Free Practice Wednesday afternoon



The free practice was scheduled from 16.00 to 20.00 and went smoothly for the two Lotus Jetalliance Lotus Evora cars.



The cars spend a great deal of the time on the track, and came back to the pit completely unharmed after the four hour session.



All the drivers had there turns, and are ready for the coming three qualification sessions of which the first started this evening at 22.00.





This post has been promoted to an article]]> Thu, 09 Jun 2011 09:20:34 +0000 http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/topic/53393-splendid-practice/