2-eleven Takes On Dubai 24 Hour

The Lotus 2-Eleven GT4 Supersport made a strong

endurance debut at the Dubai International 24 hour race last

weekend.

Malaysian based Empire Motorsports ran the 2-Eleven GT4, with regular

drivers Denis Lian and James Mitchell joined for this race by Torro Rosso F1

test driver Karun Chandhok. The majority of the mechanics in the up and

coming Malaysian team are students studying automotive technology at The

Otomotif College (TOC). The race team is part of Empire Motorsports' mission

to develop a stronger foundation for the Asian motorsports industry.

The car qualified 36th overall for the race after the team elected not to stress

the car unnecessarily immediately prior to such a long event. Within a few

hours of the start the car had moved up to second in class and continued to

climb through the overall rankings. At three quarters distance the car was

running in a very creditable 9th overall and 2nd in class.

Sadly after 18 hours of hard racing, a failure of the special purpose sequential

racing gearbox resulted in a costly 3 hour gearbox change, dropping the 2-

Eleven GT4 down to 10th in class and 50th overall. The drivers then rewarded

the team's efforts with spirited progress and regained a number of positions

completing the race 8th in class and 44th overall out of 59 finishers.

Mike Kimberley CEO of Group Lotus plc commented, "Lotus is proud to have

continued to develop our relationship with Empire Motorsports starting from

the Merdeka Millennium 12 hour race at Sepang, Malaysia. Empire

Motorsports have now demonstrated that the 2-Eleven GT4 also makes for an

exceptionally competitive and cost effective endurance race car capable of

taking on much larger and more expensive cars in Motorsport events."

Ashraff Dewal, Team Principal of Empire Motorsports, expressed delight with

the pace of the 2-Eleven GT4 and the exceptionally low rate at which it

consumed tyres and brake pads compared with the other participating

racecars. Commenting "I am very proud that a young team like Empire

Motorsports can work so closely with such an established marque as Lotus to

develop a new endurance race car specification and I look forward to

continuing the relationship in the future."

Chris Arnold, Head of Lotus Sport, said "The 2-Eleven provides a platform to

create a competitive, versatile race package that offers great thrills and

performance". Adding "the 2-Eleven has been exceptionally well received and

as well as driving the cars on the road, some owners have used 2-Eleven's of

various specification in many exciting and varied events from track days,

rallies, hillclimbs, sprint races and international GT races. This race result

shows that endurance racing must now be added to the 2-Eleven's impressive

range of capabilities".