Something From The Weekend - Mixed Fortune For Group Lotus Motorsport

F1 point at the German GP

Good and not so good results for KVRT-Lotus in IndyCar

Strong outing for Lotus-ART in GP2 and GP3

Great result for Lotus GT racing

FORMULA ONE – GERMAN GRAND PRIX

Lotus Renault GP took a single point at the Nurburgring thanks to a gritty drive from Vitaly Petrov, while team-mate Nick Heidfeld was driven off the road and out of contention.

The drivers struggled to generate sufficient tyre temperatures in chilly Germany, but had a satisfactory qualifying session. Petrov qualified P9 while Heidfeld narrowly missed out on Q3, just three hundredths of a second off compatriot Michael Schumacher. He started 11th.

Heidfeld was squeezed at the start. Heading into Turn 3 he hit Paul di Resta and fell through the field to 21st. Trying hard to make up positions he went down the outside of Sebastien Buemi at the chicane on Lap 10. The Toro Rosso driver didn't see the black and gold car bearing down to his right and moved across the track, forcing Nick off the road. The car went airborne before landing in the gravel.

"Buemi blocked the left hand side, as he's allowed to do, but when I went to his right hand side he just moved over on me," complained Heidfeld. "I had a lot more speed than him and was on my way to pass. He just didn't give me any room and pushed me onto the grass. It was an accident which couldn't be avoided. It's never nice being up in the air in one of these cars and it could have been dangerous."

Petrov enjoyed a clean race, which saw him defend brilliantly – particularly under pressure from Schumacher and Jenson Button. He finished tenth.

"Well, it's another point gained today, but we need to analyze why we lost positions out there and why we didn't come into the pits earlier to fight the group in front," said Petrov, who pitted on Lap 23 while the lead group around eight laps earlier. "I made a good start and had some decent battles, but the main thing is we need to look at why the likes of Force India and Sauber are finishing ahead of us and correct this as soon as possible."

INDYCAR – EDMONTON

KV Racing Technology-Lotus driver Tony Kanaan finished fourth on the airport asphalt in Edmonton on Sunday having moved through the field from his P11 start position, while team-mates EJ Viso and Takuma Sato ended up 20th and 21st. Sato started from pole and led for the third time this season.

"It was a good result, it was a good race and it's great for the Geico – KV Racing - Lotus crew," Kanaan said. "If felt good being out there with those guys, you know, all guys that know what they are doing like Justin, Ryan and Dario. We had some great battles and finishing fourth after starting eleventh and on top of that having a bad pit stop is pretty rewarding, especially considering that I got back to fourth in the championship. I feel bad for my teammates because I know that all the three KV cars were supposed to be in the top-five."

Taku locked-up on Lap 19 which allowed eventual winner Will Power to steal the lead. After the first pitstop, the Japanese driver had fallen back to P5 but surged to the front again following a spectacular re-start. He sliced back into second behind Power under braking for the Turn 5 hairpin, while just behind his team-mate Viso slid into Scott Dixon and spun. Viso had qualified a season-high fifth.

EJ Viso said: "I started up at the front and on one of the restarts I made contact with Dixon, which I feel bad about as he finished the race some laps behind. It was a pretty messy corner and I got too close and braked on the inside and we hit. I then lost a lap waiting to be restarted and from then on there was not much else we could do. We had a pretty fast car during the race. I think I got the second fastest time and we showed we were strong as a team all weekend. I want to thank everyone who is part of KVRT – Lotus who has helped make us stronger and also my sponsors PDVSA. I really feel bad. I thought we had a chance for a podium."

Takuma Sato said: "It is disappointing finishing in the back like this. The start was very exciting. I had a good feeling leading the race. Then I had a little problem with the balance and lost some positions. After that there was a caution and we changed tires. On the restart I regained most of the positions and was running in second. Everything was looking good and I was comfortable with the pace, but unfortunately Hunter–Reay hit me and damaged my car and put me a lap down. It was a long race after that and very difficult to stay motivated. I feel very bad for all the crew. They worked so hard all weekend. It was a positive weekend for us until the middle of the race. I am just so disappointed.

GP2 – GERMANY

Lotus-ART's Jules Bianchi scored strong points finishes in both races at the Nurburgring, but narrowly missed out on the top step

Bianchi lined up fourth with Gutierrez in P8 for Saturday's feature race. Jules made a strong start, immediately sliding into third, before the Safety Car was called out and the wrecked cars of Pal Varhaug and Kevin Mirocha removed. At the restart Esteban tried in vain to hold off Sam Bird through the complex for P10. The Mexican was struggling to get heat into his tyres. Bianchi pitted on Lap 14, one lap after race leader Charles Pic, and lost time as the team changed all four tyres – rather than just the rears - which allowed Luca Filippi to leapfrog him. The Frenchman finished in fourth place, while Gutierrez – who was given a drive-thru for an unsafe pitstop release - finished 12th.

The results meant that, for Race 2, Bianchi started fifth and Gutierrez 12th. Bianchi made another brilliant start, this time slotting into P2 behind pole-sitter Bird who then spun a lap later, promoting the Lotus-ART driver to the lead. Esteban was on the move too, making up a stunning six positions at the start and then laying into the leading group. Fifth, fourth, third, he mastered the wet conditions to steal position after position. On Lap 12 he took Romain Grosjean around the outside of Turn 2, only for the championship leader to seize the position back. In the pitstop the Lotus-ART team beat DAMS and Gutierrez was ahead. At this point, with Bianchi leading, the team looked on course for a 1-2 but then the right rear wheel fell off Gutierrez' car, sending him off the track. Grosjean was flying and started to attack Bianchi. On the penultimate lap, Jules made a small error at the chicane, got on the slippery paint, and this allowed Grosjean through into the lead. Third-placed Filippi had a go too in the braking zone for Turn 1 and the two made contact, but it did little to impede Bianchi who followed Grosjean across the line in P2.

Bianchi may have earned himself a big bottle of champagne, but he looked pretty miserable after the podium: "It was really difficult. I led the race for a long time and in the rain I was able to build a big gap. Then I pitted and at the first corner I made a mistake and suddenly there was no more gap. Romain was quite quick and again, like in Silverstone, they pitted before us so they were quicker. I pushed hard and then made a mistake on the penultimate lap. Romain overtook. I was angry with myself, because victory was for the taking. But Romain drove well, so I congratulate him, and I thank my team for giving me a great car today."

Gutierrez was upbeat despite a lack of points: "The race was going really well, but after the pitstop I felt something funny with the car and that was it, game over. But I can be very happy with my performance today, as I am really gaining confidence in the car and driving in the wet. Today I had the pace to be on the podium, and yesterday in Race 1 I think I would have been seventh maybe had we not had the penalty, which I thought was a bit harsh."

GP3 – GERMANY

Lotus-ART driver Valtteri Bottas took a superb wet-weather victory at the Nurburgring on Sunday.

The promise was already there on Saturday when the Finn drove heroically. He made a storming start from 11th on the grid and was soon up to third place. Five laps from the end the heavens opened and the lead drivers battled the elements with slick tyres while other drivers pitted for wets. Fortune favoured the brave, though the battle – at times very sideways – saw the lead change many times. Rio Haryanto took the flag with Bottas third, despite a last minute charge from team-mate James Calado.

The reverse grid for Sunday's Race 2 meant that Calado started fifth and his team-mate sixth. This race was soaking from lights out, so rain tyres were the order of the day. The pair made terrific starts, Bottas assuming P3 with Calado just behind him. Unluckily, the Englishman was spun by Aaro Vainio at the chicane on Lap 1, who was later handed a penalty. With Vainio no longer a threat, Bottas laid into Tamas Pal Kiss to take the lead where he stayed till the chequered flag. Calado hadn't given up. Knocked down to 27th after his contact with Vainio, he recovered with an inspired overtaking-rich drive to finish sixth.

Rookie Bottas was very satisfied with his first GP3 victory. "This weekend was really good for points, the best so far. The rain helped us. In the dry we are struggling for pace, so this saved us a little bit. But the conditions were not easy, particularly yesterday on slicks in the wet. Today the tyre pressures and set-up were just right. This hasn't been an easy season at all but we are making progress all the time. We're still in the game."

Calado rues what might have been: "I'm a bit frustrated because I had the speed to win the race. I made a cracking start and then got taken out at the hairpin towards the end of the lap. I was almost dead last after that, but I saw red and with good lap times and lots of overtaking I managed to finish sixth. I was really on the limit, so the team are quite pleased. Being English helps when it comes to wet weather driving! Next up it's Budapest, and we need to do a lot of work before that as we're not quick enough in the dry. We're losing three or four tenths to Arden and time is running out, so let's see what we can do."

For Lotus-ART team principal Frederic Vasseur, who oversees both GP2 and GP3, it was a very encouraging weekend: "Valtteri drove a bloody good race, and James was so quick. Had Vainio not hit him we would have been 1-2. So congratulations to them both, they did us proud. In GP2 we were close to a 1-2 today too. We have to see what happened with Esteban's wheel, but it was looking good there for a while. Both drivers drove a good race. Jules was leading and conserving the tyres. His small mistake on the penultimate lap cost him the win, but it's still a good result and with his win in Silverstone and his fourth on Saturday he's back in the championship."

SIX HOURS OF MISANO – ITALY

Gianni Giudici and Marco Fumagalli came first in the GT production car class of the Misano Six Hours with their Lotus Evora GTS, finishing 13th overall.

"The car was perfect," said Giudici. "It's a street car with a roll cage, and while the Ferraris and Porsches we were up against had 560bhp we had just 360. Nevertheless, the performance and reliability were exceptional and we were able to stay ahead of the competition and record a really fantastic victory."

Group Lotus Motorsport Director, Claudio Berro, was encouraged by this weekend's performances, particularly in the junior formulae: "First of all, congratulations to Valtteri Bottas on his first GP3 victory. He's a very talented driver, and proved this in very challenging conditions at the Nurburging by always being in control. Well done to all the Lotus-ART drivers, because while the results weren't all perfect – that's the way it so often goes in motor racing – it was a very competitive display from our GP3 and GP2 teams all round. In IndyCar, once again KVRT-Lotus showed it has become a serious challenger with another pole position and a top four finish."