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Double celebration for Rasse family as Lourenço is denied treble at Le Mans Gregory Rasse won the final Lotus Cup Europe race of 2015 at Le Mans last weekend (10/11 October), celebrating with brother John, who claimed the title despite missing out on a clean sweep of class victories. Outgoing champion Jérémy Lourenço passed polesitter and team-mate Xavier Georges to win the opening two races on the Bugatti circuit, which were held during the 24 Heures Camions event at the famous venue. The French Exige Cup pair finished in 1-2 formation, with Belgian Gregory Rasse taking third in his Evora. Rasse got his revenge in the double-points final race after a fantastic six-way fight that included England’s Jon Walker, who eventually finished third, his brother Nicolas, and Frenchman Philippe Loup. Lourenço finished second and his efforts were enough to take the V6 Cup class championship. Christophe Lisandre (France) and Jon Packer (England) took 2-Eleven class victories in the first two races, but Jean-Baptiste Loup fought back from engine failure in qualifying to overcome Lisandre in race two and win the third to claim the class title. Meanwhile rival Lisandre suffered from a heartbreaking gearbox issue to finish well down the order. England’s David Harvey took a hat-trick of Open class wins in his unique 340R, despite the best efforts of the Exiges of Nicolas Ferrer and Christopher Laroche, who took pole position at his local circuit. However, a more consistent run of results throughout the season was enough to hand the class championship to France’s Ferrer. With a clean sweep of class victories heading into the final meeting, John Rasse was odds-on to lift the overall championship title, but failed to start race two with gearbox worries, which denied him a perfect run. With double-points on offer in the final race of the year he elected to save his car. In Rasse’s absence, England’s Jason McInulty overcame engine failure in qualifying to claim the honour of being the only other man to take a Production class victory in 2015 after an epic scrap with Austrian Markus Nikowitsch, Swede Sven Petterson and Briton James Knight. Nikowitsch and Petterson finished on the podium, joining Frenchman Thierry Hedoin and Briton Mackenzie Taylor as Production rostrum visitors during the event.

The 2015 Lotus Cup Europe champion will be crowned at the 24 Heures Camions event on the Le Mans Bugatti circuit next weekend (10/11 October), with a special triple-header set to decide the FIA International Series’ title. Twelve months ago, Jérémy Lourenço lifted the 2014 championship, and after moving up from the 2-Eleven class to V6 Cup with an Exige this season, the Frenchman has proven to be the man to beat for overall wins. Only England’s Jon Walker (Exige) and Belgium’s Greg Rasse (Evora) have beaten him to the top step of the podium this season, but with two and three victories respectively, they have been overshadowed by Lourenço’s dominant seven. However, the destiny of this year’s title is set to be found in the Production class, where John Rasse is aiming for a clean sweep of category wins at the famous venue. Regardless of whether he achieves this goal, his overall lead of 41 points (with 25 for a class win), and the championship’s dropped-score system makes him firm favourite to lift the coveted trophy. There are also class titles to be decided, and with Lourenço already in possession of the V6 silverware, there’s a close fight between Frenchmen Christophe Lisandre and Jean-Baptiste Loup in the 2-Eleven category, whilst a consistent weekend should settle the Open Class in favour of compatriot Nicolas Ferrer. At least 40 cars from the legendary British marque are set to qualify on the Bugatti circuit, adding to the festival atmosphere at the venue’s hugely popular annual autumn event. Lotus Cup Europe title standings 1 John Rasse Production 398 2 Jérémy Lourenço V6 Cup 357 3 Christophe Lisandre 2-Eleven 335 4 Jean-Baptiste Loup 2-Eleven 331 5 Thierry Hedoin Production 294 6 Jason McInulty Production 263 7 Jonathan Walker V6 Cup 259 8 Nicolas Ferrer Open 256 = Xavier Georges V6 Cup 256 10 Benoit Roger 2-Eleven 248 Useful links Event website: www.24h-camions.com Tickets: http://ticket.lemans.org/home-manif-camion Timetable: http://www.24h-camions.com/wpphpFichiers/1/1/ressources/Pdf/2015/24-heurescamions/horaires-24-heures-camions-2015.pdf

#31 Kevin Weeda (USA) – James Rossiter (GBR) – Christophe Bouchut (FRA) #32 Thomas Holzer (DEU) – Dominik Kraihamer (AUT) – Jan Charouz (CZE) Race #31 retired #32 retired Lotus Praga LMP2 was at the start of the 90th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Christophe Bouchut was the start driver for car #31 and made up some position in the first laps. Thomas Holzer was at the wheel of #32 for the start and was on a good pace. After about two hours into the race, Kevin Weeda in car #31 spun and had to stop the car at the track. During the night, Dominik Kraihamer (#32) did very good laps and set good and constant lap times after an Audi made contact with him. A failure on the bellhousing consequently caused damages on the fitted auxiliaries and forced the team to retire. Lotus Praga LMP2 showed a good performance at its only second start at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and with the new Lotus Praga T128 LMP2. The team showed a great effort and was working hard during the whole week. Christophe Bouchut, Race Driver #31: “It’s a shame that we had to retire. I would have preferred to finish my 20th race at Le Mans, but that’s racing. We had a good pace during the week and the car has got a lot of potential. I would like to thank the team for their great job.” Thomas Holzer, Race Driver #32: “We had to retire this morning. Nevertheless, we had a good car and we were on a good pace. It’s a shame we didn’t cross the finish line. But we will keep on working hard and fight back at the next races.”

Getting ready for the race and looking forward to representing the black and gold colours on the legendary circuit. #31 Kevin Weeda (USA) – James Rossiter (GBR) – Christophe Bouchut (FRA) #32 Thomas Holzer (GER) – Dominik Kraihamer (AUT) – Jan Charouz (CZE) Qualifying 2 #32 Position 9 (LMP2) Lap time 4:12.327 #31 no time Qualifying 3 #32 Position 15 (LMP2) Lap time 3:46.490 #31 Position 16 (LMP2) Lap time 3:47.920 Lotus Praga LMP2 hit the track on the second day of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Thomas Holzer, Dominik Kraihamer and Jan Charouz in car #32 will start from position 15. Kevin Weeda, James Rossiter and Christophe Bouchut (#31) qualified 16th for the legendary endurance race. There have been a lot of red flag periods during all qualifying sessions which didn’t make it easy. The weather has also played an important role in finding the right timing to go out on track. Due to heavy rain showers before the start of the second qualifying, it was quite tricky to drive at the Circuit des 24 Heures. The track was still damp during the third and final qualifying, but dried up until the end of the session. Lotus Praga LMP2 is now getting ready for the race and looking forward to representing the black and gold colours on the legendary circuit. The race will start on Saturday, 22nd June, at 15:00 hours local time. Christophe Bouchut, Race Driver #31: “We had good practice sessions and the car has a big potential. It is always a special feeling to race at night and also quite challenging for the driver. At Le Mans, racing at night is simply amazing. I know this circuit quite well and I am very looking forward to the start of my 20th race at Le Mans.” Thomas Holzer, Race Driver #32: “It was great to be back at Le Mans and driving the new Lotus Praga T128 LMP2. We have made another step forward and I am quite happy with the car. I think that we can have a good race and I am very confident. It is going to be a long race and I am looking forward to fighting with our competitors.”

Lotus Praga LMP2 is looking forward to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The endurance classic at the Sarthe celebrates its 90th birthday this year and Lotus is proud to be part of this special event. The new Lotus Praga T128 LMP2 did its first laps on the 13,629 kilometer long Circuit des 24 Heures at the obligatory test day last week. Lotus was able to gain a lot of data on this challenging race track and completed a total of 124 laps. With twenty starts at the endurance classic, Christophe Bouchut counts among the endurance racing experts. The Frenchman is very proud of this achievement and is looking forward to his anniversary. It will be Kevin Weeda’s first participation at Le Mans and the American did the minimum of ten laps at the test day to be eligible for the race. Dominik Kraihamer, who had an accident at the Le Mans test, is fully recovered and eager to race. The event at Le Mans will kick off with free practice (16:00-20:00) and the first qualifying session (22:00-24:00) on Wednesday, 19th June. Two more qualifying sessions will take place on Thursday, 20th June from 19:00 to 21:00 and from 22:00 to 24:00. Race start is on Saturday, 22nd June at 15:00. Christophe Bouchut, Race Driver #31: “This year, I am celebrating my 20th participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with one of the biggest names in motorsport, Lotus, which is a real honour and privilege! It is an achievement and fine recognition from the motorsport world to return to this exclusive race that I had the honour to win in 1993. Only ten drivers in the history of Le Mans have taken part in the event more often than I have, which shows how difficult it is to remain at the highest level for so long. There is no other race that I await with such anticipation every year, and there is no other circuit in the world where I enjoy racing to the limit as much as I do on the 24 Hours circuit. I am very proud to celebrate this anniversary with Lotus and I am sure that with my co-drivers Kevin Weeda and James Rossiter, we will do an excellent job in order to have a good result.” Dominik Kraihamer, Race Driver #32: “The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an event that every racing driver and racing fan is waiting for the whole year. It is a great honour for me and also a big challenge to participate in this spectacle with Lotus. I am looking forward to compete with the new Lotus Praga T128 LMP2 and to share the car with Thomas Holzer and Jan Charouz. I am very confident for the race and that we will have a strong performance.”

Lotus will be out en-masse this year for the 24-Heures-du-Mans 90th anniversary competing in LMP1 and LMP2 and showing-off the newest addition to the Lotus family, the Exige S Roadster. Lotus, together with its LMP1 team Lotus Rebellion Racing, and LMP2 team Lotus Praga, prepare for the famous French weekender and get set to journey through the night to complete the longest distance possible in 24 hours. It’s a gruelling challenge but one Rebellion Racing and Lotus Praga Teams are ready to take on! Whilst the prestigious Circuit de la Sarthe is almost ready to welcome the legions of race fans preparing to descend upon the French town of Le Mans for the 90th year – a sense of endurance is very much palpable, such is the mood of the organisers, locals and competitors, all of whom have been preparing tirelessly for the famous race. The fans however will no doubt be fresh, excited and full of anticipation for the world-famous motoring event. Those looking to make the most of the Le Mans experience can find the Lotus stand in the Le Mans Village, where the latest addition to the Lotus Cars product range, the brand new Exige S Roadster will be on display. This will be the first public appearance of ‘the fastest convertible Lotus ever’ since the car went into production. The Lotus stand with stocked Lotus Originals boutique is open to visitors daily at the following times: Wednesday 19th June, 12.00 – 00.00 hrs Thursday 20th June, 12.00 – 00.00 hrs Friday 21st June, 10.00 – 20.00 hrs Saturday 22nd June, 09.00 – 02.00 hrs Sunday 23rd June, 09.00 – 17.00 hrs Not to be missed; the Lotus stand will be home to two exclusive autograph sessions for fans and customers with chance to meet the Lotus Praga drivers. Details are as follows: Wednesday the 19 June 8]· 2:30pm - 2:45pm 8]· LMP2 Car #31 - Drivers: Kevin Weeda, James Rossiter, Christophe Bouchut Thursday the 20 June 8]· 5:00pm - 5:15pm 8]· LMP2 Car #32 - Drivers: Thomas Holzer, Dominik Kraihamer, Jan Charouz Fuel consumption for Exige S Roadster is – urban 19.5 mpg – 14.5 litres / 100km, extra urban 37.2 mpg – 7.6 litres / 100km, combined – 28.0 mpg – 10.1 litres / 100km. CO2 emissions 236 g CO2 / km.

Lotus will race with two cars in the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship, which includes the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans. The FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest have announced the competitors for the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans at today’s press conference in Paris. Lotus got two entries for the FIA WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans to run with the new Lotus T128 in LMP2 class. In its inaugural season in 2012, the FIA WEC has gained a lot of attention all over the world. The 2013 calendar comprises eight races on four continents on legendary circuits like Fuji, Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps. But the sports cars will also run on new tracks like the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Without a doubt, the ultimate highlight for all drivers and teams will be the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Only 55 cars are allowed to take part in the legendary endurance classic at the Sarthe and every single grid spot is highly coveted. As a consequence, Lotus is very happy that the ACO complied with the team’s desire to participate with two Lotus T128. It was also announced today that Briton James Rossiter and Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi will stay with the team and drive alongside American Kevin Weeda. The crew already impressed with good results in the previous season and with the Pole Position in class at the 6 Hours of Shanghai. German Thomas Holzer will lead the lineup of the sister car.

Lotus-Rebellion finished fourth overall at Le Mans and were the only team to break Audi’s domination. The #12 car was also the first-placed petrol-engined machine. Both cars entered reached the finish line, and took first and third place in the LMP1 Privateer FIA WEC category. The team has extended its lead in the LMP1 Privateer championship. The #12 Toyota-powered Lotus-Rebellion driven by Nick Heidfeld, Neel Jani and Nicolas Prost and #13 sister car driven by Andrea Belicchi, Harold Primat and Jeroen Bleekemolen were never out the top 8 (including the six Audi and Toyota factory cars) during the first four hours of the race. With mechanical and traffic issues for the factory cars, the two black and gold livered prototypes were strongly positioned in the top six from the sixth hour. After the early retirement of both factory Toyota Hybrids, Lotus-Rebellion was the only team to break the Audi stranglehold with car #12 running fourth from the seventh hour. The night proved trouble-free, and #12 broke through the dawn still in fourth and resisting pressure from the #3 Audi R18 Ultra. The sister Rebellion was starting to have clutch issues and, with just five hours to go, was pushed into the pits for 37 minutes while the crew took apart the rear of the car and gearbox to replace the clutch. The car emerged P11 overall. The final two hours were intense for the Swiss team. The #13 car pushed its way up to the Privateer Trophy podium. Meanwhile, Audi were hunting down a perfect top four lock-out at the front, and the Lotus-Rebellion was in the way. Neel Jani responded by setting lap times even quicker than qualifying, and then handed over to local favourite Nicolas Prost who took the chequered flag, maintaining the team’s hard-fought fourth-place. Bart Hayden, team manager: “To secure fourth place overall at the Le Mans 24 Hours among Audi factory cars is just reward for the immense effort, contribution, dedication and determination of each and every member of our team. I am deeply proud of what we have achieved as a team. As announced before the season our aim was to repeat our 2011 result at Le Mans and win the FIA WEC Trophy for best Privateer. We are now in a good position to secure both of them after this Le Mans result.”

#31 Thomas Holzer (GER) – Mirco Schultis (GER) – Luca Moro (ITA) Race #31 Retire Unfortunately, Lotus will not cross the finish line at the 80th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After about half of the race, the car had to come back to the pits due to a gearbox failure. The crew tried for some hours to fix the car, but without success. Until that time, the car was running good and without major problems. In between, Lotus was running 14th in LMP2 class. The team is very disappointed about the retirement.

#31 Thomas Holzer (GER) – Mirco Schultis (GER) – Luca Moro (ITA) Qualifying Session 2 #31 no lap time Qualifying Session 3 #31 Position 17 (LMP2) Lap time 3:45.664 (Holzer) Mixed fortunes for Lotus at the second day of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In the second qualifying, Luca Moro had to stop the car on his out lap immediately after the start of the session because of an engine failure. The mechanics did an incredible job and managed to change the engine in less than 50 minutes. The Lotus LMP2 car was ready for the third and final qualifying and the drivers got more track time. All in all, it was a decent qualifying result for the team that is now looking forward to the race and hoping to finish in a good position. Thomas Holzer, Race driver #31: “It was a good third qualifying today and I was able to improve lap by lap. It is a shame that we were not running in second qualifying and we lost valuable time out on track. Maybe we could have done better, but it is just qualifying, what counts is the race. A big thank you to the mechanics which did an unbelievable job by changing the engine in record time.” Mirco Schultis, Race driver #31: “First of all, I would like to thank the mechanics who did a great job today. It is a shame that we could not run in second qualifying and we lost important track time. It will be a long race and everything is possible, I am looking forward to it.” Luca Moro, Race driver #31: “Unfortunately, we couldn’t run in the second qualifying session due to an engine failure. But the mechanics worked very fast and managed to fix the car for the third qualifying. After that, we did not take any risk and did some laps to make sure that the car is okay.”

#31 Thomas Holzer (GER) – Mirco Schultis (GER) – Luca Moro (ITA) Free Practice #31 Position 18 (LMP2) Lap time 3:47.061 (Holzer) Qualifying Session 1 #31 Position 16 (LMP2) Lap time 3:48.067(Holzer) Lotus LMP2 successfully completed its first day at the 80th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Thomas Holzer, Mirco Schultis and Luca Moro added more valuable mileage, a total of 980 kilometres, on the team’s tally and fulfilled the requirements to run a minimum of five laps at night at the Circuit des 24 Heures. The team was testing the different tyre compounds in order to learn about the tyre wear. Another target of the day was to see how the car and tyres behave at night and to find the right set-up for the qualifying next sessions and the race. Thomas Holzer, Race driver #31: “We are pleased about today’s outcome. We achieved what we wanted, to complete the necessary five laps at night. It is my first time at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and didn’t run here before apart from the test day prior to the race. It takes some laps until you are acquainted with the track and adapt to the circumstances. Tomorrow, there will be two more sessions, but qualifying is not so important here because the race lasts 24 long hours.” Mirco Schultis, Race driver #31: “I got experienced to the track today step by step. Driving at night is completely different here, but amazing. I am very proud to be able to race at this legendary race having fulfilled the requirements running five laps at night. I hope to improve tomorrow and I am looking forward to the next sessions.” Luca Moro, Race driver #31: “It is my first time at Le Mans and I am happy to be here. I completed the mandatory five laps at night, so I am allowed to race. It is good fun to drive at night, but also quite demanding because it is quite dark at the track. There is still some room for improvement and I hope that tomorrow’s qualifying will be better.”

In under a week’s time, REBELLION Racing will be putting the team’s two Lola-Toyota B12/60 Coupé LMP1 prototypes through the toughest endurance race in the 80th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours on 16-17 June. REBELLION Racing will compete at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours aiming for a podium finish whilst battling for top Privateer and petrol powered honours, repeating last year’s and recent successes. REBELLION Racing finished as the best petrol powered car in the 2011 edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours, a result that helped the team to finish the season as the best Privateer in the championship behind Peugeot’s and Audi’s factory teams. The Swiss team go into this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours as the current leaders of the FIA WEC LMP1 Trophy for best Privateer Team with 37 points after having achieved a 1-2 finish at the last round, the 6 Hours of Spa. REBELLION Racing is heading to Le Mans with confidence and optimism. The team were satisfied with the Le Mans test day last Sunday (3rd of June). All the latest developments pleased the drivers and the engineers were reassured about the potential of the car and its line of progression for the forthcoming race. The former Formula One driver, German Nick Heidfeld, will return to Le Mans for the first time since 1999, when he was there with the AMG-Mercedes factory squad in the #5 Mercedes CLR. It was his first and only participation in the legendary endurance race. The 24 Hour endurance epic begins at 15:00 on Saturday 16 June with live television coverage on Eurosport and commentary via Radio Le Mans (www.radiolemans.com). Bart Hayden, REBELLION Racing Team Manager : "The latest improvements on our cars are all positive and should help us improve our performance in the 24 Hours race. We have really strong driver line-ups and our technical partners at Lola, TMG and Michelin have all worked hard to help us develop the cars. We will be aiming to deliver our optimum performance and with a little good fortune, we hope to figure strongly in the final classifications of the race, we consider repeating 2011’s result as a minimum target.” Nick Heidfeld, Lola-Toyota #12 : “I am really looking forward to this new challenge and I am especially excited to be in a position to target a good result in the Le Mans 24 Hours. My last, and only previous participation to date at Le Mans was in 1999 which was a long while ago. When I did my first laps last Sunday during the Test day it was for me as if I was at the track for the first time as I had no memories of it, I now can’t wait to be back on track on Wednesday for the first sessions of the main event of the season and to race through the night later in the week! “ Neel Jani, Lola-Toyota #12 : “As last year, our goal is to be the best privateer team and best non-hybrid petrol car finishing. We aim to do better than last year, P5 would be perfect. But it will be hard work because in addition to the 6 factory cars of Audi and Toyota, we'll have to face the HPD cars and the Dome that will be very strong competitors. Even though we have a good team and a good car this year, to achieve a strong result will be hard because the competition will be tougher than ever! “ Nicolas Prost, Lola-Toyota #12 : “Each year I go to Le Mans with the same approach. Because this is a long and special race, even if you have raced there several times, you need to approach it with some humility. The team has improved a lot since 2010. Last year we achieved the best result we could expect. The beginning of this season has been very good. We will target again the best possible result: best petrol car and we will see if we can expect something better if some of the factory cars encounter problems... “ Andrea Belicchi, Lola-Toyota #13 : “Le Mans is the biggest race of the year ! But for me, this year will be a special one. The recent earthquakes in Italy hit particularly hard in my home town, and a lot of my family and friends have been affected. Around my house has been destroyed. I have taken a few days of holiday since the Test day, and I will now be able to be focused 100% on the race ! I really enjoy driving at Le Mans with its fantastic corners! My goal will be the same as always, trying to achieve a great result.“ Harold Primat, Lola-Toyota #13 : “I have been part of teams that have had good races at Le Mans in the past. This year, we have the potential to secure a very good result. But because of the performance of the factory cars, we won't have full control on our result in the overall classifications. Nevertheless, we are aiming for the best result that we can. We'll try to have a clean and incident free race. The package we have now will help us to achieve that. There is a very good relationship between the drivers, and that helps us to deal with the pressure of the race. Everyone is pushing hard in the same direction, there is a challenging spirit but no rivalry. I think that is what helps make the success of a team in endurance racing. “ Jeroen Bleekemolen, Lola-Toyota #13 : “I'm happy to be here again. We had a good result last year being the fastest petrol in the race. Last race at Spa we saw that we have a strong package, everything is looking good. Le Mans is the race that everyone wants to be part of and I enjoy particularly racing here in the top category. I’ve made no special preparations but the feeling is always different when you are getting ready for the Le Mans Race. It's a great event and it is great to be part of it !”

Lotus is looking forward to the biggest race on the calendar of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The legendary endurance race is one of the greatest racing spectacles in the world and will celebrate its 80th anniversary this year. Participating in the classic of sports car racing is a highlight for everyone and Lotus is proud to bring the legendary black and gold livery back to this historical event. At the obligatory test day prior to the race, Lotus was running with its LMP2 car and the drivers got a first impression of the 13,629 km long race track. The team is well prepared for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and eager to show a good performance at its debut at the Sarthe. The event kicks off on Wednesday, 13th June with free practice and the first qualifying session. A further two qualifying sessions will follow the next day. The race gets underway at 3:00 pm on Saturday, 16th June. Thomas Holzer, Race Driver #31: “I am looking forward to being at Le Mans! It will be a new adventure for me. The atmosphere is unique and driving in front of the crowd must be amazing, especially at night. After the race in Spa, where we couldn’t show our real potential, we want to prove that we can have good results. The biggest challenge for every team and driver will be to balance to do constantly quick lap times and the ability to run 24 hours and to take no risks. But we are working hard and I am sure that we can show a strong performance.” Mirco Schultis, Race Driver #31: “I am happy to drive for Lotus at Le Mans and I am very looking forward to being at the wheel of the Lotus LMP2. I did not participate in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans before, but it is an event that everybody wants to be part of it. Even if I was doing many 24 hours races like Daytona, it is something very special to start in Le Mans. It is the legendary race and you can’t compare it with another race. During the test day, I already got some valuable mileage and made some acquaintance with the track. I hope that we will have a good result and we are working hard for that.” Luca Moro, Race Driver #31: “I was at the Le Mans test day some years ago but I have never race in the legendary 24 hours race of Le Mans. It is very exciting to be part of it and it is a great to compete with Lotus. It will be a great feeling driving the LMP2 car around the track and I think it is going to be a strong competition in this class during the race. I hope that we will finish in a good position and I am very looking forward to it.”