Lotus To Race In Fia Gt Championship

[Mark H]

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tue...cle/indexb_html

 

THE trek towards perfection continues for the fledgling Proton R3 Amprex outfit as they look for answers to some teething problems in Round Nine of the FIA GT Championship at the Zhuhai Circuit in China on Oct 20-23.

 

NstKiosk Having had some encouraging results, including the overall win in the Merdeka Millenium Endurance race on Aug 28, the team will continue to chart their fortunes with the thus far competitive Lotus Exige RR, which will fit perfectly into the GT2 class.

 

It will be the first time a factory Lotus will enter the FIA GT Championship since the Elise GT1 cars of eight years ago, but this will be a one-off race for the team as their focus is geared more towards a full-season challenge in the Super GT Series next year.

 

Their first foray into the Super GT series began with an impressive 15th fastest qualifying time in Round Four at Sepang in June, after which their engine ceased forcing them to withdraw from the race.

 

Amprex managing director Genji Hashimoto said the Exige 300 RR chassis will have a new GM 2,998cc V6 powerplant, gearbox and suspension system from Lotus. Thus far only Tengku Djan Ley Tengku Mahaleel has been confirmed as one of two drivers.

 

"In the next week, we hope to receive our new oil line and cooling systems so that we can make further improvements to the car," said Hashimoto.

 

"Although the regulations allow for a maximum of three drivers, our car will need probably just one stop. So, two drivers will be enough. However, we expect the organisers to slap us with a 50kg weight penalty because this will be the only round we will compete in."

 

The weight penalty may be imposed on the Malaysian outfit in order to slow them down so as to not interfere with the title race as the 11-round season approaches its climax.

 

Gruppe M Racing’s German duo Marc Lieb and Mike Rockenfeller lead the GT2 championship on 82 points after nine rounds, from the French-British combination of Emmanuel Collard and Tim Sugden (56).