New Lotus Championship for 2011
Lotus on Track Racing Drivers Club (LoTRDC), in conjunction with Motorsport Vision Racing (MSVR), are pleased to announce the formation of a new championship for the 2011 season: Lotus Cup UK.
The new championship, which has been granted outline approval by the MSA will run alongside LoTRDC’s hugely successful Lotus on Track Elise Trophy, which will be heading into its fifth season and Lotus Cup Europe, the only official Group Lotus race series, which has been run on the manufacturer’s behalf by LoTRDC for the past two seasons.
Lotus Cup UK will consist of 8 rounds over 6 events. Four of these will feature 60 minute races, which will include a mandatory pit stop, whilst the remaining two will run with a 20 minute sprint, followed by either a 30 or 40 minute race.
Regulations will be the same as those for Lotus Cup Europe, which will enable drivers to switch between the UK and European series.
The Championship will feature 5 Classes:
- 2-Eleven – Specifically aimed at the Toyota supercharged Lotus 2-Eleven circuit car.
- Exige Cup – Aimed at all Exige S2 variants – including the 2009 Lotus Exige Cup 260, Exige Cup 255, Exige Cup 240, Exige Cup 190 and Exige S.
- Lotus Open – For Lotus cars that do not fall into the above categories – including Elise S2 supercharged Toyota, Modified K series Elise S1, S2, 340R and Europa. Other Lotus cars may be accepted by invitation only.
- Production – With factory specification engines and limited modifications permitted.
- Evora – For standard specification Evora race cars.
The race lengths and Championship status are designed to promote serious competition, whilst the Elise Trophy, which will race at some of the meetings, will remain a club series for those who are new to racing or prefer a more relaxed environment.
The Yokohama AO48 will be the control tyre, which is the same specification for the Elise Trophy and Lotus Cup Europe. This will help drivers who wish to swap between Europe’s major Lotus race series.
2011 Provisional Calendar
Round 1 – Snetterton 300 – 20th March – 60 Minutes
Round 2 – Silverstone Arena Grand Prix – 16th-17th April – 60 Minutes
Round 3 – Snetterton 300 (Lotus Festival) – 24th-25th June – 60 Minutes
Round 4 & 5 – Brands Hatch Grand Prix – 23rd-24th July – 20 & 30 Minutes
Round 6 & 7 – Spa Francorchamps – 30th Sept – 2nd Oct – 20 & 40 Minutes
Round 8 – Brands Hatch Indy – 29th October – 60 Minutes
Further details available at the Brands Hatch Lotus 1000KM on 6th November and from www.lotrdc.com from 15th November.
News on the announcement hit Hangar 111 just after Mike Gascoyne’s Tweet to tell followers that the FIA entry list confirmed that the name Team Lotus was accepted. The use of the name hasn’t been without various issues however and it would be nice to say it all boils down to one in particular – but sadly it doesn’t.
fantastic asset to F1 and we are sure that a massive proportion of the Lotus ownership agree judging by customer comments and other mentions around the web.
