Lotus will race with special logos on their car marking the team’s 500th Grand Prix start this weekend.
Clive Chapman, son of team founder Colin, will be present at the European Grand Prix as part of the celebrations.
It will be the ninth start for the current generation of the team, adding to the 491 it contested between 1958 and 1994. Of those, it won 79, making it the fourth most successful Grand Prix-winning constructor.
Jarno Trulli said:
It’ll be very special to help take that famous name to such a milestone, and I’m very honoured to be part of it.
I met [Colin’s wife] Hazel Chapman on Sunday at the Classic Team Lotus Festival, and that was very special for me, particularly as I had the chance to drive Elio De Angelis’ T91 in front of the crowds, and that felt great.
Jarno Trulli
Following its performance in Canada, where the new team was closest to the midfield than at any time previously this year, chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne confirmed Lotus will have further updates on the T127 this weekend.
Heikki Kovalainen said the team were no longer worried about comparisons with the other new outfits and have their sights set on catching the midfield runners:
The last few races have been very positive for our team, we’ve been making progress every weekend and the plan is to carry on pushing.
For Valencia, and for the rest of the season, we’re not looking back at the other new teams – we lapped them in Canada so we’re looking to keep taking the fight to the guys ahead, and I think we can do that.
This is obviously an historic weekend for Lotus, and for Lotus Racing, and I think we’re starting to do justice to what’s gone before us – it’s fantastic that we can celebrate such a great milestone in Valencia, and it’ll be an honour to be part of that.
Heikki Kovalainen
Clive Chapman is eager to see the team his father created make progress:
Much as it is nice that Lotus Racing is celebrating 500th Grand Prix, I am sure the most important thing about the weekend for the team is that it is another race and the next opportunity to continue to make progress towards the established teams.
It was exciting to watch Montreal qualifying, when Heikki almost pipped the Sauber, and I for one would swap the 500th landmark for the landmark of outqualifying an established team in normal circumstances. Fingers crossed!
2010 European Grand Prix
Neil
22nd June 2010, 17:45
They really should have named this team Air Asia Racing or something. Maybe then the BBC wouldn’t be all over them with praise every single race.
Hamish
22nd June 2010, 23:22
Why not? Out of the new teams they have been by far the most promising on pace. They deserve all the praise they get.
Steezy
22nd June 2010, 17:54
So one minute Tony Fernandes is laughing at Ferrari about them being so horrible in their 800th race and talking about how Lotus are only in their what… 6th race or something like that (I’m sure you guys remember those comments), and now I read this. I don’t get these people.
Not that I’m defending Ferrari or anything but still…
Mike
23rd June 2010, 7:28
Well, Ferrari didn’t have a 15 or so year break in between did it?
Anyway, this is just shameless advertising. So I don’t think it’s that relevant to reality.
BasCB
22nd June 2010, 18:44
Ha, let us hope the 500th signage will do them more good than the 800th signage on the Ferraris!
I did have a similar feeling from this as Steezy.
Bartholomew
22nd June 2010, 22:00
For this occasion ( and for always) they shoud have chrome and black wheels ( like the classic Lotus look ) or all-gold wheels.
Anything except black wheels – they look so generic
LONG LIVE LOTUS
KNF
23rd June 2010, 4:30
JPS colors please (with their current sponsors lettered in gold instead)… Failing that, how about the Gold Leaf red and white color scheme from the late 60s??
Icthyes (@icthyes)
23rd June 2010, 1:54
500th race? How long was I asleep for?
wasiF1
23rd June 2010, 5:26
Only three months.
Mouse_Nightshirt (@mouse_nightshirt)
23rd June 2010, 1:54
Anyone got a shot of this “logo” yet?
Scalextric (@scalextric)
23rd June 2010, 4:11
Here are some cars from the first 491 races. Driven by Heikki K.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh2qAKZh_RY
It’s also on their team’s web page.
BasCB
23rd June 2010, 8:42
After seeing those first shots i was thinking it will be an advert for bio-diesel. Then i got the hint about the green/yellow colour sceme.
Nice one, lets hope they grow to really build on previous succes in years to come.
Oh and is Heikki the stig?
Sasquatsch
23rd June 2010, 10:10
It’s only Lotus Racings 9th race!!!
Lotus Racing is NOT Team Lotus. It is a complete separate entry, which has nothing to do with the former F1 team (although they would like to think so).
It’s a different name and different owner. If they wanted to share the history of Lotus they should have named the team Team Lotus (as F3 team Litespeed intended when they applied for the F1, but they were not chosen).
Praveen Titus
23rd June 2010, 12:24
Thanks for painting the true picture, Sasquatsch. All this is for promotional purposes. But then, at least Clive Chapman is excited about it as if it were his own team.
But even if it isn’t the original Lotus team,it still will be considered like one, and any of the team’s achievements will go down in history as a continuation of the early successes.
I’m not very uncomfortable with that, as much as I am with the name “Force India”. I love the team’s colour scheme, but that would have been enough to convey the idea that the team is Indian-owned, rather than explicitly naming it after the home country. He could have named it Kingfisher Racing and added the bird’s blue colour to the livery as well, as blue is India’s sporting color.
That said, I like the nomenclature “USF1”, as I personally believe it sounds better than “Force India”.
BasCB
23rd June 2010, 21:16
Joe Saward publishes great pictures from Sutton images on his blog. Those pictures were digged up especially for the 50 years since a Lotus car first won a race and for the 500th race by lotus.
http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/lotus-celebrates-500-gps-and-more/
Stuart
24th June 2010, 18:11
This makes me want to puke.
These impostors are not Lotus and never should have been allowed to use the name.
Its a shameless attempt to cash in on the real Lotus success.
Colin Chapman will be turning in his grave.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
24th June 2010, 18:34
I think that’s a bit over the top. If Chapman’s wife and son are happy with them carrying on where the previous Lotus left of, why should we object?
Charles Carroll
29th June 2010, 13:35
Agreed, especially after reading about the history of McLaren.
Stuart
24th June 2010, 18:58
Each to his own.Strong words certainly.
But they reflect my feelings.