| THE
MOTORSPORT ELISE
Ummm,
I'll have one in Orange please.... The meanest Lotus in years and
very much function before fashion, hardcore function at that. When
a Lotus is this race-bred and focused you can keep yer 360 Modena
thank you very much !
|
|
This car in its initial guise was unveiled at the Geneva Motorshow March 1999 and then stunned the crowds in the summer at the Goodwood festival of speed. The
Lotus sport elise primarily represents Lotus' entry back into motorsport
and will feature in a flagship one make championship which will
support the 2000 british touring cars series and 'fill the gap between
club racing and top level sportcar racing' . Starting in 2000 the
series will run for 3 years at the leading UK and European circuits
with the factory preparing a grid of 25 cars and providing trackside
support, service and preparation, race entry fees, testing costs,
transportation and running costs, initial branding and a comlimentary
race suit for each competitor. Cost is a paltry 55 grand (insurance
not included).
CAN I HAVE ONE ? The car is also available to order at individual specification to clubman racing and privateer GT teams. It has been reported that aside the batch due for the one make race series, a 1999 allocation of cars have been sold to individuals by agreement with Lotus on the understanding that they will be racing - price was apparently 36K + vat. More importantly though, at the time of writing it is believed that a derivative of the motorsport elise will be available through one of the dozen or so Lotus motorsport franchises from early next year when they initialise at selected UK Lotus dealers. It is rumoured that a factory 111s elise will be on offer with the motorsport GT body but most definitely, the clamshells and fixed head will be available to order as retrofittable elise parts. My wish is that they offer the car with the detuned (and road legal) VHPD that was developed for the 340R car..... here's hoping.
RACE SCHEDULE The series will comprise between 12 to 14 rounds at leading UK and European circuits with an approxiamte share of 2/3 in the UK. The following tracks have been shortlisted for 2000: Silverstone,
Donnington, Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Snetterton, Thruxton, Croft
SET-UP AND MAINTENANCE The central character of this series is obviously a level playing field and whilst drivers will not be able to buy a competitive advantage the following set-up options will be available: Aerodynamics
(e.g. front splitter and rear wing) A purpose-built mobile Race Village incorporating car prep. and hospitality areas will be transported to every race meeting. Cars will be prepared in groups of five and keep to this 5 car pit and the same team of mechanics for the whole season. For added excitement and media interest, a celebrity driver will race a guest car at selected meetings.
CAR
SPECIFICATION
RELATED LINKS Lotus
motorsport official site (watch out - its shockwave)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
The Jackals Racetrack http://www.jackals-forge.com/lotus 1998 Richard Morris