For Lotus, New Engine May Be Too Little Too Late At Honda Indy Toronto

HVM's Simona de Silvestro has finished only three of nine races this season and was black-flagged after 10 laps in the Indianapolis 500 because her Lotus/Judd powered DW12 was too slow. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

For Lotus, New Engine May Be Too Little Too Late At Honda Indy Toronto

It was announced earlier this week that Lotus/Judd will have a new and updated engine package for the single car team that remains in competition in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series (IICS). We are now going to be treated to the 10th race in a scheduled 16 race season in the streets of Toronto, Ontario, Canada for the Honda Indy Toronto but, sadly, the addition of a single Lotus-powered competitor, no matter how good the engine, is of little consequence now that the effort has eroded to a single driver on a single team.

This announcement, if it came about by the third race of the season, may have saved the effort for 2012, but with the exodus of Dragon Racing's Sebastien Bourdais & Katherine Legge, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing's Oriol Servia, and Bryan Herta Autosport's Alex Tagliani before the Indianapolis 500 headline event, who cares?

The fact of the matter, the Lotus effort came along late with little or no team testing under the assumption that this would be an easy branding add-on and that some how Lotus would be competitive out-of-the-box against the likes of major manufacturing efforts of Honda and Chevrolet ... not to mention established team resource support from the likes of Andretti, Penske, and Ganassi.

Let's be serious, British based HVM with their single female driver, Simona de Silvestro, no matter how talented and dedicated she is, will have very little impact on the competitive nature of this new Lotus/Judd package other than deliver an on-track test conducted during the event of an IICS season race.

Simona de Silvestro in Turn #10 at the 38th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach ... a track she had won a race driving in CCWS's 2008 Formula Atlantic Series. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012) 

This excerpted and edited from Cincinnati.com -

Simona de Silvestro finally gets new Lotus engine in Toronto
By Jenna Fryer - 11:44 PM, Jul. 3, 2012

Swiss driver Simona de Silvestro will have a new and hopefully improved Lotus engine this weekend at the Toronto Grand Prix.

De Silvestro said on Tuesday the new engine has been installed and she will get her first laps on track with it at Toronto. IndyCar last week approved upgrades for Lotus intended to help the struggling manufacturer, but de Silvestro thinks it could be a month before HVM Racing sees on-track improvement.

"Lotus is going to bring us an update, we think, before every race," she said. "We'll see how Toronto works out, but we think if we keep focusing on what we are doing, if we get to Baltimore (Sept. 2) and can run in the top 10, that would be really good for us. I think we are going to go to Toronto pretty open and excited to see what this new engine can do."
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"It is a bit frustrating in the sense we've had some pretty strong race cars, especially at Detroit and Iowa, but it's so hard for us to pass," she said. "We can have a pretty good race pace, but when it comes time to pass, we don't have the speed and it's been so hard.

"And we've only finished three races, which is not a good record, and it's made it difficult to focus on the areas that really need improvement. We focused on two areas at the test, and we'll keep moving forward and hope our speed improves with the updates."

Lotus began the year with five teams. All but HVM defected to other manufacturers before the Indy 500 in May.

She said being the sole team with Lotus has been a mixed bag: It's been helpful to receive all the attention from the manufacturer, but de Silvestro believes her team has been at a disadvantage in not having another driver or team to talk to about strategies and development.
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"The biggest problem that happened the last two years was my crash at Indy hurt me a little bit, because it took me some time to get my confidence back," she said. "But we still had the problem with the chassis, we just had struggles with that chassis that hurt us. This year we took a gamble to get with Lotus, and it's also been trying.

"But racing, it is not always rosy. I've learned a lot this year about engines, and we have a very strong engineering group with the team. Hopefully with the work we are doing this year, we get to the end of the season and we are better."
[Reference Here]

Without front line experienced drivers like those represented by four-time CCWS champion Sebastien Bourdais, or the high-posting consistency delivered through Oriol Servia or Alex Tagliani, little progress is expected from Lotus/Judd with this engine update.

Event title: Honda Indy Toronto

Location: Streets of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Track: 11-turn, 1.75-mile temporary street circuit

Practice Sessions: Friday, July 6 from 11:05-11:35 a.m. EDT (group A), 11:35 a.m. - 12:05 p.m. EDT (group B - all cars) and 1:55-2:55 p.m. EDT; Saturday, July 7 from 9:45-10:45 a.m. EDT

Qualifying: Saturday, July 7 from 1:05-2:25 p.m. EDT

Race: Sunday, July 8 with pre-race activities starting at 12 p.m. EDT and estimated green flag at 1 p.m. EDT

Broadcast Information

Race broadcast (TV): Sunday, July 8 at 12:30 p.m. EDT on ABC Network

Race broadcast (Radio): IMS Radio Network (Internet Stream - racecontrol.indycar.com) and SiriusXM (XM 94 and Sirius 212)

... notes from The EDJE


** Article first published as For Lotus, New Engine May Be To Little Too Late At Honda Indy Toronto on Technorati **

INDY500 DW12 #poleday And #bumpday Weekend Trials

Ryan Briscoe, No. 2 IZOD Team Penske Chevrolet, will lead the 33-car field to the green flag for the 96th running of the Indianapolis 500. With a four-lap average speed of 226.484 MPH and a time of 2:38.9514, Briscoe captured his career-first pole position for the Indy 500 and the 17th for Team Penske by the closest margin in the history of the race. Image Credit: IZOD IndyCar Series

INDY500 DW12 #poleday And #bumpday Weekend Trials

What is a racing series without its unplanned moments of friction? Short answer? ... not interesting at all and this last weekend in the IZOD IndyCar Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) had its share of unplanned moments of friction.

During 2011 and many of the previous years at IMS during the qualifications process known as Pole Day and the following day known as Bump Day (new media Twitter communications hashtags #poleday and #bumpday), the unplanned friction centered around Series Management and Team relations. This year, the weekend was spiced up with the addition of integrating the nuances of a new racing platform formula that has the choice of three turbo-charged 2.2L engine power-plants - Chevrolet | Honda | Lotus .

View slideshow: INDY500 DW12 #poleday and #bumpday weekend trials

One of the biggest concerns, in fact, centered itself around the perceived lack of competitiveness and power developed by the Lotus engine. The cracks of this controversy began to show themselves amongst the four teams (HVM Racing/Dreyer & Reinblod Racing/Bryan Herta Autosport/Dragon Racing) and five drivers that had run the first three races of the season with mild moments of success. This mild success was not the result of having inexperienced and unsuccessful drivers piloting the new DW12 Dallara chassis with the Lotus engine (HVM's Simona de Silvestro - P3 in Atlantic Championship 2009 - DRR's Oriol Servia - P4 2011/11 top-10 finishes, BHA's Alex Tagliani - P11/6 top-10 finishes/2 poles, DR's Sebastien Bourdais - P1 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and DR's Katherine Legge - P3 in Atlantic Championship standings 2005  - the most winning driver being four-time Champ Car World Series champion Sebastien Bourdais).

Before the traditional activities that surround the month of May at IMS in the lead up to the INDY500, two teams (Dreyer & Reinblod Racing/Bryan Herta Autosport) lobbied series management and won release from their obligation to use the Lotus engine in their DW12's, in fact one team, Bryan Herta Autosport did not travel to the fourth race of the season at Sao Paulo, Brazil to prepare for the transition to the Honda engine. After Sao Paulo, Dreyer & Reinbold racing negotiated an alliance with Panther Racing to be supplied and supported with a Chevrolet engine which had them change their logo for the rest of the season to reflect the alliance.

During the first chance at getting practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Lotus had trouble delivering engines for Dragon Racing (while Dragon Racing launched a lawsuit to seek about 4.6 million dollars in damages due to the breach in their contract). The team missed out on six practice sessions and sought permission from the series to change to a different engine supplier. With permission granted, Dragon Racing was able to get Sebastien Bourdais and Kathrien Legge through Rookie Orientation on Thursday with Chevrolet engines.

In the meantime, in order to save some face, Lotus put their support behind a one-time team effort, Fan Force Racing to place 47 year-old Lotus driver/ambassador and former Formula 1 driver Jean Alesi on the track to qualify along side of the one remaining team of HVM Racing and Simona de Silvestro.

During the activities over the week-end to fill the traditional 33 places allowed for the INDY500 field, many speculated that their may not actually be 33 cars that could qualify for the field. If this were to happen, it would be the first time since 1947 and result in an embarrassment to the new formula of the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Other unplanned moments of friction came primarily through the process known as Bump Day. After the field of 33 cars is filled with qualifying runs, anyone who wishes to challenge to get into the field could present a car and post a time faster than the slowest qualified car and "Bump" the slowest car out of the field ... hence Bump Day.

Briscoe bested fellow Chevrolet IndyCar V-6 driver, James Hinchcliffe, No. 27 Team Go.Daddy.com Andretti Autosport Chevrolet, by .0023 of a second. Hinchcliffe’s qualifying run was 2:38.9537/226.481 mph. The difference is the equivalent of 9.168 inches. Here, James Hinchcliffe displays the gloves he wore for his inspired run - these driving gloves were worn by fellow Canadian and legendary IndyCar driver, Greg Moore. Image Credit: @hinchtown via Twitter

This on-site experience excerpted and edited from AP -

In The Pits: Drama _ of course! _ in IndyCar again
By: JENNA FRYER

One can't help but wonder, though, if there's been too much back-room politicking going on since Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened its gates May 10 to begin preparations for Sunday's race. Almost every day since has had some sort of controversy - many bordering on comical - and rumors have run rampant about everything from an alleged owner-led charge to oust CEO Randy Bernard and IndyCar supposedly blocking two teams from fielding cars on Sunday's bump-less Bump Day.

Then came the long list of penalties announced Sunday night, about 30 minutes after practice had concluded for a four-day off period.

IndyCar found 18 different infractions among 13 teams in pre-qualifying inspection, and track historian Donald Davidson believes the numbers were a one-day record for the series, though fines have never been consistently announced.

Few teams were immune and the entire front row was docked a total of $70,000 for five penalties split between pole-sitter Ryan Briscoe of Penske Racing, and Andretti Autosport teammates James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Briscoe, in Charlotte on Monday to promote the Indy 500, wasn't sure his Penske team had actually violated the brake rule that brought a $15,000 fine. Penske team president Tim Cindric confirmed on Twitter that Will Power's car indeed had unapproved brake pads, but claimed the team never would have sent Briscoe out with the same pads once Power's had been flagged.

Either way, Briscoe believed IndyCar - behind new race director Beaux Barfield and vice president of technology Will Phillips - had taken a huge step in levying so many fines.

"It's surprising because we haven't seen much of that in the past," Briscoe said. "But I think we are seeing a new guy in charge of the rules now, and maybe in the past, some things have been let past, and I think it's good that teams are being penalized for not abiding by the rules 100 percent. Rules are there to be followed, rules are made to be enforced and they should be."

That strong stance from the sanctioning body likely came as a shock to team owners - and it came during yet another stretch of off-track drama.
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It left only two Lotus-powered cars in the field, and they've been so far off the pace that many are openly wondering if they should even be allowed in the race. It didn't help that 47-year-old former Formula One driver Jean Alesi, who has never before raced an oval, said he felt "unsafe" in the car and was "concerned" for his fellow competitors because it is so slow.

Rubens Barrichello, who spent 19 years in F1 before moving to IndyCar this season, believes Alesi is handicapped by his Lotus engine.

"It's been very unfortunate that the Lotus power is not up to the speed," Barrichello said. "If we do end up racing with that 10- or 15-mile (speed) difference, it could be a problem for both of the (Lotus drivers). I hope just that he has a safe race."

IndyCar needs Alesi and Simona de Silvestro in the race to avoid not having a full 33-car field for the first time since 1947, but it's possible that the two cars will be black-flagged for failing to maintain a reasonable speed.

There was disappointment Sunday when no team owner threw together a last-minute entry to try to bump one of the Lotus cars out of the field. Both Jay Howard and Pippa Mann indicated they were close to putting together deals, but couldn't get Chevrolet or Honda to give them an engine. That led to rumors it was IndyCar who halted the engines to protect Lotus - an allegation series officials vehemently denied.

Let's not forget the TurboGate saga, either, with Chevrolet losing two appeals trying to prevent Honda from using a new compressor cover on its turbocharger. The defeat has supposedly left powerhouse owner Roger Penske so infuriated he's refusing to speak to Bernard, but yet it's Penske who has a driver on the pole and two more starting on the second row.

Penske, who at least publicly has preached a message of unity and support of IndyCar leaders, goes into the 500 perfect on the season with five poles and four victories. Honda, meanwhile, had only one driver qualify inside the top 10.

So from the outside, it sure looks like a mess for IndyCar. But Bernard is fond of claiming "all press is good press," and if drama gets fans to tune into Sunday's race, then maybe IndyCar knows exactly what it is doing.
[Reference Here]

Here is how the field is set for the 98th running of the INDY500:

Pos  Driver               Team/Car                      Speed
 1.  Ryan Briscoe         Penske DW12-Chevy             226.484
 2.  James Hinchcliffe    Andretti DW12-Chevy           226.481
 3.  Ryan Hunter-Reay     Andretti DW12-Chevy           226.240

 4.  Marco Andretti       Andretti DW12-Chevy           225.456
 5.  Will Power           Penske DW12-Chevy             225.422
 6.  Helio Castroneves    Penske DW12-Chevy             225.172

 7.  Josef Newgarden      Fisher DW12-Honda             224.037
 8.  Tony Kanaan          KV DW12-Chevy                 224.751
 9.  EJ Viso              KV DW12-Chevy                 224.422

10.  Rubens Barrichello   KV DW12-Chevy                 224.264
11.  Alex Tagliani        Herta DW12-Honda              224.000
12.  Graham Rahal         Ganassi DW12-Honda            223.959

13.  Ana Beatriz          Andretti/Conquest DW12-Chevy  223.920
14.  Charlie Kimball      Ganassi DW12-Honda            223.868
15.  Scott Dixon          Ganassi DW12-Honda            223.684

16.  Dario Franchitti     Ganassi DW12-Honda            223.582
17.  James Jakes          Dale Coyne DW12-Honda         223.482
18.  JR Hildebrand        Panther DW12-Chevy            223.422

19.  Takuma Sato          Rahal DW12-Honda              223.392
20.  Townsend Bell        Schmidt DW12-Honda            223.134
21.  Justin Wilson        Dale Coyne DW12-Honda         222.929

22.  Michel Jourdain Jr   Rahal DW12-Honda              222.893
23.  Simon Pagenaud       Schmidt DW12-Honda            222.891
24.  Sebastian Saavedra   AFS/Andretti DW12-Chevy       222.811

25.  Sebastien Bourdais   Dragon DW12-Chevy             223.760
26.  Wade Cunningham      Foyt DW12-Honda               223.258
27.  Oriol Servia         Panther/DRR DW12-Chevy        222.393

28.  Ed Carpenter         Carpenter DW12-Chevy          222.324
29.  Mike Conway          Foyt DW12-Honda               222.319
30.  Katherine Legge      Dragon DW12-Chevy             221.624

31.  Bryan Clauson        Fisher DW12-Chevy             214.455
32.  Simona de Silvestro  HVM DW12-Lotus                214.393
33.  Jean Alesi           Fan Force DW12-Lotus          210.094
(ht: autosport)

Please be aware that the rule book has a provision that if cars do not maintain an adequate speed for safety reasons, they will be Black Flagged and removed from racing on the track. This rule is known as the 105% Rule.

@TheEDJE TWEETS from Bump Day:

If officials were to enforce the 105% rule 33rd qualifier today would need 215.1598mph avg or better, Clausen in at AVG: 214.455 #indycar #indy500

de Silvestro HVM Racing - 214.393 | Alesi Fan Force United - 210.094 Mak Field | 105% rule, 215.1598mph avg not in play on #bumpday #indycar #lotus #chevy #honda

AS for the former Lotus drivers - Bryan Herta Autosport benefited the best from the change by having Alex Tagliani qualify at P11.

Another @TheEDJE TWEET:

@BourdaisOnTrack safely in at P25 - 223.760 #bumpday would have been good enough for P15 on #poleday #indycar #indy500

... notes from The EDJE



** Article first seen as INDY500 DW12 #poleday And #bumpday Weekend Trials at Technorati **

Lotus Legion May Not Be At Full Strength At Indy500

With plenty to risk and little to gain by spending the money to race in Brazil, Bryan Herta and team co-owner Steve Newey will leave the Lotus Barracuda-BHA and Alex Tagliani's pit stall empty in Sao Paulo. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

Lotus Legion May Not Be At Full Strength At Indy500

There is trouble in the teams that make up the DW12's outfitted with the Lotus/Judd engine and this real issue may show itself before the crown jewel race of the 2012 season.

Marshall Pruett of SPEED.com published an exclusive report highlighting the pressures of a sport that combines technology, competition, and advertising promotion as a history-making business enterprise.

Basically two of the four teams are so unhappy with the fact that Lotus, while not missing its commitment to field engines for races this season, has been really behind on the fulfillment of its commitment to meet the competitive demands of the series. Lotus Dragon Racing (LDR) did not have an engine to mount into one of their two cars (four-time ChampCar World Series Champion, Sebastien Bourdais) before the St. Petersburg race until the very evening before (Thursday) the first practice on Friday. Despite seeing some promising performance in the first two of three races from the four-time ChampCar World Series Champion, the overall performance and the timing of the delivery of engines does not allow any time for testing and this has effected all of the teams that are in the Lotus Legion - Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA), Lotus Dragon Racing (LDR), HVM Racing, and Lotus Dreyer Reinbold Racing (DRR).

This becomes a little like one of those what came first situations ... the chicken or the egg. Worse, is this situation even solvable?

No timely delivery equals no testing / no testing equals no performance results and feedback / no performance eventually leads to no advertisers to sponsor the car.

The main focus is beginning to place pressure on the decisions that need to be made by the series and the business viability of having a Lotus/Judd engine in a car when teams can not be assured of having engines to test and be competitive. Breach of contract filings from the teams in the Lotus Legion are being delivered to the manufacturer - where this goes, no one knows.

The IZOD IndyCar Series key person who will have to make a decision, and soon, on what to do next and avert a true mutiny within the Lotus Legion and a potential disaster is Will Phillips, IndyCar’s VP of Technology.

Katherine Legge of Marina Del Rey, CA based Dragon Racing. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

This excerpted and edited from SPEED.com -

INDYCAR: Tough Decisions Pending By The Series, Lotus, Its Teams
Lotus confirms in a SPEED.com exclusive that two of its teams have asked to switch manufacturers, but is it what the series needs and will it be allowed?
Marshall Pruett | Posted April 18, 2012

IndyCar fans have been treated to arguably the three best opening races in series history, but at the back of the grid, a much more serious—and far less pleasant—concern has finally reached its boiling point.

With three rounds completed, the bulk of the Lotus-powered teams have been mostly invisible in the final results, experiencing one gut-wrenching problem after another.
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The conflict between Lotus and its teams reached a fever pitch when the marque informed its entrants that engines would not be made available for the April 4th test at Indianapolis, leaving Bryan Herta Autosport, Dragon Racing, HVM Racing and Lotus DRR in a very awkward position.

With the prospect of showing up to Indy next month with zero miles of testing on the Lotus engine around the 2.5-mile oval (not to mention teams starting IndyCar’s most important event with no laps of testing at the Brickyard on their Dallara DW12s), some of its teams have now filed breach of contract paperwork with the manufacturer.

A dispute between the manufacturer and those teams regarding the exact wording and obligations in their supply contracts has ensued, but the message being sent is clear: showing up late and unprepared for IndyCar’s Super Bowl is a surefire way to perform poorly, to possibly miss making the show and, when all is said and done, to kiss their sponsors goodbye.
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Asked what the best-case scenario would be to come out of the breach of contract notices, one owner said receiving permission from the series to switch to a different engine manufacturer was the ultimate goal.

Simona de Silvestro of Britain-based HVM Racing. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

Will Phillips, INDYCAR’s VP of Technology, holds the authority to allow said changes, but declined to comment when asked if he would permit any of the Lotus teams to change manufacturers during the season.
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In a follow-up e-mail on Wednesday, Miodrag Kotur, Lotus’ Director of Motorsports Operations, confirmed that “We have also [have two teams], who would like to switch to another engine supplier, but it is still in discussion with us.”
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To give some additional context to that scenario, the two Lotus teams would rather spend an additional $1 million to get a Chevy or Honda engine--which will have an increased engine pool size after Indy--and forfeit the money they’ve already paid to Lotus than to stay with their current supplier.
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In a half-hour interview just before Sunday's Long Beach Grand Prix, Kotur fired back at a variety of comments, accusations and questions regarding his employers.

“Since the beginning of the year, there’s a lot of rumors that Lotus is not doing well, that Lotus will not be around, that Lotus will not be at Indy, that Lotus is not able to make the engines…as far as I know we are here…we did not miss any races,” he said. “Obviously, we are a little bit behind from our competitors; we are working very hard with Judd to reach the same level [as] Honda and GM. It is not easy. Those guys are in the business since years at Indy, especially Honda. We are new, and start six months later. I don’t know why and from where these rumors are coming that we are in breach of contract. I would like to know where is the breach of the contract.”

After informing Kotur that the breach of contract issue was no longer a secret, and that missing the Indy test seemed to be the catalyst—the point of no return for some of his teams--he offered a more credible response.

“The teams obviously they complain about this test we haven’t done, but there is some reason--to be able to secure future races, we prefer to keep the engines and to work on them and to continue to develop the engines than to go to this test," he admitted. "Obviously, it would have been better [to be] there, but this is a decision we have made. And if you go through the contracts, there is nothing saying we have to participate in all the tests. If we had been told to be present at this test by INDYCAR because it was mandatory, we would have been present, but it was not.

“I am in motorsports [for many] years; obviously the more you are testing, the better it is. I don’t want to say we are confident going into Indy without testing on the oval, especially Indianapolis. Maybe if we went there [to the IMS test], maybe we would today have some struggles with the engine. It will be one month for us to have enough engines to be very comfortable, it will be a little bit problematic, but we aren’t in any way in breach of contract.”

Kotur also offered a blunt assessment of the teams Lotus is partnered with, and although it appears he forgot that Bryan Herta Autosport won its first race of 2011 (the Indy 500 with Dan Wheldon) and was running fourth (with Alex Tagliani at Las Vegas) when the second race was cancelled, the Yugoslavian’s sentiment was no less impactful.

Oriol Servia with Dreyer & Deinbold Racing has been one of the most competitive and consistant drivers over the last couple of years. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

“Herta, Dreyer, HVM…they cannot also expect to be at the front of the grid,” he said. “Even last year, they were not at the front of the grid. You find the same people at front, Penske and Ganassi. So we not only have to work on the engine, we have to work on the car. And also to work with [Lotus’ teams] on the car. We ask them, ‘Where can we help you?’ I don’t want to say that in one month things will change completely, but slowly, we have improved. By the end of the year, the gap will be completely closed.”

Being on the receiving end of complaints from his teams and criticism from the media was an obvious source of frustration for Kotur and his colleagues.
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With a limited number of engines to offer its teams (eight total powerplants for five cars through Long Beach), engines have been sent back to EDL’s base in England between races for inspection, making it hard for teams to conduct private tests on their own.
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Provided it comes to fruition, Kotur expects Lotus’ engine pool to nearly double next month.

“We will for sure have more engines for Indy,” he said. “We will need them. It’s a long race, and we will have [practice] before the race. We will have fresh engines for the race. Our plan is to have more or less five additional engines for the race.”
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“I think it will be resolved in a few weeks, but we are committed to motorsport,” Kotur said of the nearly completed sale of Lotus. “We in fact want to invest more in the engine program and that is under discussion in the factory. You have to invest if you want to reach a certain level in motorsport. You have to spend it properly. If you see in Formula One, Toyota was spending the most and they didn’t reach the target. Obviously you need money, but you also need time. You need time, you need people and you need money.”

To Lotus’ credit, it appears to be interested in appeasing the two disgruntled teams, but it may be a case of too little, too late.
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With the financial health of the two teams serving as the greatest concern, reducing Lotus’ engine supply burden could actually help the manufacturer to solve its problems and to become more competitive at a faster rate.

Stretched painfully thin at the moment, Lotus comes out ahead with a reduced car count, and if Chevy or Honda is capable of adding an extra lease apiece, the two teams can reassure their sponsors that sticking with them—and the series—is a worthwhile venture.

On the other hand, Lotus, (at least judging by some of Kotur’s statements and his general demeanor in our interview), seems interested in ramping up its efforts, so maybe it would be better for all involved to stick together.
[Reference Here]

Lotus may have bit off more than it can chew in delivering on a plan for competitive success. As little as this Lotus’ Director of Motorsports Operations, Miodrag Kotur thinks of the driving capabilities of Sebastien Bourdais and Oriol Servia ... the best solution may be a quick decesion by Will Phillips, INDYCAR’s VP of Technology to have Dragon Racing and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing jump to the other engine manufacturers and let the dust settle before the teams meet to engage the process of being in the field of 33 cars to start the “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing”.

As it stands, (Lotus) Team Barracuda-BHA and Alex Tagliani have decided to skip competing in Round 4/Brazil citing its recent results, and the desire to prepare to defend its win at the Indy 500.
 

IndyCar's Lotus Legion becomes less by two out of five - gone are Bryan Herta Autosports and Dreyer Reinbold Racing. Side-by-side racing here at Long Beach looking for new engines are Alex Tagliani (L) and Oriol Servia. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

UPDATE:
Lotus Raises IndyCar Commitment
Lotus Press Release – 24 April 2012

When Lotus entered the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series, the regulatory requirement to supply multiple teams and the late timing of Lotus’ entry placed a significant restriction on the development programme. It was clear from the start that the 2012 season was going to be a huge challenge as Lotus debuted its IndyCar engine, but it was a challenge that Lotus was determined to meet.

Lotus was further hindered by unanticipated difficulties caused by the widely reported change of ownership and the subsequent restrictions on resources. To have achieved a top ten position under these circumstances is pretty impressive.

That said, Lotus has acknowledged that whilst the engine has demonstrated a lot of promise, minimal testing has resulted in reliability issues.

Having now had the experience and feedback from the first three races of the season, Lotus undertook a strategic review of its position to decide what course of action would be in the best interests of IndyCar and the teams it supports.

Following this review, Lotus is pleased to announce in cooperation with IndyCar that, whilst it remains fully committed to IndyCar in the long term, Lotus has taken the decision to reduce the number of cars it runs from five to three for the remainder of the season. As a consequence of this decision, Lotus has made offers to Bryan Herta Autosport LLC and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing LLC to end the agreements with them. Bryan Herta Autosport LLC will not participate in any further races as a Lotus team and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing LLC will race one more time in Brazil next weekend.

Going forward, Lotus is excited to be working closely with Lotus HVM Racing, the original partner team and Lotus Dragon Racing, who delivered Lotus’ best result so far this season. Lotus wishes Bryan Herta Autosport LLC and Dreyer & Reinbold LLC the very best of luck for the future.

Lotus also intends to continue to assist its engine supplier Engine Developments Limited (EDL) by providing additional resources and financial support to expedite the development program. The details of the arrangement are currently being finalised and the additional support should result in an increased engine performance for the rest of the season.

Claudio Berro, Director of Motorsport Group Lotus, said: “Lotus in IndyCar is like David versus Goliath. We are and always will be a niche British sports car company built for the few not the many. That said I’m delighted with our solution and I can assure everybody that the actions were taken after careful consideration and will assist in ensuring the brand’s high racing ambitions and the high expectations of the IndyCar community are realised.”

Randy Bernard, CEO IndyCar, commented: “IndyCar is committed to ensuring that our teams and manufacturers have a platform to remain competitive. We support Lotus’ decision and will assist Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Bryan Herta Autosport in securing engine support for the remainder of the season.”

ENDS

Truthfully … how in the HE-double toothpicks can Lotus say, as they did in the title of their presser, “Lotus Raises IndyCar Commitment” when they greatly reduce the talent (DRR’s Oriol Servia & BHA’s Alex Tagliani) and car count. This action suggests that they are backing away and limiting the chances of sharing testing information with the one very-proven driver they have left – four-time ChampCar World Series Champion (turbo-charged powered engines) Sebastien Bourdais (apologies to Katherine Legge and Simona De Silvestro).

... notes from The EDJE

Public OpinionPoll Results

** Article first published as Lotus Legion May Not Be at Full Strength at Indy500 on Technorati **

Oriol Servia Captures DRR Seat, Becomes One Of The Lotus Legion

Oriol Servia driving the #2 Telemundo Newman/Haas Dallara through the end of the left-sweeping turn #10 at the 2011 37th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. Servia went on to finish in the top 10 at P6 while avoiding late race mishaps. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)


Oriol Servia Captures DRR Seat, Becomes One Of The Lotus Legion

ChampCar standout and leader in performance consistency, Oriol Servia secures the lead seat on the planned two-car effort at Lotus works powered (Judd) Dreyer and Reinbold Racing (DRR).

Last year driving the old Dallara in its final season for the now disbanded Newman/Haas Telemundo sponsored effort, Oriol finished every race registering three podiums. This performance netted the Spainard a fourth in points lead by season's end, ahead of Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves, and all four rides in the Andretti Autosport stable. Not bad for a one-year campaign on an understandably proud but fading team.

At the announcement, Oriol said this about the courtship with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing; “I couldn’t be more excited, for many reasons. DRR is a team that I raced against since 2008 and they’ve always shown to be very professional at the racetrack.”

“Although I knew the owners, I didn’t know them very well, to be honest. Before signing with the team, like everybody else, I did my research and I couldn’t find one individual that didn’t speak highly of Dennis or Robbie, which gave me a lot of confidence.”

“I went to the team’s sponsor summit last week and met all of their partners that they have been involved with for many, many years, which was another clear sign that they are good people.”

On Dreyer and Reinbold running the Lotus twin-turbo power-plant prepared by John Judd in the back of the new DW12 chassis ... Servia is really anxious to give it a spin.

“I started on the front row for the Indianapolis 500 and I want to improve on that. I’m at the best point in my career and it was very important to partner with the right team. When I visited the DRR facility in Indianapolis, I couldn’t have been more impressed.”

“We are starting with a new engine and chassis, and I have confidence in Lotus and our ability to develop a quality product in 2012. When you have everyone [four teams, and factory support from Lotus works] pulling in the same direction like we are now is when we can accomplish our goals.”
(ht: The Checkered Flag)

At this time it is not known who will be Oriol's DDR team-mate but the rest of the Lotus Legion is filling in quickly and holds some pretty substantial and recognizable names from the former ChampCar World Series (CCWS) and CCWS open wheel ladder step, Formula Atlantic Series.

Joining Oriol Servia - Spain - (8 years CCWS finishing season P2 in 2005) in fielding a Lotus-powered DW12 in its inaugural season are the recently announced Dragon Racing stable of Sebastien Bourdais - France - (4-time CCWS Season Champion for Newman/Haas) and Katherine Legge - England - (Toyota Atlantic won three races in 2005, becoming the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America - First woman to drive and lead a lap in CCWS 2006), Bryan Herta Autosport's Alex Tagliani - Canada - (CCWS standard-bearer in Atlantic and ChampCar for 12 years - 107 consecutive CCWS starts - finishing with CCWS co-owner Paul Gentilozzi's Rocketsports Racing team) ... still waiting for a team-mate, and HVM Racing's Simona de Silvestro - Switzerland - (CCWS Formula Atlantic race winner - Long Beach 2008, 2009 season P3) who is also waiting for a team-mate ... currently, the Lotus Legion for 2012!

... notes from The EDJE


- Article first seen as Oriol Servia Captures DRR Seat, Becomes One Of The Lotus Legion at Technorati -

First Lotus Indy Engine Test Goes Without Incident - Need Track Engineer

Simona de Silvestro rolls onto the track at Palm Beach International Raceway in the new HVM Racing, Lotus liveried, Dallara DW12 outfitted with the Lotus/Engine Developments Ltd. (JUDD) twin-turbo V6. This is the new look and sound of IZOD IndyCar for 2012 ... and with this specific livery, this is what the look of the car Sebastien Bourdais will drive for Dragon Racing for the season. Image Credit: indycar.com

First Lotus Indy Engine Test Goes Without Incident - Need Track Engineer

It is easy to be curious about the fortunes of the most new manufacturer/player in the IZOD IndyCar Series for the 2012 season - Lotus and its four team works effort.

This week (Jan. 12 - 14), HVM Racing turned in the first laps with the Lotus Indy full package for 2012 as Simona de Silvestro took the Dallara DW12 outfitted with the Lotus/Engine Developments Ltd. (JUDD) 2.2-liter, twin turbocharged V-6 engine that is fueled with E85 at Palm Beach International Raceway. According to information provided in a report at indycar.com, Simona was able to put on at least 162 laps (329.5 miles) for the full test by the end of the day, Saturday.

Testing continues Monday and Tuesday (Jan. 16 - 17) at Sebring International Raceway, where the Lotus program will join Chevrolet and Honda teams. Engineers from Lotus engine designer, Engine Developments Ltd., and personnel from Bryan Herta Autosport, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and HVM Racing (it is assumed that the fourth Lotus works team, Dragon Racing ... announced this week, is not ready) intend to run the same engine at Palm Beach and Sebring and use the spare engine from the four initial days as the test engine Jan. 23-24 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

A quick search at Twitter turned up this "Tweet" of note posted on January 11, one day before any of the first laps of track testing by HVM Racing had started ... and the offer will end on January 18, one day after the first days of testing have been completed ... according to the listing at RaceStaff.com.

Race_Staff Russell at RaceStaff

Engine Developments Ltd (JUDD) are looking for an experienced track engineer, full details at RaceStaff.com

11 Jan Favorite Retweet Reply

Sorry, but this timing request seems a little odd, why not have this person in place before any track laps take place? This seems like a program of "catch-up" as opposed to one of intention put in place by an organization that was formed back in May 2011.

Jus' sayin'.

... notes from The EDJE



- Article first seen as First Lotus Indy Engine Test Goes Without Incident - Need Track Engineer at Technorati -

Lotus Indy Taps A Penske To Make 2012 A 4 Team Challenge

Sebastien Bourdais going through turn 9 at the end of the back straight driving the Boy Scouts of America sponsored Dale Coyne Racing Dallara during the 2011 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. "Sea Bass" will join Katherine Legge to create a two car IZOD IndyCar team for Lotus Dragon Racing in 2012. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)


Lotus Indy Taps A Penske To Make 2012 A 4 Team Challenge

No ... it is not the first Penske that comes to mind but Dragon Racing IndyCar team owned by Jay Penske – Chairman and CEO of the Penske Media Corporation, and son of US racing legend Roger Penske joins the Lotus-powered IZOD IndyCar Series challenge for 2012. "Lotus Dragon Racing" (LDR) will be an official Lotus team, racing in the black and gold colors that are shared by the marque’s Formula One program.

Dragon Racing debuted in 2007 and promptly picked up a fifth-place at the Indy 500, straight out of the box, with Ryan Briscoe at the wheel. In 2009, its first full season, Dragon driver and ChampCar alum, Raphael Matos took the Rookie of the Year honors.

In 2012, the Lotus Dragon Racing line up is a particularly strong one featuring a couple of ChampCar World Series (CCWS) alums with winning traditions: Brit, Katherine Legge, the first female driver to win a major open-wheel race in North America, and four-time CCWS champion and former F1 racer Sebastien Bourdais (SeaBass).

Lotus Dragon Racing joins Bryan Herta Autosport, Dreyer & Reibold Racing, and HVM Racing to make it a four team Lotus-powered front in an effort to capture the first IZOD IndyCar Series championship of the fully unified modern era of American open wheel racing.

Group Lotus Director of Motorsport - Claudio Berro: "We are very pleased to be able to announce this new and exciting partnership with Dragon Racing today, a team which has demonstrated its potential and which we believe will achieve great success thanks to the Lotus IndyCar engine and the security of a major backer. Last year was Lotus' first foray into this prestigious open-wheel series since Jim Clark won the Indy 500 back in 1965. We have a tremendous legacy in this sport, and are determined to become winners again. The American market is one of the most important to Lotus in terms of road car sales, hence our aggressive marketing strategies through US auto racing. We believe Lotus Dragon Racing and our other partner teams will give us the best opportunity to achieve our ambitious goals."


Image Credit: Group Lotus

This excerpted and edited from Group Lotus -

INDIANA CLONES AND THE FAST CRUSADE
Press Release from Group Lotus

In 2012 no less than four teams with an anticipated minimum eight cars will be packing Lotus power in the IZOD IndyCar Series. The company’s all-new twin-turbo V6 has its first shakedown today at the Moroso circuit in Jupiter, Florida , with Lotus HVM driver Simona de Silvestro working the loud pedal. The engine program, which was announced in November 2010, has come together quickly without teething problems, and fire-ups away from the track have ticked all the boxes. Lotus Dragon Racing, Lotus HVM Racing, Lotus Bryan Herta Autosport, and Lotus Dreyer & Reinbold Racing are all confirmed as engine partners.

Claudio Berro, Group Lotus Director of Motorsport: “The engine has performed extremely well so far, and we and our partners are very pleased with the results. We had our first fire-up in a Dallara chassis in Palma, Italy on 21-23 December, then the engine was sent to America, and today we’re having our first on-track shakedown, at Moroso, which is very exciting. On January 1st we opened a Lotus facility in Indianapolis which will be our US engineering and logistics hub, so it’s all go. We’ve still got a lot of work to do before the start of the season, but I couldn’t be happier with the progress we’re making.”
[Reference Here]

2012 will prove to be a truly breakout year ... being the first year in a dynamic formula (multiple engine manufacturers and a potential of variance in aero-parts to be employed on a new Dallara DW12 chassis), and a fresh look at competition rules with the appointment of a new race director (also a CCWS alum) in Beaux Barfield.

... notes from The EDJE




Article first seen as Lotus Indy Taps A Penske To Make 2012 A 4 Team Challenge at Technorati

Bryan Herta Autosport Signs Alex Tagliani As Driver To Lotus Partner Effort

"Tags" shows off his Lotus logo emblazoned helmet before he is scheduled to go testing the Bryan Herta Autosport, Lotus-powered, Dallara DW12 for the 2012 season. Image Credit: Bryan Herta Autosport (2012)


Bryan Herta Autosport Signs Alex Tagliani As Driver To Lotus Partner Effort

Bryan Herta Autosport brings on Alex Tagliani (Tags) to test and drive the Lotus-powered, Bowen & Bowers Motorsports packaged, Dallara DW12 for the IZOD IndyCar Series for the 2012 season. The timing on this union will lend experience, technical ability, and overall proficiency in the race car during the Lotus engine on-track testing program.

The 2012 Lotus-powered package is scheduled to commence the on-track engine development Jan. 13-14 at Palm Beach International Raceway. It is assumed Bryan Herta Autosport and "Tags" will join HVM Racing and Simona de Silvestro in the two day test.

HVM manager Vince Kremer told IndyCar.com that his one-car team is working with other Lotus connected squads, Dreyer & Reinbold and Bryan Herta Autosport, in an effort to make up the ground lost by the lack of track time. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing owners Dennis Reinbold and Robbie Buhl have not issued any statements as it relates to their direct involvement on the engine development tests to date. If Dreyer & Reinbold Racing participates at Palm Beach, Justin Wilson's "hands on" driver/engineer expertise would certainly be a welcomed add to the mix.

"[The testing schedule] is quite ambitious, and that's just the on-track," HVM's Vince Kremer said. "We haven't talked about any off-track testing, seven-post shaker rig testing or twisting the chassis. The good thing is we're working as a cooperative group with Dreyer & Reinbold and Bryan Herta [Autosport], and we seem to be working quite well together.

"Palm Beach will be more of an engine shakedown test. We're not really concerned about how many miles we run. Sebring will be getting more into developing the engine on the track."

The Lotus-powered partner teams will join Chevrolet and Honda engine aligned teams Jan. 16 in the IZOD IndyCar joint manufacturer 2012 pre-season testing at Sebring International.
(ht: Bryan Herta Autosport, indycar.com, Racer.com)

... notes from The EDJE

Bryan Herta Autosport Signs Alex Tagliani As Driver To Lotus Partner Effort at Technorati>