If Lotus ever hopes to achieve its aggressive plan of bringing a whole passel of new cars to market by mid-decadeâ€"one, the Elan, has already been delayedâ€"the British automaker unquestionably needs a top-notch testing facility. Fortunately, it already had one it its back yard, and the company has just reopened its Hethel track.
Repaved, carrying one extra corner, and touting additional runoff areas for safety, the track is still far from what one would call up-to-the-minute in terms of test-facility design. But the 2.2-mile course is positively dripping with history, as Lotus-founder Colin Chapman himself wrung out his most iconic creations on its very grounds. The track’s epic narrative continues with many Formula 1 legends, including the late Ayrton Senna, spending a great deal of time testing and developing Lotus race cars there.
Even Group Lotus CEO Dany Baharâ€"clearly an unflinching optimist given his pledges for the future of Lotusâ€"acknowledged this refurbishment doesn’t appear to be a major achievement, although he does spin it as a positive for the company. “Mentally and psychologically seeing this project accomplished demonstrates that step-by-step our vision is becoming a reality,†he stated. “It shows our entire workforce and our partners that we are delivering on our promises.†To celebrate the opening, Lotus christened the new tarmac with laps from Nigel Mansell in the 1981 Essex-Lotus 81B in which he started his Formula 1 career, as well as rubber laid down by other drivers that included current Lotus Renault GP pilotes Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna. You can see some of the sights and sounds from opening day in the video below.
Tags: Lotus, race car, racetrack |
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