Site Updates

Posted on 26th September 2011

As you’ve likely already noticed, we’ve been making some changes to the SELOC website of recently.

Firstly we’ve given the main www.SELOC.org site a refresh, incorporating all the latest Lotus News and Articles from our newsletter. We’ll be keeping this up to date with all the going ons in the world of Lotus, along with useful articles, guides and features.
You can also receive Facebook updates whenever we update the site by ‘liking’ us on our new Facebook page.

We’ve also, by user request, added a Garage section to the forum. In here you can add your car, keep a log of it’s history, experiences and tales to share with other forum members. You can also keep the Garage comment free by checking the “Only allow me to add/edit posts on this thread, disallow other members.” option when creating the thread, or leave it open for people to have their say on your car.

Finally, for those who haven’t kept up with the latest round of Lotus announcements, we have a short roundup of the Frankfurt launches, along with the complete unveiling video.

Discuss: Forum Thread

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Lotus Cars opens new Showroom in Warsaw, Poland

Posted on 26th September 2011

News from Lotus of their expansion in to new markets, with the opening of a new showroom in the Polish capital, Warsaw.

“Lotus Cars is pleased to announce that a new Lotus authorised dealer opened its doors to the public in Warsaw on 21st September 2011.

The showroom for Lotus Warszawa is situated in ul. Pulawska 361, Warsaw, Poland, one of the longest and busiest streets in Warsaw.

75 people attended  the opening event, hosted by Marcin Dabrowski CEO, Dariusz Wawrzynow, Sales Director and Pawel Kuskowski, Brand Manager.  Press and customers were able to view the latest Lotus models and a Lotus Esprit S1 was also displayed as a special treat. Continue reading →

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Singapore GP – Race – Lotus Renault GP Report

Posted on 25th September 2011

Lotus Renault GP’s poor weekend at Singapore was rounded off today with a disappointing 15th for Senna and 17th for Petrov in the race today.

Here’s hoping they’ll be back on the pace again at the Japanese Grand Prix in two weeks time…

Lotus Renault GP will leave Singapore licking its wounds after a hard Sunday’s work at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. Just like the entire weekend, the Singapore Grand Prix took place in hot and humid conditions with an air temperature of 31°C, though the rain held off for the duration of the race. Unfortunately the team’s struggle for pace round the city streets also continued as Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov both finished down the order.

You can find the full report on the Lotus Renault GP website, or discuss the race in our forum thread.

Posted in Lotus F1 Team | Tagged , , ,

Team LoTRDC take 38th in the Barcelona 24hr

Posted on 25th September 2011

The Barcelona 24hr race has just finished, with the Team LoTRDC guys taking the chequered flag in an impressive 38th overall and 7th in class, having started 50th on the grid and 10th in class.

The team has battled through electrical issues, eventually traced to a faulty ground, with Essex Autosport providing their usual top class diagnostic and repairs to keep the plucky little Elise going.

For a full recap on the team’s trials and tribulations throughout the race you can read the full, hour-by-hour, race report on the LoTRDC site, or give your congratulations in our forum thread.

Posted in LoTRDC | Tagged ,

Singapore GP – Qualifying Report

Posted on 24th September 2011

Lotus Renault GP aren’t having the best weekend at the spectacular Singapore circuit, struggling with the high down-force configuration and bumps around the artificially lit street circuit.

Vitaly Petrov will line up in 17th place for Sundays race after being knocked out in Q1, will Bruno Senna continues to show promise, having bumped Petrov out of qualifying in the closing moments, but still could only manage 15th.

Bruno was blocked by traffic on his first flying lap on the supersoft rubber, but he had just enough time to put in another lap. He duly nailed a time of 1m 48.861s to seal 15th place and make it into Q2. Unfortunately Vitaly only had time for one flying lap on the supersofts and, while his mark of 1m 49.835s was good enough to break into the top 17, he was bumped back down to P18 by Bruno’s late lap. Continue reading →

Posted in Lotus F1 Team | Tagged , , ,

24 Hours of Barcelona

Posted on 24th September 2011

The Barcelona 24 Hours is under way, and the guys have made a storming start, with Simon Philips starting the race and quickly climbing 10 places in the treacherous wet conditions in the opening laps.

You can follow the latest happenings from the race with on-board and pit lane cameras and updates on the LoTRDC sites special Barcelona 24 Hours page, keep track of the teams progress on the official live timings, and discuss the race in our forum thread.

Posted in LoTRDC | Tagged , ,

Team LoTRDC 24Hrs Qualifying Update

Posted on 23rd September 2011

The Team LoTRDC guys are currently out in Barcelona at the moment preparing for this weekends 24 hour race.

The guys have been doing a stellar job adapting to running the car on full slicks with an enhanced aero package, as well as coping with the heat and keeping people updated on their progress through their Facebook page.

They’ve now completed qualifying and will be lining up 50th on the grid for the race.

Storey got the qualifying time down another quarter of a second, to get into the 1:12 second bracket and 50th overall. A few hundredths were shaved off before he returned to the pit via the refuelling station, all work completed before the session officially ended. The early autumn sky turned to dusk in the final minutes, and as the final lap times were set, Team Elise Trophy’s starting position of 50 out of the 59 that attempted to qualify was confirmed, a very respectable performance indeed amongst a field that included Porsches and Lamborghinis.

You can read the full report on the LoTRDC website, or discuss the weekends race on our forum thread.

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Alesi to take on Indy 500 with Lotus

Posted on 23rd September 2011

Jean Alesi is set to make a return to competitive motorsport next year when he joins Lotus to contest the 96th running of the world famous Indy 500 race.

Alesi, 47, is a veteran of Formula 1, with 201 race starts and 1 win to name in his 12 year career, but has yet to compete in oval racing. Since retiring from F1 Alesi has competed in various other series including DTM and the Le Mans Series – including a 4th place in class in the 2010 Le Mans 24 hour race.

In January 2011 Alesi was announced by Lotus Renault GP as an ambassador for the team and has been working both with them and Group Lotus for promotion activities and in the development and testing of the Lotus T125 single seater.

Commenting on the announcement Jean Alesi said: “I’m thrilled that Lotus has given me the opportunity to compete in such a world famous race. It’s going to be a very special experience for me but I also know that I have a lot of hard work ahead. I’m very focused on the task I’m facing – I’m taking my training very seriously, I have some amazing support on this front from a ‘comeback’ expert and of course I will be testing extensively. I’m really excited about the race.”

You can read the full story on the Lotus Car website, or join the discussion on our forum.

Posted in Group Lotus, Motorsport | Tagged , , , ,

Lotus Cars – Don’t Try This At Home

Posted on 23rd September 2011

Owning a Lotus is one thing, but really being able to drive it is quite another.

For those looking how to learn how to make the most of their car there are many options, including the excellent Car Limits, as well as Lotus’s own Lotus Driving Academy.

This has recently been revamped to take advantage of the revised Hethel circuit, with a new license scheme taking people from an introductory day in the Elise, up to being able to try out the incredible Evora GT4 race car. Continue reading →

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More Lotus Than Ever? A Roundup of the Frankfurt Motor Show

Posted on 20th September 2011

The Frankfurt Motor Show is well under way now, but if you’re looking for a summary of the Lotus announcements from Frankfurt the opening days of the show then we’ve got just the thing for you.

Take a look at our latest article to find out about the new Evora GTE, Elise S, Exige V6 and Exige R-GT Rally Car.

Or, join the discussion by visiting our forum thread on the show.

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