Six Drivers' and seven Constructors' Formula 1 World Championships won by legends Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti are enough to secure Lotus' place in the history of F1 racing, even if it currently isn’t ranked among the title contenders. Yet, the Hethel-based sports car maker has another world title to show for itself in a completely different form of racing: it won the 1982 World Rally Championship with the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus.
Confirming previous reports, Lotus is returning to special stages in partnership with the Italian team United Business, which won the 2011 title. It will enter the FIA European Rally Championship with the Exige R-GT painted in its iconic black and gold colors.
"This will be the first GT car to be homologated by the FIA", says Lotus Racing Director Claudio Berro. "Lotus, of course, has been successful in rallying before, so in many ways we’re going back to our roots."
The Exige R-GT will undergo its final test next week before it is subjected to the FIA homologation process, and if everything goes by plan, it will enter the Mille Miglia rally on April 19-21, driven by former Super 2000 World Rally Champion Bernando Sousa.
Lotus will also compete in the GTE Pro class of the 2012 European Le Mans Series with the Evora GTE. The factory-prepared car will be run by the Lotus Guidici Racing outfit. Lotus’ factory driver Johnny Mowlem has already been confirmed, while two other drivers that will comprise the one-car team will be announced later.
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