Lotus Group

The team, which is run by former F1 principal Colin Kolles and his Kodewa squad, kicked things off at Sepang on March 17.

The Lotus-powered Lola B12/80 LMP2 Coupe is compliant with the latest regulations set out by the ACO/FIA World Endurance Championship. The car is fitted with an Xtrac gearbox with pneumatic paddle shift system and carbon brakes with AP Racing six-piston calipers, and will run with a traditional black and gold livery in a very special design.

This partnership with Kodewa and Lola – which has claimed five LMP2 wins at Le Mans since 2000 - is ideal for climbing the endurance racing ladder, with Lotus having returned to the GT class last year with the Evora.

Though hugely important in themselves, the build-up races of the season are really an amuse bouche for the greatest motor race in the world – the Le Mans 24 Hours – and our LMP2 should be right in the thick of the action.

THE CAR
-    Lola one-piece construction carbon composite monocoque chassis
-    Carbon monocoque
-    Weight of petrol-engined coupe 900 kg
-    Adjustable pedal box and steering wheel/column for driver safety and comfort
-    Optimized aero configurations offering wide range of low-drag/high-downforce set-ups
-    Wind tunnel and CFD tested aerodynamic configuration
-    Suspension with wishbones and pushrods, adjustable dampers, springs and anti-roll bar

THE ENGINE
-    V8 Lotus engine
-    Total cylinder capacity 3600 cc
-    ECU with Motec data logging server
-    AP carbon clutch

The engine development is going well but there's a lot to do over the coming weeks to ensure that the car is prepared for the intensive testing that we must undertake to ensure we're ready to compete.