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Graphic shows Silverstone circuit and features detail of Lotus Ford Type 107B car and helmets of Alessando Zanardi and Johnny Herbert.
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F1

A history of team castrol, Lotus

July 5, 1993 - Extensively modified in 1991, Silverstone remains one of the most
challenging circuits for Formula 1 teams. British fans will be looking to
Damon Hill to maintain the ‘home-rule’ established in recent years by
Nigel Mansell, reversing his second place to Alain Prost in France

A history of team lotus

Many of today’s major developments in Grand Prix racing were pioneered by Lotus Engineering, the company founded in 1952 by Colin Chapman, a man whose overriding ambition was to make his mark in the world of Formula 1.

Lotus entered Grand Prix racing in 1958 and won its first Formula 1 victory in 1960 at Monaco, in a car driven by Stirling Moss. 1960 was also the year that Jim Clark joined the team and together he and Chapman formed one of motor racing’s most successful partnerships. Before his untimely death at Hockenheim in 1968, Jim Clark won a total of 25 Grands Prix – a record at the time – and all of them in a Lotus. 1963 and 1965 saw Clark win the World Driver’s Championship and Lotus the Constructors’ title, having been runner up in 1961 and 1962.
The tragedy of Jim Clark’s death, though a devastating blow to his close friend Colin Chapman, did not prevent a third World Championship for Lotus, with Graham Hill taking the Drivers’ title. Lotus was to win the Championship a further four times, in 1970, 1972, 1973 and 1978 but since then has been struggling to regain its earlier success.

Chapman’s first truly revolutionary contribution to Formula1 was the monocoque frame, which sat the driver lower in the car and made the chassis much lighter. A surprisingly simple idea, it was soon copied by all other teams.

As Formula 1 strove for more and more technological advances teams were required to seek sponsorship to meet spiralling costs. In 1968 Lotus horrified the purists by abandoning traditional British racing green in favour of a car painted in the colours of John Player cigarettes. Once again, Chapman’s vision had been to recognise simple necessity and on-car advertising soon became standard.

Lotus were innovators again in 1971 when they became the first team to use a turbine powered engine and 1977 when the famous black John Player Special ‘wing car’, designed to improve down thrust, became the first of several ground-effect cars. These culminated in the ‘skirts’ of the late 70s and early 80s which were then declared unsafe by FISA and by 1982 all ground-effect cars were banned. All efforts were then concentrated on development of the computerised Active Suspension system, which regulates the height of the car’s ride under all driving conditions, but the year ended in tragedy for Lotus with the sudden death of Colin Chapman. A new management team determined to continue the great innovator’s work and in 1987, Lotus’ Active Suspension car, driven by Ayrton Senna, clocked up wins in Monaco and Detroit – Lotus’ 79th Grand Prix victory.

Over the years a parade of famous names has been associated with the glamorous marque. From the early days of Jim Clark and Graham Hill, Lotus has made World Champions of Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti and encouraged such promising young drivers as Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna.

Last year, Lotus came fifth in the Constructor’s Championship. Lotus is hoping to improve on this this season with the help of Johnny Herbert, who has been with the team since 1990 and new young driver, Alessandro Zanardi.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 5/7/1993; STORY: Julie Mullins
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