Caterham Cars purchased by Team Lotus - Formula 1 Update
Team Lotus Owner, Tony Fernandes has confirmed the purchase of British Sports car manufacturer Caterham Cars. The tie-up was announced in a media event, which took place at Duxford on Wednesday, April 27, 2011.
This move will be useful in the expansion of the team’s off-field activities.
According to Fernandes, “Caterham has a unique place at the heart of the motoring world. As well as being proudly and staunchly British, it has an enviable and uniquely unblemished reputation within the industry for performance, handling and engineering
excellence.”
Ansar Ali, who is the managing director at Caterham Cars’ was also pleased with the move and stated, “This is yet another exciting chapter in the Caterham story. The acquisition of the company by Team Lotus Enterprises will allow our existing management
team to take Caterham's core spirit of pure driving enjoyment to a hitherto un-served audience.”
Lotus has been involved in several off-field activities, but the team was also determined to do well in the ongoing Formula 1 season. Last year proved to be a very good one for the debutant team, as they were far better than a couple of the other new teams.
However, the team was unable to score any points in 2010. The start to the current season has been pretty much the same for Lotus, as the team has been unable to accumulate any points in three races. The team is planning some major upgrades which may help
them secure some points in the upcoming races.
Lotus’ Technical Chief, Mike Gascoyne, claimed that the car will be upgraded ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, which kicks-off on Sunday, May 22, 2011. The team will bring their own version of blown-diffuser, which will boost the speed of their car. There
are many other teams, which have been using the system to enhance their performance.
Gascoyne was pleased with the reliability of Lotus this year and stated that the team will aim to finish in the mid-field, at the end of the season. However, he admitted that a lot of hard work will be required to get better results in the qualifiers, which
will eventually help in scoring points on race days.
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