The historic Lotus name is poised to return to Formula 1 after submitting an entry for the 2010 championship.
The Norfolk-based Litespeed team have bought the rights to the name Team Lotus, which disappeared from F1 following financial problems in 1994.
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Lotus won seven constructors’ crowns and six drivers’ champions, including Jim Clark and Graham Hill, during their golden era in the 1960s and ‘70s.
The new Team Lotus has lodged an entry for next year as a “cost-capped” team.
They will use Cosworth engines and have a car designed under the leadership of former Toyota and Renault technical director Mike Gascoyne. BBC Sport
Litespeed team principal Nino Judge used to work for Lotus and is delighted to be bringing the historical name back to F1.
“Team Lotus is synonymous with great British engineering and F1 innovation, such as the Lotus 25 being the first monocoque chassis in F1 and the introduction of groundbreaking sponsorship, both of which easily demonstrate why ex-Lotus personnel would want to bring this championship-winning name back to the formula,” said Judge. InTheNews.co.uk
The FIA is due to announce the entry list next Friday, with at least 10 would-be new entrants seeking to compete under a budget cap.
Others include a Brabham Grand Prix team entered by a German businessman, who bought the assets of the failed Super Aguri team, Lola and March.
Kuwaiti-financed Prodrive have also applied with their entry, if successful, likely to race eventually under the Aston Martin name.
Force India and former champions Williams are the only existing teams to have submitted unconditional entries, with the other eight attaching conditions to their joint application under the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) umbrella.
The FIA has said there would be room for three new teams if all the current ones stayed. guardian.co.uk
Other teams applying for the possible vacancies on the F1 grid include Campos Racing of Spain and an American outfit, USF1.
The rights of ownership of the Team Lotus name were purchased by David Hunt, brother of former world champion James Hunt, following Lotus collapse in 1994.
Litespeed has connections with Lotus through team chiefs Nino Judge and Steve Kenchington, both of whom worked for Lotus in Formula One, Kenchington for 21 years.
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Judge, who worked for two years with Lotus, said: “Litespeed was born from a similar British background—a factor that was at the core of (Lotus founder) Colin Chapman’s beliefs and subsequent success.” The Associated Press
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