Lotus Celebration report

Lotus fans were treated to a celebration of the marque at the Snetterton circuit last weekend. With perhaps the only opportunity to see one example of every Grand Prix car from the Norfolk squad, the current Formula One team also turned up for a track demo. Fairuz Fauzy and Heikki Kovalainen then put on a marvellous show for the crowd, duelling in the JPS-liveried Type 72 and 78 cars, as if they were in the closing laps of a race. Jarno Trulli and Mike Gascoyne also joined in the fun, whilst Elliott Moss stood in for his recovering father in a Type 18 similar to the one that Stirling recorded the marque's first victory 50 years ago.

In addition, the Elise Trophy and Lotus Cup Europe series' provided great entertainment for the huge crowd. In the Elise Trophy, Marcus Jewell and James Knight fought hard with the former reprising his Silverstone form in race one and coming off second best next time round. Had it not been for Michael Edwards' early break from the pack as they fought through the reverse grid, they may have challenged his lead. Both races were fiercely contested by the capacity field.

Amongst the multi-class Lotus Cup Europe races, 2-Eleven drivers Gavin Kirby and Jon Walker took a win apiece, the latter having an easier run after Kirby was sent to the back of the grid in race two for a technical infringement. With Mark Gooday showing great form and Christophe Lisandre beating Scott Cruickshank to the final podium place of the weekend, John Rasse defeated his brother Gregory in the Exige class and Pat McBennett claimed a brace of Production class victories.

A summary of the weekend and the racing can be seen on www.elisetrophy.tv very shortly.

-source: elisetrophy.com