Lotus to contest the Indianapolis 500 this year

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http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/indycar-lotus-back-to-indy/

In what could be a precursor to a 2012 chassis supply deal, Lotus announced its intention to enter the 2010 Indy 500 under the ‘Team Lotus USA' banner.

Motorsport Director Claudio Berro told highly regarded British publication Motorsport News, "The Indycar dream is very real for us. We are talking to an existing team about forging an alliance. The American marketplace is very important for Lotus and there is a pedigree and history at the Indy 500. When people think of Lotus they think of competition and racing, it is important that we get back to putting that message across.

The Indycar program is a big project and we need to join with an existing team to begin with, because that is the easiest way in terms of logistics. We only have a few weeks to sort the deal out because the start of the season is very close. The reunification of Champ Car and Indycar makes it much simpler for us and it is an area we are excited about. To run the Honda engine is not a problem in the first instance, even there we have history. The Indy 500 is iconic and it will only do the Lotus brand good to be there."

In addition to the details surrounding the newly unveiled Louts F1 car, a further announcement regarding their Indy 500 plans is expected to be made in March.

For the first time and a long time positive news for the Indycar series. Please forgive me for not calling it the "IZOD" Indycar series lol

Looks like they're going to buy out a team. Lotus is just the start of the flood of manufacturers that could be coming to Indycars in 2012, which I hope will be racing the Delta Wing
 
Lotus being at Indy will be great. Like you said hopefully more manufacturers will come also. Very good news for Indycar. :)
 
It's not Lotus, just like in F1 this year, so it doesn't really mean anything.
 
It's not Lotus, just like in F1 this year, so it doesn't really mean anything.


This is true in the fact that the car is currently a spec dallara/honda. But it is significant that lotus is interested in returning at least for now as a presence in indycars. They're interested in returning to high profile US motorsports for competition and brand image, they see a reason to 'invest' their time and money in indycars which can only be good for the sport. I most certainly see this as the beginning of a ramp up to 2012 and a new era for indycars.

So that's now:

Lotus
Swift
Delta Wing
Dallara
Lola

, all interested in being involved now.👍
 
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Good news, hopefully we are seeing the return of Lotus to the chassis market, which was their original area of expertise. 👍

And who cares if its not "the real" Lotus? I mean, the same argument can be used for many manufacturers and teams nowadays, all that matters is they keep the spirit of the name. Its much better to see Lotus rising again despite being Malaysian now rather than die off in the 90s.
You can't bring Chapman back, but you can sure continue his legacy. 👍
 
What Lotus is doing is a smart move

Instead of waiting until 2012 when they can run their own engine and perhaps car they're going to get in early to get a head start on the competition.

Hopefully in 2012 Indycars we see combinations like Lotus chassis/ Lotus engine instead of just Delta Wing spec car / Lotus engine. I want everybody to be able to put their own little twist on whatever basic car design is chosen, sort of like F1.
 
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