Lotus To Enter 2012 Karting World Championships
Group Lotus has confimed there will be Lotus Racing Karts competing in the 2012 CIK-FIA World Karting Championship.
The factory backed team will be operated by Jefra Racing (an organisation with over 40 years experience) out of its headquarters in Italy. Production of karts and components has been contracted to Wildkart (specialists in aeronautical precision engineering since 1996 and manufacturer of karts since 2002).
Franc Jerancic will be Team Manager, but no potential drivers have yet been named.
Above: Black & gold has been a traditional Lotus colour scheme from back in the John Player Special days of Formula One.
Two homologated chassis will be used, named after the Lotus founder and his star driver of the 60s. Lotus Racing Karts will field ‘Colin C30’ and ‘Jimmy C32’ models in KF and KZ categories and the World Karting Championship for KF1.
“Our entry into karting is exciting on many levels” Miodrag Kotur, Director of Operations for Lotus Motorsport, said. “Not only are we nurturing new talent and widening our motorsport programme, but we also have an opportunity to join forces with two world-class specialists. It is exciting to see Lotus Motorsport grow in such an authentic, fresh and exhilarating way”.
According to their PR, Lotus isn’t just interested in using karting to spot the driving talent of the future; they also wish to work with young people who show an aptitude for design and engineering.
While they will be the only current Formula One team fielding a kart chassis, they aren't the only team with a vested interest in karting - McLaren and Ferrari keep their finger on the karting pulse via Chiesa Corse and Formula K respectively. GP2 team ART GP also recently announced their foray into karting.
Lotus Racing Karts will unveil their 2012 machines at the annual AUTOSPORT International event on the November 14 at NEC - Birmingham, UK.
