Lotus has declared itself pleased with the results of the first two tests of the engine that it will take into this year's IZOD IndyCar Series.
The 2.2-liter, twin-turbo V6 unit is several months behind rivals Chevrolet and Honda in terms of on-track development, but after a two-day test at Palm Beach, Fla., last week and another two days this week at Sebring with Simona de Silvestro at the wheel of an HVM car, Lotus IndyCar manager Olivier Picquenot said that things were looking good.
"This was the most successful test I have ever participated in," he said. "We achieved more than I expected. We're very pleased from a technical aspect on behalf of Lotus and Judd. Hopefully the rest of the tests will be as successful."
De Silvestro completed 870 miles across the two tests, and HVM team manager Vince Kremer believes that it has set a good baseline for the next stage of development.
"We're very satisfied with the way everything went," said Kremer. "I feel like we made good solid strides. Simona put some solid laps in and the engine ran flawlessly.
"We exceeded what our original parameters were and we're looking forward to the next test in a few days. I can't emphasize enough how well the collaboration with the three teams and the engine supplier went."
Development of the Lotus engine is being shared between HVM, Dreyer & Reinbold and Bryan Herta Autosport, with Alex Tagliani and Oriol Servia scheduled to share seat time with de Silvestro for the upcoming tests at Homestead and Sebring.