Lotus and Cosworth revealed more details today of their new partnership with the KV Racing Technology team in the IZOD IndyCar Series. The new technical and commercial partnership will see KV field a car in Lotus' classic green and yellow livery as seen on the Lotus Racing cars in the 1950s and 1960s, which will be driven by new KV driver, former F1 racer Takuma Sato. The Japanese driver's Dallara-Honda will carry Lotus-Cosworth identification as part of the new alliance with Group Lotus, which has also given permission Tony Fernandes' new Formula 1 team to use the Lotus name this year. KV co-founder Kevin Kalkhoven is also a co-owner of engine firm Cosworth.
Dany Bahar, CEO of Group Lotus plc, said, “Racing has always defined Lotus and on many occasions in motorsports history Lotus' numerous innovations have re-defined racing. It's only fitting that as the Lotus Racing name re-enters Formula 1, we will also race and innovate again in IndyCar. The Lotus name will, once again compete in the top two open-wheel racing series for the passion and enthusiasm of car fans around the globe.”
Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser, owners of KV Racing Technology said, “We are delighted to be part of Lotus and Cosworth's return to the IndyCar Series, and with Takuma at the wheel of the classic racing green and yellow Lotus Cosworth racecar, we expect to be formidable competitors this year.”
Takuma Sato said, “This is fantastic news for everyone. It is exiting for me to be a Lotus driver and I'm really looking forward to great success with this new project.”
Lotus competed for a number of years in the Indy car racing in the 1960s, winning the Indianapolis 500 race outright in 1965 with the pioneering Lotus Type 38, driven by Jim Clark, and narrowly missing victory to come second in 1963. The brand's return to the category follows on from the recent announcement by Lotus and Cosworth that the two companies are to become closely associated through a strategic partnership looking at the opportunity to develop high-performance engines for Lotus road cars.