T127 to star at Classic Team Lotus Festival 26 May 2010
Lotus Racing have confirmed that their 2010 challenger, the T127, will be running at June’s Classic Team Lotus Festival at Snetterton in June. Lotus drivers Jarno Trulli, Heikki Kovalainen and tester Fairuz Fauzy will all appear at the UK event, adding to an already packed bill that will see an example of every single car Lotus raced in Formula One competition from 1957-94 on track together.
“First I want to say what a fantastic job Clive Chapman and everyone at Classic Team Lotus have done, not just with the upcoming event but also to keep so many dreams alive on tracks around the world,” said Lotus team principal, Tony Fernandes. “The Festival is going to be a great event - very emotional for many of those attending, and a great way to celebrate the Lotus motorsport heritage.
“We are very honoured to have been invited and I know the whole team is looking forward to seeing the UK fans, and spending a bit of time with the cars and people that helped create the Lotus legend. We’re running one of our cars as well, so people can see how the story has come full circle - in the meantime I’d urge every Lotus fan, and anyone who loves motorsport, to make sure they’re at Snetterton.”
The festival falls between the Canadian and European Grand Prix weekends, and is especially well timed for Lotus Racing, as the team will celebrate the 500th Formula One race Lotus has competed in at the Valencia event.
“I was very lucky when I joined Lotus Racing because Clive Chapman gave me a tour around the Classic Team Lotus workshops and the cars they had in there at the time,” said Kovalainen. “It’s impossible to go around there and not be very touched by the history and the stories, and now we’re doing our bit to keep that legend alive, so it’ll be a great privilege to see all the cars and the fans who’ve supported our predecessors since day one at the festival, and a great way to warm up for Valencia.”
Team mate Trulli is equally excited, adding: “Anyone who loves motorsport would want to go to the Festival. There’s going to be so many famous cars there, legendary cars that shaped the way Formula One works now, and it’s very rare to have the chance to see so much history in one place.
"We’re obviously very focused on our first season, but this is exactly the sort of event we look forward to as it’s all about celebrating where Lotus Racing comes from - frankly it’s an honour to have been invited.”
The Classic Team Lotus Festival will take place at the Snetterton track on June 20.
