Indianapolis, IN (November 17, 2011) - Dreyer &
Reinbold Racing and Group Lotus PLC, announced today that DRR will
serve as a Lotus factory partner team. Additionally, the historic
auto manufacturer will provide Dreyer & Reinbold Racing entries
with its new Lotus IndyCar V-6 racing engine for the 2012 IZOD
IndyCar Series season.
Group Lotus Director of Motorsport Operations, Miodrag Kotur
said: "This partnership means a great deal to Lotus Motorsport,
it's a clear demonstration of the progress we've made on the engine
development and we are very happy that Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
have chosen to work with us at the start of a new chapter of our
commitment to the IZOD IndyCar Series. We believe that their faith
in us and our capabilities as a partner will pay dividends - the
numbers that are coming from our dyno testing are extremely
encouraging. Our hard work is paying off and we think our partners
will be very happy with the results."
As a factory partner team, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will be
responsible for a significant amount of on-track testing, off-track
research and development activities and act as a driving force to
create a successful on-track product for all Lotus teams in
2012. Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is planning to run two
cars full-time for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar season with an additional
entry for the Indianapolis 500.
"To enter into a partnership with Lotus as a factory partner
team is a huge step for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. In
working closely with the team at Lotus over the past few months, we
have had unique access and awareness of their strong commitment to
the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. Many of our
collective efforts are already underway and we could not be more
enthusiastic about this off-season's testing and development
program," stated Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Co-owner, Dennis
Reinbold.
In addition to a heightened level of technical partnership with
Lotus, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will be a valued commercial,
marketing and promotional partner of Lotus moving forward.
These activities will include a new co-branded logo for the team,
large-scale presentation and team re-branding efforts, business
development and partner sales cooperation and unique
business-to-business opportunities for current and prospective
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing partners. Over the course of the
off-season, Dreyer & Reinbold and Lotus will communicate these
initiatives and their details at a later date.
"We're very excited at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing to have a
partnership with Lotus Motorsport and to be a part of the rich and
meaningful history of Lotus. The goals were simple; to
partner technically with a sophisticated engineering team at Lotus
to ensure on-track success in this new era of IndyCar racing, and
commercially to align ourselves with the most appropriate fit to
our brand, our current partners and our long-term goals in
motorsports. We look forward to working extensively with the Lotus
team to ensure success both on and off the track in 2012,"
commented Dreyer & Reinbold Co-owner Robbie Buhl.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, who is entering its
13th season of full-time competition in 2012 and
making it one of the longest-tenured teams in IZOD IndyCar Series
competition, has one of the longest lines of heritage in American
open-wheel racing and the Indianapolis 500. Dennis Reinbold's
grandfather, "Pop" Dreyer, built leading roadsters that raced at
the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the 30s, 40s, and 50s.
Lotus, based in Norfolk, England, has competed in a variety of
motorsports disciplines since the legendary Colin Chapman founded
the company in 1948, including IndyCar racing, Formula One and
sports cars. Jim Clark drove a Lotus chassis to victory in
the 1965 Indianapolis 500. This will be the first time Lotus
has produced an engine for IndyCar competition.
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will continue to make further
announcements regarding details for the 2012 season. For more
info on Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, follow
www.dreyerreinboldracing.com.
About Lotus
Group Lotus plc, is based in Norfolk, UK, and has three
operating divisions: Lotus Cars, Lotus Engineering and Lotus
Motorsport.
Lotus Cars builds world class, high performance sports cars
including the award-winning Evora, the iconic Elise and the
stunning Exige and the road / track orientated 2-Eleven. Lotus New
Era, the future product line-up, was unveiled in Paris on
30th September 2010 featuring the new Esprit, Elan,
Elite, Elise and Eterne.
Lotus Engineering provides comprehensive and versatile
consultancy services to many of the world's OEMs and Tier 1
suppliers and is an internationally recognised automotive
engineering consultancy. Global facilities include those in the US,
Malaysia, China and offices in Germany and Japan. Lotus is a global
high-tech company, committed to driving forward technology for both
Lotus Cars and its Engineering clients, spearheading research into
such areas as hybrids, electric vehicles and renewable fuels.
Lotus Motorsport operates the motorsports activities of Lotus
and includes the strategy to return the Lotus name to a great
number of series including endurance racing with GT2, GT4 and LMP2,
single seater racing with GP2, GP3 and IndyCar. Lotus has also
returned to F1 with Lotus Renault GP from the start of the 2011 F1
racing season onwards.