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Le Mans / ALMS
ALMS: Lotus Hoping To Make Splash With Evora
“GT racing is important for Lotus,” Group Lotus Motorsports Director Claudio Berro tells SPEED.com...
Lotus Alex Job Racing will campaign a Lotus Evora GTE in this year's American Le Mans Series. (Image: AJR Lotus)
While Tuesday’s announcement of Lotus entering the American Le Mans Series with Alex Job Racing added yet another manufacturer to the highly competitive GT ranks, it also marked a significant milestone for the British brand, which sees the expansion of its Evora GTE platform to the U.S. on a full-time basis.
Having debuted in last year’s Intercontinental Le Mans Cup in partnership with the Austrian Jetalliance squad, the mid-engined sports car will not only continue its fight in Europe under a reorganized operation but also tackle the ALMS championship beginning with the second round at Long Beach.
READ: Alex Job Inks Lotus Deal
Speaking to SPEED.com, Group Lotus Motorsport Director Claudio Berro explains that significant developments have been made to the car since its last outing in 2011.
“We proved last year the performance of the car was quite good,” Berro said. “It was not enough to battle with the top cars, [however]. This year, our focus has been to have a car in the ALMS and another car in the ELMS to continue develop the car.
“We have a new engine from Cosworth with more power, more revs and very [big developments] in the engine. We've also worked in some areas for aerodynamics.”
With a much-needed boost in horsepower expected, along with other updates to the 4.0-liter Toyota-based V6 powerplant, Berro seems confident the latest evolution of the Evora could take the fight to the likes of Ferrari, BMW, Corvette and Porsche in GT, especially if the requested waivers will be granted for ALMS competition.
“We've also had discussions with the ACO and IMSA to permit some waivers,” Berro said. “The characteristics of the car needs some waivers like the Aston Martins and BMWs have. In GT, not all cars are the same. You need to [give] help due to the different characteristics of the car.
“It's clear the car is completely different if you compare our Evora with the top [cars] in GTE like Ferrari, Corvette, Porsche and BMW. Those cars have big engines.”
While Alex Job Racing, boasting more than two decades of GT experience with Porsche, will lead Lotus’ ALMS efforts with the pro-am driver pairing of Towsend Bell and Bill Sweedler, Berro says final details for its European squad, which will run a single Evora GTE in the ELMS and 24 Hours of Le Mans, should be finalized later this week.
“GT racing is important for Lotus,” Berro added. “Today, we see two important [programs], one is IndyCar and the second one is GT. It's important for us to prove the quality of the Evora while against all of the GT competition worldwide.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
Having debuted in last year’s Intercontinental Le Mans Cup in partnership with the Austrian Jetalliance squad, the mid-engined sports car will not only continue its fight in Europe under a reorganized operation but also tackle the ALMS championship beginning with the second round at Long Beach.
READ: Alex Job Inks Lotus Deal
Speaking to SPEED.com, Group Lotus Motorsport Director Claudio Berro explains that significant developments have been made to the car since its last outing in 2011.
“We proved last year the performance of the car was quite good,” Berro said. “It was not enough to battle with the top cars, [however]. This year, our focus has been to have a car in the ALMS and another car in the ELMS to continue develop the car.
“We have a new engine from Cosworth with more power, more revs and very [big developments] in the engine. We've also worked in some areas for aerodynamics.”
With a much-needed boost in horsepower expected, along with other updates to the 4.0-liter Toyota-based V6 powerplant, Berro seems confident the latest evolution of the Evora could take the fight to the likes of Ferrari, BMW, Corvette and Porsche in GT, especially if the requested waivers will be granted for ALMS competition.
“We've also had discussions with the ACO and IMSA to permit some waivers,” Berro said. “The characteristics of the car needs some waivers like the Aston Martins and BMWs have. In GT, not all cars are the same. You need to [give] help due to the different characteristics of the car.
“It's clear the car is completely different if you compare our Evora with the top [cars] in GTE like Ferrari, Corvette, Porsche and BMW. Those cars have big engines.”
While Alex Job Racing, boasting more than two decades of GT experience with Porsche, will lead Lotus’ ALMS efforts with the pro-am driver pairing of Towsend Bell and Bill Sweedler, Berro says final details for its European squad, which will run a single Evora GTE in the ELMS and 24 Hours of Le Mans, should be finalized later this week.
“GT racing is important for Lotus,” Berro added. “Today, we see two important [programs], one is IndyCar and the second one is GT. It's important for us to prove the quality of the Evora while against all of the GT competition worldwide.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
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