INDYCAR: Lotus Exiting At The End Of 2012?

IndyCar

INDYCAR: Lotus Exiting At The End Of 2012?

We now appear to have an answer in the ongoing "will they or won't they return" saga involving Lotus' participation in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Marshall Pruett | Posted July 22, 2012

With a single car left after four of its five entries made a forceful departure before Indy, Lotus has chosen to pull the plug on its ill-fated IndyCar experiment. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)

We now appear to have an answer in the ongoing "will they or won't they return" saga involving Lotus' participation in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

SPEED.com has learned the British marque is planning to depart the series with four years left on its five-year commitment, and once those talks are concluded, Chevy and Honda would be the primary engine suppliers for at least the 2013 season.

Speaking with Olivier Picquenot, Lotus' dedicated program manager, after the Edmonton race, the Frenchman was unable to provide a definitive response regarding the manufacturer's future plans.

"Personally, I don't have the answer," he said. "Lotus for sure will try to stay as long as possible in IndyCar if we keep going...and have some success and we have more teams in the future. We can't run with one car, for sure. I can't really say yes if we continue or no [we do not]."

IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard could not go into specifics on the Lotus situation, but did reiterate that a longterm contract is still in place for the marque to provide engines through 2016. Breaking that contract with the series is expected to carry a significant financial penalty.

"They have a five-year contract with IndyCar," he said. "If that's going to happen, they'll have to negotiate out of their deal and that hasn't happened."

The timeline for Lotus' official withdrawal is expected to come after its IndyCar affairs are fully resolved.

For many, news of the beleaguered manufacturer looking for the exit door won't come as a surprise.

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