| Team Lotus | |
|---|---|
| {{{image}}} | |
| Team Information | |
| Nationality | British 
|
| First Season | 1963 |
| Founder | Colin Chapman |
| Driver(s) | Peter Arundell Jim Clark Jackie Ickx Jack Sears |
| Car | Ford Lotus Cortina |
| Team Stats | |
| First Win | Snetterton 1963 |
| Number of Championships | 1 (1966) |
Team Lotus are a former British Saloon Car Championship team, which ran inconjunction with the famous Team Lotus Formula One team between 1963 and 1967.
History[]
Lotus Cars were founded in 1952 by Colin Chapman, with Team Lotus becoming a seperate entity in 1954.[1] Originally building sports cars, Team Lotus moved up to Formula One by 1958, and continued to race in the championship until 1994.[1] Team Lotus also ran a team in the BSCC, with Jim Clark as their lead driver in both series, from 1963 until 1967.[1]
The Dominant Days[]
After debuting at the tenth race of 1963 (with Trevor Taylor at the wheel), and sending two cars to the final race that year (with Clark taking victory and Taylor second), Team Lotus entered the BSCC in earnest in 1964, competing for the full season.[2] Clark, who was considered the best driver in the world at the time (having won the 1963 Formula One World Championship), did not disappoint, taking victory at every meeting in his class, meaning he took the championship with maximum points.[3] Peter Arundell served as Clark's team mate for most of the season (with Mike Spence and John Whitmore stepping in when he was unavailable) took fifth overall, often ensuring that Clark could not be beaten, although the dominance of the Lotus Cortina was plain to see.[3]
The Triple Duo[]
For 1965, Team Lotus acquired the services of double BSCC champion Jack Sears (after Arundell suffered an accident that kept him from racing for almost a year), who would run the second car for the full season, with Clark remaining as their number one driver.[4] Although a difficult start to the season hampered the team (alongside the fact that Clark would miss two rounds due to schedule conflicts) Clark and Sears were often at the front of the field, battling between themselves for victories in Class C.[4] In the end, Sears took the Class championship ahead of Clark by virtue of attending all the year's races, with Spence and Whitmore recalled when Clark was unavailable.[4]
Arundell returned to the team in 1966, with Sears retiring from racing.[5] Clark's season in the BSCC was once again hampered by conflicts in his Formula One schedule, meaning Arundell finished ahead of him in the driver's championship (third overall).[5] Team Lotus called up Belgian racing driver Jackie Ickx to run Clark's car (although Whitmore would also get a run in Arundell's car at Brands Hatch, beating Ickx).[5] Team Lotus also won their only BSCC team's championship (only the second one awarded in the championship's history) for the season.[5]
The Final Year[]
1967 would prove to be Team Lotus' final year in the BSCC, entering two new Ford Cortina Mk II Lotuses for the year.[6] Formula One star Graham Hill was called upon for the year (although, like Clark before him, calender clashes limited his BSCC participation), with John Miles running Team Lotus' second car for most of the year.[6] Ickx would fill in at several races as before, while Australian Paul Hawkins filled in a for Hill near the end of the season.[6] Unfortunately, Team Lotus' new car was not as competitive as it predecessor, with the team leaving the championship before the end of the year, selling their cars to Brian Robinson and Tony Dean before the final race of the year.[6] [7]
Honours[]
Team Lotus were responsible for numerous feats during their time in the championship including driver's and team's titles.
- 1964
- Driver's Championship Champion (Jim Clark)
- Class B Championship Champion (Jim Clark)
- Class B Championship Runner-up (Peter Arundell)
- 1965
- Class C Championship Champion (Jack Sears)
- 1966
- Class C Championship Champion (Peter Arundell)
- Lombank Saloon Car Championship Entrant's Trophy Champion
Driver List[]
Below is a list of all the drivers that have raced for Team Lotus.
| Team Lotus Driver List | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Nationality | Name | No. | Rounds | Final Standings |
| 1963 |
|
Trevor Taylor | 10-11 | ||
|
|
Jim Clark | 11 | |||
| 1964 | All | 1st | |||
|
|
Peter Arundell | 1-2, 4-6 | 5th | ||
|
|
Mike Spence | 7-8 | |||
|
|
John Whitmore | 3 | |||
| 1965 |
|
Jack Sears | All | 4th | |
|
|
Jim Clark | 1, 3-4, 6-8 | 7th | ||
|
|
John Whitmore | 2 | |||
|
|
Mike Spence | 5 | |||
| 1966 |
|
Jim Clark | 1-2, 6-8 | 5th | |
|
|
Peter Arundell | 1-4, 6-8 | 3rd | ||
|
Jackie Ickx | 3-5, 8 | |||
|
|
John Whitmore | 5 | |||
| 1967 |
|
Graham Hill | 1-4, 8-9 | ||
|
|
John Miles | 1-7 | |||
|
|
Jackie Ickx | 5, 8-9 | |||
|
Paul Hawkins | 6-7 | |||
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_Lotus
- ↑ http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1963%20BSCC.html
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1964%20BSCC.html
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1965%20BSCC.html
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1966%20BSCC.html
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/1967%20BSCC.html
- ↑ http://www.mountgreen.co.uk/resources/Brands_29_Oct_67.jpg