2023 Lotus Cup Europe Information Guide

LOTUS DRIVING ACADEMY

Brings to life the unique and thrilling experience of driving a Lotus in a controlled and safe environment. You will be behind the wheel of the all-new Emira, the last petrol-powered sports car from Lotus and the best of breed, and you will be doing it on the iconic 2.2-mile Hethel test track – a circuit which has shaped countless globally successful race cars and world-famous drivers including Jim Clark, Ayrton Senna, Emerson Fittipaldi and Nigel Mansell. Course prices range between £199-£960.

experience lotus

FACTORY TOURS

Experience, first-hand, the production process. Witness the track, where our class-leading sport-cars are put through their paces. Walk in the footsteps of the F1 greats, who so admirably filled the Lotus trophy cabinet. Tours cost from £95-£140.

WELCOME

Lotus Cup Europe is firmly established as one of the continent’s strongest single-marque championships. Originally set up by Lotus as a direct response to customer and dealer interest for a fun but professionally run series, it has attracted competitors from across the continent.

Lotus Cup Europe was granted FIA International Series status in 2013, similar to prestigious Championships such as DTM, GT World Series & European Le Mans Series.

The championship is open to a wide range of cars from the Elise through to the current Emira GT4, with entries being split into four groups: GT Cup, Exige Cup, 2-Eleven/Open and Production.

Championship points are scored according to group position. This means that drivers from all four groups have a chance of competing for the overall title. Current champion Bence Balogh won from the GT Cup ranks last year in his Evora GT4 whilst Jean-Pierre Genoud-Prachex was runner up in his 2-Eleven with Jason McInulty third in his Production Elise Cup R.

In 2023, 14 races will be held across 7 events. Race weekends feature two free practice sessions followed by qualifying. Most rounds then feature two races incorporating rolling and standing starts while at Le Mans there will be three races as part of the 24 Heures Camions event. On the second visit of the season to Spa-Francorchamps there will be a one off 50-minute pit stop race.

The vast majority of events have been broadcast either as part of an exclusive programme or via live streaming over the last ten years, something that will continue in 2023. The championship enjoys unrivalled support from the Lotus community, with many owners and enthusiasts attending events. This is backed up by social media activity, where close to 60,000 Facebook & Instagram followers gave the Lotus Cup Europe pages over 2.9 million views and 90,000 likes in 2022.

The championship is open to drivers at all levels of experience, provided that they hold an International D licence or higher. Whilst the series has grown hugely since its inception over a decade ago, the emphasis has firmly remained as a fun and social environment in which to compete.

GROUPS

There will be four championship groups in 2023 with specific regulations for each:

GT CUP

Home to the pure race bred Evora GT4 and the all new Emira:

Evora GT4 – The race-prepared variant is normally-as pirated. For 2023 the Evora can use the supercharged Toyota V6 engine.

Emira GT4 – The Emira GT4 (subject to homologation) which uses a supercharged Toyota V6 engine.

EXIGE CUP

Specifically designed for the factory specification Exige V6 race cars.

The Exige V6 Cup car has a supercharged Toyota V6 and is tuned for road and track performance.

2-ELEVEN/OPEN

For the 2-Eleven and cars that don’t fit within the other groups.

2-Eleven – Powered by the four-cylinder, supercharged Toyota engine. The 2-Eleven is a track-focussed open top car.

4-cylinder Exige – The previous generation of Exige Cup cars powered by the four-cylinder, supercharged Toyota engine.

Elise Cup R - Upgraded Elise S3 including the Elise Cup PB-R.

PRODUCTION

Primarily for the Elise S3, Cup & Cup R in addition to the Series 1 & 2 Elise.

Elise Cup R & Elise S3 – The latest track-focussed incarnation of the Elise. Powered by a four-cylinder, supercharged Toyota engine.

Elise S1 & S2 – K-series and Toyota-engined Elise.

ZOLDER

BELGIUM

LENGTH:4KM

HOCKENHEIM GERMANY #TURNS:14

LENGTH:4.6KM #TURNS:13

OSCHERSLEBEN GERMANY

LENGTH:3.7KM

LEMANS

FRANCE

LENGTH:4.2KM

SPAFRANCORCHAMPS BELGIUM #TURNS:11

LENGTH:7KM #TURNS:19

DIJONPRENOIS

FRANCE #TURNS:13

LENGTH:3.8KM #TURNS:10

ROUNDS

1ZOLDER 1-2APRIL

CircuitZolderwasbuiltin1963asBelgium’sfirst purpose-builtcircuit.ItborderstheAlbertCanalwhich connectsAntwerpwithLiège. Anoutstandingtracktokickofftheseason,Zolderisa technicalcourseperfectlysuitedtoengagetheLotus’ handlingcharacteristics.

Theundulatingtrackisencapsulatedbywoodland whichoffersbothracingthrillsandthefeelofavintage GrandPrix,andindeed,ZolderhostedtheBelgianGPon 10separateoccasionsinthe70’sand80’s.

2HOCKENHEIM 21-22APRIL

LocatedclosetoMannheimandFrankfurt, HockenheimringissituatedinthebeautifulRhinevalley.

Althoughopenedover90yearsagonowin1932the firstGrandPrixtookplacein1970wherefutureLotus WorldChampionJochenRindtcameawaythewinner. FormulaOneraceshavebeenhostedhereabundantly since,thelatestin2019.

ForLotusenthusiaststhecircuitisofcoursemost famousfortheaccidentwhichtookJimClark’slifeon7 April1968.WithabraceofWorldchampionshipsfor LotusClarkwasarguablythegreatesteverracing driver,definitelysoforthosewithLotusintheirhearts.

3OSCHERSLEBEN 12-14MAY

MaywillseeLotusCupEurope’sfirstvisitto Oscherslebeninover15years–couldthisprovide surpriseresultsintheraces?!

OscherslebenisfoundinSaxony-Anhaltandjusta coupleofhoursdrivefromBerlin,HanoverorLeipzig. It’shostedmajorseriessuchasDTM,WTCC,FIAGTand WorldSuperbikessinceitsopeningin1997.

Aflatandchallengingtrackforracerswithamultitude ofcornersincludingacombinationofbendswhichare cumulativeandthereforedemandingbutrewardingif youcancompletethemconsistently.

It’ssuperbforspectatorswiththeviewingareasabove thetrackprovidingplentyofanglestoseetheaction.

LapRecords:

Overall GTCup ExigeCup 211/Open Production

1:40.084 1:40.455 1:40.084 1:42.577 1:49.625

TamasVizin

PieterVerlinde

TamasVizin

ChristopheLisandre

TobyGoodman

(2020) (2020) (2020) (2016) (2021)

ROUNDS ROUNDS

4&5SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS

2-4JUNE&14-15JULY

‘Majestic’isoftenusedtodescribethislegendary undulatingcircuit,nestledintheArdennesForestclose totheGermanborder.SpaFrancorchampsisapopular venueformanyraceseries,andit’sanearpermanent fixtureontheLotusCupEuropecalendar.

FromsaloonracerstotheBelgianGrandPrix competitors,allacknowledgethecircuitasoneofthe World’sveryfinest,andtheiconicEauRougesequence isachallengethatisbothenduringandthrilling.

LotusCupEuropewillvisittwicein2023.

6LEMANS 22-24SEPTEMBER

LeMansistheepitomeofmotorracingemotionand LotusCupEuropereturnsonceagainaspartofthehuge 24HeuresCamionsevent.ThecentenaryoftheWorld’s greatestrace,theLeMans24Hours,willbedecidedjust threemonthsearlier.TheFrenchGrandPrixalsovisited thePaysdelaLoirein1967ontheBugatticircuit,where GrahamHilllinedupinpolepositionforTeamLotus.

Over70,000fansattendthe24HeuresCamionsevent, whichfeaturesboththeChampionnatdeFranceCamions andtheFIAEuropeanTruckRacingChampionship,in factLotusCupEuropebringstheonlycarracingtothe event.Manyspendtheweekendatthecircuit,anda spectacularSaturdayeveningprogrammeincludes actiononthepitstraight,fireworksandlivemusic.

7DIJON-PRENOIS

6-8OCTOBER

Dijon-Prenoisisarollercoasterofacircuitwhich hostedbothFrench&SwissFormulaOneroundsduring the70s&80s.TheBurgundytrackwillalwaysbe rememberedforhostingoneofthemostthrillingF1 duels,whenGillesVilleneuveandRenéArnouxengaged inamemorablebattleintheclosingstagesofthe1979 race.

Theundulatingtrack’sfastsweeping-bendswillexhibit asuperbfinaletotheLotusCupEuropechampionship.

LapRecords:

Overall GTCup ExigeCup 211/Open Production

1:45.920 1:45.920 1:46.127 1:48.584 1:54.547

BenceBalogh BenceBalogh TamasVizin

ChrisLaroche

JasonMcInulty

(2022) (2022) (2022) (2018) (2022)

LapRecords:

Overall GTCup ExigeCup 211/Open Production

1:28.111 1:28.111 1:28.478 1:28.817 1:34.616

GregoryRasse GregoryRasse JonathanWalker

XavierGeorges

ThomasDehaibe

(2013) (2013) (2013) (2013) (2014)

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

LOTUS-TECHNICALSTAFF

Helptocompileandpolicethechampion ship technicalregulations.Withapresenceat every roundtheyarealsoabletohelpteamswithexpert advice.

NANKANGMOTORSPORT

2 0 23s e e ’s Lo tus C u pE u ro pe ru nexc l u si v e l yon th e Na n kan gC R-S se mi-s l i ck ty re. Na n kan g p ro vi d e tra ck si d e su ppl y,f i tti n g & su pp o rt ser vi c e ata ll rou n d s.

RRRENGINEERING

A re th e c h am pion shi psECU & Dyn o ex p e r t s. T h e la rges t su ppl i e r of EC Us to th egri d , RRR a ls oh a v e th eir o w n d yn o so the re ’s n o o ne be tte rto e n su re p o w e r is e q ua l in202 3.

A I M- DATALOGGERS

A re f i tte dt o a ll c a r s , w i th d ata a na l y tica l t o o ls a vai l a bl e t o th e sc ru ti nee ri n g te a m.

MOTORSPORT U K SCRUTINEER - F IA REGULATIONS

Dri v e r’ s c lo thi n g an ds a fe ty e quip me nt a re checke d by a nMSUK sc r u ti nee rto me et FIA re qui reme nt s.

2022 SEASON REVIEW

Hungary’s Bence Balogh was crowned Lotus Cup Europe champion for a recordbreaking 4th time in 2022.

Round two saw a return to the Hockenheim Historic – Jim Clark Revival meeting with massive crowds.

The season kicked off in unusually wet conditions on the Côte d’Azur at Paul Ricard with Bence Balogh getting his championship defence off to a flying start with a trio of wins. Paul Maréchal (Exige), Jean-Pierre Genoud-Prachex (211O) and Jason McInulty (Production) also took class clean sweeps with Luxembourg’s Maréchal achieving a brace of overall seconds, the other going to newcomer Lars Alexander Hoffmann, the German mastering an Evora GT4.

Bence Valint and Thierry Verhiest each visited the overall podium in their Exiges, whilst Toby Goodman finished behind McInulty in all three Production races. Sweden’s Sven Pettersson took a brace of seconds and one third behind Bence Balogh in GT Open, with Nathalie GenoudPrachex mirroring that in 211/Open. Exchampion Tamas Vizin had an unfortunate weekend with two DNF’s.

Both races finished with an allHungarian podium as Bence Balogh took the chequered flag ahead of fellow countrymen Tamas Vizin and Bence Valint. Paul Maréchal completed the Exige Cup podium behind Vizin and Valint on both occasions. Lars Hoffman and Sven Pettersson finished in 2nd & 3rd behind Balogh to complete the GT Cup podium both times. In 211/O, JP Genoud-Prachex once again took the top step followed by his wife Nathalie. In Production, Jason McInulty once again took both wins in his Elise Cup R, with Toby Goodman second in race one then narrowly beaten by Dave Carr in the second race.

For the first time the championship headed to the historic Imola.

Balogh once again took the outright wins followed by Vizin on each occasion, the first race ending under a red flag. Sweden’s Daniel Palma and Maréchal took the other overall podium places in their Exiges. In GT Cup, Pettersson & György Balogh took 2nd & 3rd, Frenchman Alexandre Valensi grabbing a fantastic double 3rd in Exige Cup, ahead of an

Bence Balogh wins record fourth championship title

unlucky Ronald Andraczek and Verhiest respectively. In 211/Open it was once again the Genoud-Prachex show, JP taking both wins, Nathalie a 2nd & 3rd swapping places with David McInulty. Toby Goodman at last got some wins on the board with a Production double in his S2 Elise whilst Mick Edwards & Dave Carr each took a second ahead of Jason McInulty and Bailey Edwards.

August saw a return to Germany; Nürburgring with DTM.

With heavy fog ruining Saturday, a sunny summer’s day welcomed us with a great race on Sunday. After a hard battle between the two Hungarians Vizin took the chequered flag from Bence Balogh. Valint took the final overall podium place whilst German Rainer Börgens took his first Exige podium. JP Genoud-Prachex kept up his remarkable sequence of victories in 211/O and Jason McInulty once again finished ahead of Goodman in Production.

July saw the first of two visits to SpaFrancorchamps with a single 50-minute race including a mandatory pit stop.

After early season disappointment Tamas Vizin would have the perfect weekend with pole followed by a lights to flag race win. Belgian Thierry Verhiest finished in second overall, arguably his best ever result with Palma in 3rd closely followed by another Exige, that of German Rainer Börgens. It would be another Balogh, György, who would eventually take the GT Cup win after Bence suffered mechanical failure and finished 17th overall. In Production McInulty got back to winning ways with Mark Yates and Carr completing the podium. Once again it was a GenoudPrachex 1-2 in 211/Open with JP ahead of Nathalie.

The championship returned to Spa, this time alongside DTM and back to the usual 2 race format.

Arguably the best race of the year saw Balogh run wide at La Source, with Vizin taking an early lead. The two produced some magnificent driving in wet conditions with Balogh finally taking and holding onto the lead for the win by less than a second. Valint followed next, ahead of Exige rival Maréchal. Genoud-Prachex took his 10th and 11th wins of the season, the only driver with a 100% record. Jason McInulty took another step towards the Production championship with Bailey Edwards & Sweden’s Cai Cederholm completing the podium.

Balogh took a dry race 2 from Maréchal, Valint and Palma, those 3 making up the Exige podium whilst Pettersson and then György Balogh once again joined the GT Cup one. Mark Yates took his first win of the year in Production from McInulty.

With 3 races and double points on offer for the final race of the season, the overall championship was still wide open when it arrived at Le Mans in front of over 70,000 spectators.

Bence Valint took 2nd and the Exige win, followed by 3rd in the final race. Tamas Vizin was 3rd and 2nd which ensured he took the Exige crown comfortably from Thierry Verhiest.

JP Genoud-Prachex took a brace of wins from the final 2 races, making it 13 class wins in 14 races and the overall runner up slot, in addition to 211/Open.

Race one saw Bence Balogh and Tamas Vizin resume their yearlong rivalry. Balogh eventually took the chequered flag, followed by Vizin and Maréchal, Verhiest taking the final Exige Cup place. The shock was perhaps that Balogh’s closest rival, JP Genoud-Prachex had mechanical problems and failed to classify. No nerves from McInulty though as he took another Production win from Mark Yates, Nathalie taking the 211/O win.

Just like the champion he is, Bence Balogh didn’t let the pressure from Vizin & Valint affect him and he closed out the final 2 races of 2022 to take the overall championship for a record 4th time.

Jason McInulty made it 3 out of 3 wins at Le Mans to easily take the Production crown and 3rd overall.

All that remains is to wish everyone who has supported Lotus Cup Europe in 2022 a safe and healthy winter as we look forward to the new season, scheduled to commence at Zolder in April.

OOSTENDE

LOTUS OOSTENDE BVBA

Joseph Plateaustraat 5 8400 Oostende info@lotus-verhiest.com

LOTUS OOSTENDE BVBA

Joseph Plateaustraat 5 8400 Oostende info@lotus-verhiest.com

+32 (0) 59 51 81 55 +32 (0) 59 51 30 86 www.lotus-verhiest.com

+32 (0) 59 51 81 55 +32 (0) 59 51 30 86 www.lotus-verhiest.com

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