10/02/2010
NEWS STORY
Ahead of its launch in London on Friday, the Lotus F1 team has shaken down its car at Silverstone.
The Malaysian owned team was only handed a slot on the 2010 grid in September, when, following an "intensive selection and due diligence process", the FIA awarded it the thirteenth slot. Just one month later the team was in the windtunnel testing a scale model.
Today, while there remains serious doubt regarding two teams who have had much longer in which to prepare, the Lotus took to the Stowe track at Silverstone with reserve driver Fairuz Fauzy at the wheel.
"It was a big moment to see the car turn a wheel for the first time," chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne told BBC Sport. "We had no major issues or anything that gives us concern for the future."
Following Friday's launch, the team will head to Jerez de la Frontera where it will join the majority of its rivals in the third pre-season test of 2010, scheduled to get underway on 17 February. It will be the second of the new teams to take to the track.
"To have done everything from scratch to a running car in twenty-one weeks is a fantastic achievement," said Gascoyne. "It was a brief shakedown as we didn't get some of the last parts from our suppliers until six on Tuesday morning, but that was to be expected given the timescales.
"We only got to the track at lunchtime but it went pretty well," he continued. "We were able to do a few laps, which was perfect and great reward for everyone for all the effort they've put in.
"The Stowe circuit is not much bigger than a go-kart track and on a cold February afternoon when it's snowing intermittently you are never going to learn much about the handling of the car. But we got a good number of laps on it and we did all the systems checks so we can run in anger in Jerez."