Lotus Cup Europe 2012

Lotus Cup Europe 2009

Season Review

Introduction

Lotus Cup Europe at Dijon

It was all change for Lotus Cup Europe in 2009 as control of the series was handed to LoTRDC. The club had demonstrated its expertise in running the Elise Trophy series in the UK, which had grown from a nursery for experienced track day drivers taking their first steps into racing. This meant that a large pool of cars and drivers were encouraged to compete and with races combining both series, we had healthy grids at every round. Most importantly we had separate Lotus only grids at Europe’s best circuits. This also introduced a fascinating dynamic between the UK drivers and their mainland counterparts – predictably the British drivers performed well in their own territory but many also put in some fine drives abroad.

The series was split into three main classes, 2-Eleven for the track-based derivatives, Exige for the Exige Cup model and Production, which covered the normally-aspirated Elise models.

2-Eleven

The first round set the bar high as it was off to Brands Hatch to support the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport. Whilst that series looked to have staged its final races on the day, it was clear that the LCE was destined for a great season, as evidenced in some of the positive comments of the drivers. With the modified cars of Jamie Stanley and Sean Bicknell sharing the wins over three races, amongst the LCE cars it was clear that the 2-Eleven’s track-focussed form held an advantage over the closed-cockpit racers and the wins were fought between Scott Cruickshank and Jonathan Walker.

Cruickshank and Kirby

From Brands Hatch we headed to Zandvoort on a glorious spring weekend and the mainland-based drivers were on equal terms. Cruickshank, Gavin Kirby and modified runner Steve Williams put up a strong fight but were defeated in race one by Luc de Cock and Michael Damoiseaux, whilst the absence of the former and a nasty incident involving the latter in race two gave an aggregate win to Williams, just denying Cruickshank and Kirby.

Damoiseaux’s excellent form in the first race was then carried onto the next round at Hockenheim where he was in contention for the victory, a late spin handing honours to Williams, with Kirby taking the flag first time round.

Also performing well was Thierry Verheist, the Lotus dealer providing support for many of the cars in between racing his day-glo 2-Eleven.

The Belgian-based Damoiseaux became the man to beat, certainly on the mainland he was the favourite for victory and at the following meeting at Donington Park, supporting the FIA F2 Championship, he ran Cruickshank very close.

Antoine Leblois

The latter part of the season was held in French-speaking territories, and this was a happy hunting ground for Damoiseaux. Cruickshank was absent from Dijon, with Walker taking up the challenge for the UK but unable to wrest the lead from the Belgian. Kirby was delayed in qualifying and staged two excellent comeback drives whilst Christophe Lisandre was proving himself to be a solid finisher.

At the penultimate round at Spa the grid combined with the Elise Trophy meant that Stanley’s modified car was dominant but another intense battle between Cruickshank and Damoiseaux provided all the entertainment. The Belgian was delayed at the start of race one and whilst Cruickshank ran solidly at the start he gradually dropped off the pace and was picked off towards the end. Next time out and in filthy conditions the pair were together race-long but Damoiseaux positioned his car perfectly to hold off his opponent as they stayed in touch with the leader.

Damoiseaux was absent from the final blast around Le Mans but Kirby returned to make a real race of it. Conditions were no better than Spa on day one and it was Cruickshank that prevailed. However Kirby took a second victory of the year on a much drier Sunday but only after a challenge from Lisandre faltered. Kirby had a season of mixed fortunes, whilst he upgraded his car adding a sequential gearbox. Expect him to be more consistent in 2010.

Exige class

In the Exige class, a serious bout of sibling rivalry was being fought between the Rasse brothers, Gregory and John.

Gregory and John Rasse

Honours were fairly even between the pair but spare a thought for Gregory, who raced on to a fine finish at Zandvoort when his brother had been involved in a nasty accident with Damoiseaux. Time and time again they were almost stuck together in the races and provided us with some great action as they led their class.

Also running well in the Exiges were Denis Van Den Savel who was ever present all season and picked up 3 wins, David Seear who picked up a hat trick of wins at Brands and Olivier Cunat who was a winner at Dijon.

Whilst the class was not as full as the quicker 2-Elevens, they often provided excellent racing. Seear’s season ended rather abruptly after a spin at Le Mans left his car looking rather second-hand and Cunat spun in sympathy, with a problem in race two meaning he left his final weekend of the year empty-handed.

Production class

Production was populated by a succession of Elise Trophy drivers and the fierce battles that characterise the class in that series transferred well to the European circuits. James Knight and Michael Edwards took most of the silverware and were often at the front but they also had their fair share of problems. Amongst their victories, Simon Phillips found his way to the front, as did Marcus Jewell, Paul Quinn, Mark Speller, Andy Dolan and Steve Williams. The latter had made the switch from Modified after experiencing a blown engine at Dijon. Special mention should be made to Nigel Ayres who attended every round of LCE including the additional round at Imola.

2-Eleven and Exiges

Perhaps Production was summed up best in the final race of the season at Le Mans when five drivers were in contention for the victory and they all took turns to lead, swapping places throughout the ten laps. It was thrilling stuff and with the Elise Trophy switching to production only next year, we hope to see more drivers making the trips abroad on their weekends off.

Summary

It’s been an excellent season, with action and entertainment aplenty. Scott Cruickshank (211), John Rasse (Exige) and James Knight (Production) emerge as the drivers of the season but with a more consistent Kirby, an improving Lisandre and plenty of other drivers ready to step up to the plate the 211 class looks like being a great one in 2010. The sibling rivalry between John and Gregory in the Exige class will continue and we hope to at least double the number of Exiges while Production just needs more of the same but hopefully with some new mainland drivers coming on board.

We look forward to a vintage year in 2010.

Kevin Ritson

LoTRDC Press Officer