Lotus backs America’s fledgling Lotus Challenge Series as official sponsor

The Lotus Challenge Series was begun in 2008 by long-time Lotus enthusiast Jim Navarro along with support from fellow Lotus enthusiasts Jack Fried and Robb Bonanno. To help expand the Lotus Challenge Series to the East Coast and continually improve the series, Jim recently took on a fellow racer as a partner in the series – Tom Hughes. Furthermore, Lotus’s American arm has also agreed to become the title sponsor for the 2009 season.

The inaugural year of the Lotus Challenge Series in 2008 was comprised of eight events with six at various California tracks and two events at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nevada.

With a solid first full year of learning and experience under their belt, the Lotus Challenge Series has been expanded for the 2009 season to ten western U.S. events initially, and is now in the process of expanding further with an additional four events being planned for Texas. As the race schedule is expanding for the series, the variety of the venues is as well with upcoming events scheduled at the revered Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey and famous Infineon Raceway in Sonoma.

The full array of Lotus' current North American product offering competes in the Lotus Challenge Series including various Elise and Exige models and the track-only Exige Cup Car 255 and the current track-only Lotus 2-Eleven.

Lotus Challenge Series 2009 Competition Schedule:
January 23 - Streets of Willow, Willow Springs
February 21 – 22 - Streets of Willow, (SCCA School)
March 28 – 29 - Spring Mountain Motor Sports Ranch
April 23 - Willow Springs International Raceway
May 30 – 31 - Buttonwillow Raceway Park
July 16 – 17 - Laguna Seca Raceway
August 8 - Streets of Willow, Willow Springs
September 3 - Buttonwillow Raceway Park
October 8 – 9 - Infineon Raceway
November 8 – 9 - Spring Mountain Motor Sports Ranch

As the Lotus Challenge Series continues to grow in participation and expand into other parts of the country, the dates and details for new events in the south and on the east coast for 2010 will be announced this August.