After an engine change, car #32 got a penalty which meant that James Rossiter had to start from the pit lane with one lap down. Especially after the great result in yesterday’s qualifying this was a real shame for the team. Rossiter made his way through the field and went up to 6th position in LMP2 class. However, the Lotus LMP2 #32 needed to be repaired after an accident and lost some positions. The car finished the race in position 11 of the LMP2s.
Car #31 was 5th in between but did not finish the race after a crash one hour before the end.
Lotus has shown a good performance all over the weekend and has proved that the team is competitive. The crew has learned a lot from the incidents during the race. The team managed these situations very well and repaired the damages very quick.
Renger van der Zande, Race Driver #31:
“It is a real shame that we could not finish the race. Being hit from behind is hard to prevent. The pace was very good until then. There is still some improvement on all areas but the base is there. It was a weekend to learn from for the next races.”
James Rossiter, Race Driver #32:
“It is a real shame that we had to start from the pit lane and were one lap down already from the start on after the engine change. We tried to stay out as long as possible, so I did three stints in order to gain some positions. We managed to unlap ourselves again and were in 6th position. It was a good run for us. Unfortunately, we couldn’t show our potential after we got the penalty, but we learned a lot as a team and I am sure that we will have a great future.”
#31 Thomas Holzer (GER) – Mirco Schultis (GER) – Renger van der Zande (NED)
#32 Luca Moro (ITA) – Kevin Weeda (USA) – James Rossiter (GBR)
Race
#32 Position 11 (LMP2)
#31 Did not finish
