NEWS: Lotus Exige S Cabrio Stand @ Le Mans

Lotus heads to Le Mans this week with "its latest and greatest" road-going model – the new £52,900, 1166Kg  Exige S Roadster – taking centre stage on their brand stand, supporting their cars running in the 90th anniversary 24-Heures-du-Mans in LMP1 (Lotus Rebellion Racing) and LMP2 (Team Lotus Praga). 

The Lotus stand will be located in the famous Le Mans Village, and this will be the first public appearance of the new Exige S – "the fastest convertible Lotus ever" – offering 345bhp and 295 lb ft from its supercharged 3.5-litre V6, capable of 0-62mph in just 3.5s and 145mph (only available with six-speed manual, not IPS transmission for now). 

And in addition to the new car  being shown off, and brand signature clothes on sale, two exclusive driver autograph sessions for fans and customers will also be laid on. Details below: 

Wednesday the 19 June
· 2:30pm - 2:45pm
· LMP2 Car #31 - Drivers: Kevin Weeda, James Rossiter, Christophe Bouchut
Thursday the 20 June
· 5:00pm - 5:15pm
· LMP2 Car #32 - Drivers: Thomas Holzer, Dominik Kraihamer, Jan Carouse
Check it out if you're at Le Mans this weekend. 

NEWS: Toyota GT86 Podium @ Britcar 24-Hour

Our Road Magazine race ace, Travis drummer, Neil Primrose took the brand new Toyota GT86 to a podium finish in this weekend's Britcar 24Hr at Sikverstone. Go Neil! Team Toyota GB scored a dream result at the 2012 Britcar 24 endurance race, celebrating a podium finish with the GT86 sports car in what is considered Britain’s toughest motorsport event. The near standard GT86 impressed all those who drove it. After starting on the 13th row of the grid, the car claimed eighth place overall and finished third in its class. Brilliant stuff! The GT86 ran faultlessly throughout its 512 laps, completing an impressive 1,874 miles around the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.
The four-man driving team was led by veteran racer Chris Hodgetts, Toyota’s double BTCC champion of the 1980s. Hodgetts was joined by his son, Stefan, some aging car hack called Richard Meaden and Travis drummer and Road Magazine staff writer, Neil Primrose.
"It is an absolutely fantastic result,” said Gary Blackham, whose GPRM team prepared the car. "We harboured ambitions of finishing in the top 10 and we are more than delighted with eighth overall. Given the difference in horsepower between our car and the more modified racing cars in the division, third in class is a great result also. The GT86 ran faultlessly throughout. I think the only work we had to do was to add about half a litre of oil during the whole race. All the pit stops went smoothly, the technicians – a mixture of seasoned GPRM regulars and staff from Toyota GB’s head office – worked very well together and the drivers were fantastic; they did everything they needed to and everything that was asked of them."
The drivers took three-hour turns at the wheel and each put in two stints. Stefan Hodgetts started the race and set the Toyota’s fastest lap towards the end of his first stint, and his 61-year-old father enjoyed the honour of taking the chequered flag. Said Chris: "We drove the wheels off it for 24 hours. We literally ragged the poor little car throughout, and as you would expect from a Toyota it responded with fantastic reliability." The Britcar Toyota GT86 was powered by the standard 16-valve double overhead cam horizontally opposed ‘boxer’ engine of the road-going model, delivering 197bhp. GPRM now plans to develop a more powerful version for customers looking to buy track Toyotas of their own.

Read a full report from Neil here soon... 

NEWS: Toyota GB GT86 Britcar 24-Hour Drivers Announced

Toyota has announced who will be driving in the GT86's racing debut for the Britcar 24 Hours (September 21st-23rd) – and it's an amazing comeback call-up for 61-year-old Chris Hodgetts, the man who won back-to-back touring car championships in the famous AE86 Toyota Corolla GT in the 1980s. Not only that, our very own www.roadmagazine.co.uk race ace, Neil Primrose (Travis drummer) will also be part of the four man driver team, which also includes Chris' son, Stefan Hodgetts and journalist, Richard Meaden.

Our Neil is an experienced historic car racer, and campaigns a Lola 2-litre Lola T212 sportscar and has raced at the historic Le Mans Classic and at the Nurburgring. He says:"I'm chuffed to bits. It's great to get a proper drive like this."
Chris, being the most experienced member of the team (he’s a veteran of six round-the-clock races at Le Mans), will provide a direct link between the new GT86 and the famous Corolla GT, one of the classic Toyota sports cars that inspired its development. He said: "I think the last time I raced a Toyota was the 1988 Spa 24 Hours. We retired eight minutes from the end while leading our class."

He recently dropped into the workshops of GPRM, where the Britcar GT86 is taking shape: "There was the new car and alongside it was a replica of my old AE86 Corolla, all in its old livery. I admit I shed a tear. It’s wonderful to be reunited."
Son Stefan is equally excited at the prospect of racing the new Toyota. He said: "I was four or five when dad was wining the BTCC in his Toyota and I remember it vividly. It’s a great connection to the past for me and a fantastic opportunity. And I think my team-mate is a safe and sensible sort of guy who will have over the GT86 in one piece."
The Britcar 24 Hours will take place at Silverstone over the weekend of September 22nd and 23rd. Find out more at Team Toyota GB or stay tuned here...