Lotus 97T

Lotus 97T

Category	Formula One
Constructor	Lotus
Designer(s)	Gérard Ducarouge(Technical Director) Martin Ogilvie(Chief Designer)
Predecessor	95T
Successor	98T
Technical specifications
Chassis	Carbon fibremonocoque
Suspension (front)	Springs, pullrods,double wishbones
Suspension (rear)	Springs, pullrods,double wishbones
Axle track	Front: 1,740 mm (69 in) Rear: 1,630 mm (64 in)
Wheelbase	2,730 mm (107 in)
Engine	Renault GordiniEF15B1,492 cc (91.0 cu in) 90°V6turbochargedmid-engine,longitudinally-mounted
Transmission	Lotus/Hewland5-speedmanual
Power	760–810 hp (566.7–604.0 kW) @ 11,500 - 12,500 rpm
Weight	540 kg (1,190.5 lb)
Fuel	Elf
Tyres	Goodyear
Competition history
Notable entrants	John PlayerTeam Lotus
Notable drivers	11.Elio de Angelis 12.Ayrton Senna
Debut	1985 Brazilian Grand Prix
Races Wins Podiums Poles F/Laps 16 3 9 8 3
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0

TheLotus 97Twas aFormula Oneracing car designed byGérard Ducarougeand built byTeam Lotusfor use in the1985 Formula One World Championship.A development of the previous year's95T,the car was powered by theturbocharged1.5-litreRenaultEF15BV6engine and ran onGoodyeartyres.John Player Specialcontinued as the team's title sponsor, withElfandOlympusas secondary sponsors.

The 97T was of a generally simple design, it used elements from the defunctLotus 96TIndycar project in the aerodynamics with another piece of Lotus design: an early form ofbargeboards.These were placed between the front wheels and the side pods improving airflow around the side of the car. Ducarouge also got around the ban on the 'winglets' seen on the rear wings of the 1984 cars by placing them instead on the rear edges of the side pods.

Lotus' major coup for 1985 was signing rising starAyrton Sennafrom theTolemanteam to replace long time team driverNigel Mansellwho had signed withWilliams.Senna, the first driver signed to the team since the death ofColin Chapman,partnered ItalianElio de Angeliswho had finished third in the previous season's drivers' championship and had had many promising results with the 95T.

The 97T proved competitive during the season, taking 8 poles, 7 with Senna and 1 with de Angelis, and 3 wins. Senna's first was a brilliant performance in thePortuguese Grand Prixwhere he won by over a minute in monsoon conditions. His second came in theBelgian Grand PrixatSpa,held in wet/dry conditions. De Angelis added a third win (his 2nd and last win in F1, both for Lotus) at theSan Marino Grand Prixafter original winnerAlain Prost(McLaren) was disqualified an hour after the race finished due to his out of fuelMcLaren-TAGbeing 2 kg underweight. Lotus finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship, albeit tied on points with Williams who finished in third place owing to their greater number of race victories.

The 97T marked the start of a brief return to the successful days of the 1960s and 1970s for Lotus, which was continued by the98Tof 1986 and theHonda-powered99Tof 1987. The 97T had perhaps the best handling of any car in the 1985 season, and it was at its most competitive on tight, slow street circuits such as Monaco, Detroit and Adelaide, although it was also competitive on almost every other type of circuit it raced on. However the Renault engine had issues with unreliability and fuel consumption; Senna and de Angelis suffered at high-speed tracks, which were more demanding on fuel consumption, so they had to turn down the turbo boost to save fuel and possibly the engine as well, although de Angelis likely caught on to this earlier than Senna, as the Italian consistently finished in the points in the beginning of the season whereas Senna failed to finish in all but one race before the Austrian Grand Prix. Like a number of others Senna ran out of fuel at Imola, which was the hardest track of the year on fuel consumption, and he again ran out of fuel at Silverstone after a hard battle withAlain Prost.The Renault engine in Senna's car blew up at Monaco, France (which caused him to have an enormous accident at the fastest corner), Germany, South Africa and Australia, while de Angelis suffered engine failure at Germany, Belgium and South Africa.

Senna's 97T was added toGran Turismo 6via the May 2014 update as part of the game's new feature "Ayrton Senna Tribute" in two liveries: the Gold Leaf livery (identical to that of de Angelis's 97T apart from the driver number and name)and an in-game only "Team Lotus Special" livery (which was used instead of "John Player Special" due to tobacco advertising regulations).

Elio de Angelisdriving the 97T at the1985 German Grand Prix,with a livery used in Germany and the United Kingdom due to a contemporary ban on tobacco advertising.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Results inboldindicate pole position; results initalicsindicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points	WCC
1985	John PlayerTeam Lotus	Renault Gordini EF4B / EF15 V6tc	G		BRA	POR	SMR	MON	CAN	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	BEL	EUR	RSA	AUS	71	4th
				Elio de Angelis	3	4	1	3	5	5	5	NC	Ret	5	5	6	Ret	5	Ret	DSQ
				Ayrton Senna	Ret	1	7	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	2	3	3	1	2	Ret	Ret

-Lotus finished with the same number of points as theWilliamsteam, but because Williams won one more race than Lotus (Nigel MansellandKeke Rosbergeach won 2 races for Williams while Senna won 2 and de Angelis won 1 race for Lotus), that put Williams third and Lotus fourth in the Constructor's championship.

See also

• McLaren MP4/2
• Williams FW11