Catchfence

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (November 17, 2011) – A partnership between Bryan Herta Autosport and Lotus Motorsport was officially unveiled today during a press conference held at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Bryan Herta was on hand for the announcement which will see the Indianapolis 500 winning team enter the IZOD IndyCar Series as a full-time participant in 2012 utilizing the Lotus V-6 powerplant.

“Obviously, this is an incredibly exciting step for us,” said Herta. “Our goal all along has been to build our foundation to eventually compete as a full-time entrant in the series. To partner with Lotus, which has such a rich history and tradition in racing including at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is just tremendous. All of us are looking forward to working closely with Lotus to support their efforts.”

BHA, which served as the official test team for the Dallara DW12 chassis, is expecting to turn their first laps with Lotus power in January. In addition to BHA, Lotus today also announced partnerships with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and HVM Racing with all three teams benefiting from individual testing and development work.

“Myself, Claudio Berro [Director of Lotus Motorsport] and all of us at Lotus are very proud to have Bryan and his team with us for sure,” said Olivier Picquenot, Lotus Indy Project Manager. “Bryan’s name, experience and what he has accomplished with Bryan Herta Autosport make us honored to be working with him and his team. We are looking forward to not only next season but to a long partnership.”

Additional details of BHA’s 2012 program will be announced in the coming weeks.

###

About Bryan Herta Autosport

Founded by veteran driver Bryan Herta and noted race engineer and team manager Steve Newey, Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) has been a race-winning team in Firestone Indy Lights competition since 2009 and recently won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon in only its second IZOD IndyCar Series start. The Indianapolis, Ind.-based squad made its IndyCar debut in 2010 contesting the Indianapolis 500. Herta, an accomplished racer, has won in every series he has contested including the IZOD IndyCar Series, American Le Mans Series and CART in addition to garnering Skip Barber Formula Ford, Barber Saab and Firestone Indy Lights championship titles. Amongst his career highlights are a third-place finish in the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and victory in the LMP2 class at the Twelve Hours of Sebring in 2007. Newey’s racing career spans over 20 years and includes design and race engineering positions in Formula One as well as team manager/technical director roles in IndyCar, American Le Mans and Grand-Am competition. Among his highlights are the 1992 Champ Car World Series title as the race engineer for Bobby Rahal, the 2006 Grand-Am Daytona Prototype Driver’s Championship with Krohn Racing’s Jorg Bergmeister and victory in the Twelve Hours of Sebring in 2007 as race engineer for Andretti Green Racing and drivers Bryan Herta, Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan. He was also instrumental in assembling the Patrick Racing Firestone test team and served as team manager for drivers Scott Pruett and Adrian Fernandez. For more information, visit www.bryanhertaautosport.com.

- Bryan Herta Autosport, Press Release