Legendary British sports car marque Lotus will make its debut as a course
car at Belgium's Geko Ypres rally on the 21-23 June. Portuguese driver
Bernardo Sousa, who is set to race the Lotus Exige R-GT later this year,
will drive this official car ahead of its entry in the FIA European Rally
Championship and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.

As part of the continuous development programme of the Exige R-GT, which has
undergone tests in Italy, comes its first participation, albeit as a course
car, in a rally event. The Geko Ypres Rally, which takes place in the town
of Ypres in West Flanders, will be the fans first opportunity to see the car
up close and running, and with the team of Bernardo Sousa and Corrado
Mancini on board.

The Lotus International Team will be present in full at Ypres. The race will
be the first official event for the team, and represents a useful
opportunity to bed itself in.

Ypres is one of the most charming and characteristic rallies in the European
series and the IRC. The participation of the Lotus International Rally Team
will be used to continue testing and to fine tune the set-up of the car,
equipped with a new suspension evolution, Michelin tyres thanks to a new
technical partnership with the French company, and of further refined
electronics.

Claudio Berro: "Development of the Exige R-GT is going well whilst we are
awaiting further clarifications of the GT category, which are due to be made
by the FIA at their World Motor Sport Council meeting on June 15. But, until
then, we're looking forward to Ypres which will give us some useful mileage,
and show off this spectacular car to the rally world."

Bernardo Sousa: "I am very pleased to be at the Geko Ypres Rally, even if
I'm only driving the Exige as a course car. This presence will certainly
help us to start having some stage time comparisons against those who will
be our next opponents. During the tests the car has improved continuously
and I am discovering its great potential day after day".

Lotus International Rally