Wednesday 28th October 2009

Lotus Appoints New Motorsport Director

Sunbeam Lotus co-driver and ex-Ferrari F1 man joins the top table at Hethel

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Berro - new Lotus Motorsport boss

The man responsible for running the now defunct Speedcar Middle-East championship has been hired by Lotus to lead its motorsport operations.

Claudio Berro has a high profile motorsport management profile, having cut his teeth in the business as sporting director at Peugeot Italy - following a stint co-driving a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus for Peugeot Talbot Italia and twice becoming Italian Group 2 Rally Champion in 1981 and 1982.

He subsequently served as team manager of Ferrari F1, and more recently as General Manager of Maserati Corse and Racing Director for Fiat-Abarth.

"Lotus has a peerless motorsport heritage, not just in Formula One, but we have also won in sportscar racing, saloon car racing, world rally championships, Le Mans and the Indy 500," says Berro in an official statement.

Berro's the one on the left (We think!)

"There is no other car company in the world which can lay claim to so many accolades and championships in such a wide variety of motorsport fields, and I am looking forward to re-introducing Lotus to high level motorsport to not only compete and win but also to demonstrate the shared technology between Lotus sportscars and future racing cars."

New Lotus CEO - and former Ferrari director - Dany Bahar is the man responsible for the appointment:

"Claudio has a proven track record of not only setting up and managing the motorsport's divisions within sportscar brands but also winning championships in GT racing and rallying. His skills will be very valuable as we look to return Lotus to high level motorsport around the world," he says.

Speedcar lost its backers this year

[Stu_00]

Great news!

Looking forward to seeing Lotus sparkle on the world stage again.....

[briSk]

Stu_00 said:

Great news!

Looking forward to seeing Lotus sparkle on the world stage again.....

it'd be great... but i fear it may be a while before any 'sparkling' occurs!

[Oddball RS]

Danny's version of 'jobs for the boys'

[The Donster]

Poorly written copy here. Nowehere until the final paragraph does it state what his first name is!

[andydicko140]

It says his full name in the second paragraph?!

[Munter]

So Ex-Ferrari man at top of Lotus. Employs Ex-Ferrari man to head up motorsport at Lotus.

I blame Labours immigration policy! It's an Italian invasion!

(Only kidding)

[whit3star]

and another one from Ferrari....

"Ferrari is set to lose a long time member of its Formula One team.

French speaking Canadian Gino Rosato is better known around the world as the team's burly and goateed security man.

Radio Canada reports that he has accepted a proposal to join the sports car maker Lotus as the vice-president of corporate affairs.

The offer was made by his former Ferrari colleague Dany Bahar, who is Lotus' new CEO. Rosato's last race with Ferrari will be in Abu Dhabi this weekend, having joined in the late 90s."



http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=3505...

[Belfast Boy]

He looks like that Irish geezer from the X FACTOR???

[The Donster]

andydicko140 said:

It says his full name in the second paragraph?!

It didn't when I submitted the comment earlier.....

...thanks PH, for making ME look a dick when YOU made the mistake. I thought you were supposed to acknowledge this???

[ScoobieWRX]

Well he's certainly had a few jobs. I wonder how long he'll last

[Chris-R]

The Donster said:

andydicko140 said:

It says his full name in the second paragraph?!

It didn't when I submitted the comment earlier.....

...thanks PH, for making ME look a dick when YOU made the mistake. I thought you were supposed to acknowledge this???

Sorry, I hadn't read your comment when I revised the error. Well spotted.

[Sivraj]

It'll be great to see Lotus competing but which area's are they aiming to compete in with there present line-up?
It would be great to see a 4x4 rally prepared Elise

[AllNines]

whit3star said:

and another one from Ferrari....

"Ferrari is set to lose a long time member of its Formula One team.

French speaking Canadian Gino Rosato is better known around the world as the team's burly and goateed security man.

Cool, Gino gave me a guided tour of the Ferrari F1 factory when I visited Jean Todt there in 2005 (to interview him about his time at Talbot); Gino was a fan of the Sunbeam Lotus, too. The picture of Claudio in the Sunbeam is from Sanremo 1982 with his driver Federico Ormezzano (so Berro is indeed the one on the left of the shot).

Edited by AllNines on Saturday 31st October 16:35

[Park'O]

Lotus are running Cosworth engines next season, along with F1USA, intresting! Good to see Cossie back though!