Lotus will begin racing in the American Le Mans Series in 2012 with the new Lotus Sport USA team. The team will compete with the V6-powered Lotus Evora GTE that produces 470 hp. It will take part in the full American Le Mans Series season, according to Lotus. It will be headed by team principals Ian Dawson and John Pritzlaff. "We are very happy to confirm the formal plans for Lotus Sport USA," said Claudio Berro, director of Lotus Motorsport. "This part of the world represents a very important market to Group Lotus now and for the future. With Ian Dawson and John Pritzlaff on board, I'm sure Lotus Sport USA will go from strength to strength." Dawson was a part of Team Lotus Formula One effort in the 1970s before moving to Rebaque F1, a privately run Lotus team. Pritzlaff has a background in banking as a financial executive and will bring structure and oversight to the team, according to Lotus. Lotus Sport USA will be based at the North Carolina Center for Automotive Research complex and testing facility. The team will begin testing in fall 2011. Source - Autoweek