Lotus Mk9
The Lotus Mk9 , also Lotus Mark IX , or Lotus MK9 was a sports car that was built by Lotus Cars in 1954 .
Development history
In the winter of 1954/1955, Colin Chapman began developing a new small racing car for sports car races. The Mk9 was the logical further development of the Mk8 , which was presented in 1953. Frank Costin was once again entrusted with the design work; he had the tubular space frames for the chassis built by Lotus. The aerodynamic bodies were manufactured by Williams & Pritchard . The Mk9 was originally designed to accommodate the 1.1-liter 4-cylinder FWA Climax in - line engine . Over the years of production, other drive concepts were also used with a 1.5-liter MG , a 1.5-liter Connaught and a 2-liter Bristol engine. The racing car type was popular with private teams and drivers because the technology was basically simple. The standard versions had drum brakes , disc brakes were only used on the works cars . With 30 units built, the Mk9 was next to the Lotus Seven , the second successfully sold Lotus racing car.
Races
The racing history of the Mk9 is long, although the works team only used the type in 1955. 557 races are recorded between 1954 and 1968. 67 overall and 40 class wins were achieved. There were a total of 179 placements on the podium in the top three. The racing car model was first used in a national sports car race at the Crystal Palace Circuit in September 1954. Lotus test driver Dick Steed contested the race as a test drive and was canceled early after a technical defect.
The first start in the sports car world championship in 1955 was the 12-hour race in Sebring . No works cars were registered, but three chassis delivered to private teams. Warren Smith and partner Joe Sheppard failed to qualify their car for race Sunday but entered the race illegally and were disqualified. Another Mk9, driven by Frank Miller and George Rabe , was also disqualified for unauthorized refueling. Even the car of Norman Scott and Robert Samuelson can not finish after an accident after 109 laps.
The works team started with the Mk9 for the first time in April 1954 at the Goodwood Easter race ; at the wheel was Colin Chapman himself. Mike MacDowel celebrated his first win with this type of car at a club race on a street circuit near Ibsley near Bournemouth . For the works team, the first victory soon followed; Colin Chapman was successful in a race at Snetterton .
After initial resistance from the officials of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest , they finally accepted the entry for the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1955 . The performance at the Circuit des 24 Heures ended with an upset between Chapman and the ACO. The reason was the disqualification after Ron Flockhart had driven a few meters against the direction of travel after a trip into the meadow. The result was a long-term disruption of the relationship that culminated in the scandal over the Lotus 23 at the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1962 . Team Lotus competed with the Mk9 in a number of national sports car races in the summer of 1955, retired with two works cars at the Goodwood 9-hour race and finished the RAC Tourist Trophy in eleventh place overall.
Until the late 1950s, Mk9s were driven by many drivers in Europe and North America. The last race win was celebrated by John Headon in 1960; Geoffrey Crossley had the last race start with an Mk9 in 1968.
literature
- Anthony Pritchard: Lotus. The Competition Cars. Haynes Publishing, Sparkford 2006, ISBN 1-84425-006-7 .