Bernard assures Lotus teams they will have engines

IndyCar Series CEO Randy Bernard met with Lotus officials on Tuesday and said he was assured that every team with a signed contract and a deposit credited would have at least one engine by the season-opener. Quantity has been an issue for Lotus as Honda and Chevrolet have been focusing on quality for weeks.

Sebastien Bourdais' Dragon Racing car didn't have a Lotus engine for him Monday or Tuesday, costing him two test days. Oriol Servia expects, or at least hopes, to be ready to take his Dreyer & Reinbold car onto the Sebring International Raceway course for spring training on Thursday. He used words like “hope" and , “faith" in describing both the availability and performance of the mercurial Lotus, odd choices for both a driver and a mechanical engineer such as himself.

“The next two days will tell me at least where we stand," said Servia, who has been able to participate in just two of the expected 10-to-15 test days this preseason. He is scheduled to test at Barber Motorsports Park next week, he said. AutoWeek