Lotus Motorsport in collaboration with ART Grand Prix have confirmed their participation in the 2011 GP2 (Europe and Asia series) and GP3 series. The contract with ART Grand Prix sees Lotus commit to providing technical and engineering support for the GP2 and GP3 race series for the foreseeable future.

With seven F1 Constructors Championships, six F1 Driver Championships and numerous other considerable accolades, Lotus has a unique racing pedigree making them the perfect partner for ART Grand Prix.

Since the GP2 series was launched in 2005, ART Grand Prix have won the GP2 championship three times, first with Nico Rosberg (2005), then with Lewis Hamilton (2006) and last year with Nico Hulkenberg (2009) under the expert management of team founders Nicolas Todt and Frederic Vasseur. Vasseur and Todt's complementary abilities guarantee the best possible management of the team, day in, day out. Frederic Vasseur is in charge of the team and the factory on the ground, while Nicolas Todt runs the commercial and marketing side of the organization.

Commenting on the news Gino Rosato, Director of Corporate Communications at Lotus said: "This deal means a lot to me personally; I've known Nicolas Todt for many years and have already had the opportunity to work alongside him in the past. Lotus is proud to be partnering ART Grand Prix and in doing so uniting with the most successful and recognized team in GP2 Series. We come together with a common goal: to continue our great success in motorsport."

Frederic Vasseur Team Manager of ART Grand Prix said: "It is a fantastic opportunity for ART Grand Prix to be working with Lotus. The goal is clear: winning together the future GP2 and GP3 championships. I can't wait to see the new livery of our racing cars."

As part of the celebration, Lotus ART will field two cars in the GP2 Europe and GP2 Asia series and three cars in the GP3 Europe series. The GP2 Series, one of the World's premier racing categories, is widely recognised as the breeding ground for future F1 talent. Almost half of the current F1 grid got their chance to race at the pinnacle of motorsport after proving their worth in the GP2 Series including Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Timo Glock and Heikki Kovalainen. The goal of the new GP3 Series is to give young upcoming drivers a chance to develop their driving skills and jump to the next step: GP2.

Lotus Motorsport Director of Operations Miodrag Kotur said: "The move into GP2 and GP3 solidifies Lotus Motorsport's commitment to promoting driver development and supporting the search for the world champions of the future. Lotus won't simply be partner in name only, ART Grand Prix will also benefit from Lotus' considerable engineering and technical support and experience."

The main operating subsidiary of Group Lotus plc is Lotus Cars Ltd, which has two operating divisions - Lotus Engineering and Lotus Cars. Lotus Engineering is an internationally recognised automotive engineering consultancy based in Norfolk, UK. Global facilities include those in Michigan (USA), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), China and offices in Germany and Japan, with rapid expansion in new territories such as South East Asia.

Lotus Engineering provides comprehensive and versatile consultancy services to many of the world's OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, offering a full engineering service from initial concept and project design through development and integration of the complete vehicle to meet all worldwide markets and customers to full production. This includes third party 'niche vehicle' engineering and manufacture worldwide.