Money, Racing and Cigarettes ON This Day January 8, 1968 330s

[Scene 1: The Lotus Headquarters]

We can imagine it might of went like this- In the heart of the Lotus headquarters, maybe the kitchen at Kettering Hall, tension hung in the air as Colin Chapman, founder and CEO of Lotus, imagined the iconic green and yellow car with determination in his eyes.

"We've been a symbol of speed and innovation for decades, but it's time to take Lotus to new heights," Chapman declared.

After weeks of intense thinking, Chapman with his Team Lotus made a groundbreaking decision – to introduce sponsorship to their revered racing team. Traditionalists were skeptical, fearing that it would tarnish the purity of racing, but Chapman saw it as a strategic move to propel and help fund the brand into the future.

Now to the facts= At the New Zealand Grand Prix Lotus cars rolled onto the track, not in the accepted British racing colors of Green with yellow accent. No, the Lotus 49 Jimmy Clark was to drive On this Day January 8, 1968, was painted Red over White and proudly displayed the logo of Gold Leaf Cigarettes. This debut echoed through the racing world, sparking a mix of excitement and skepticism.

As the season progressed, the Lotus 49 showcased speed, unfortunately, Jimmy was killed a few short months later racing a Lotus in a support race.

The sponsorship had not diluted Lotus's essence but had fueled a new era of success.

While not the first sponsorship in Formula One racing, that honor (or misdeed) goes to Team Gunston as the first Formula One team to implement sponsorship brands as a livery on their Brabham car, which was privately entered for John Love in orange, brown, and gold colours of Gunston cigarettes in the first race of the 1968 season, the 1968 South African Grand Prix, on 1 January 1968. Chapman one not to be left behind when it came to engineering prowess, nor money, less than a week later became the first factory F1 team, with sponsorship. Eventually, this led to the most famous racing livery of all the Black and Gold of John Player Cigarettes. After those fateful days in January 1968, the crowds echoed the acceptance of sponsorship and Lotus had made another of its legendary marks in the history of automobile racing.

A bit of a long one, but It all kind of happened today and to learn what happened tomorrow Subscribe and follow at NoDrivingGloves.com Now get off ye old ass, go burn some gas as John is OUT!