On June 21, 1987, Ayrton Senna crossed the finishing line to win the Detroit Grand Prix and notch Team Lotus's 79th Formula One world championship success.
It was not considered significant at the time, for Lotus victories had long been part of the sport's fabric.
No one considered it might be the team's last. Their fortunes gently declined, however, and at the end of 1994 Lotus dropped out of the series - the ultimate proof that no team was immune from the ravages of commercial misfortune.
Their assets were purchased by David Hunt, a former racer and brother of James Hunt, the 1976 F1 world champion, but the resources to carry on racing simply were not there.
"Laying off the staff was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do," Hunt said. "I gave them my word, though, that I would one day put Team Lotus back on the grid. I just didn't know how long that might take."
On several occasions he came close to striking restorative deals, but circumstances always intervened and his patience would ultimately be stretched for 16 long years.
Team Lotus will, finally, return in 2011, at least in principle. Hunt has sold the team to Tony Fernandes, a Malaysian businessman who entered F1 this year as boss of newcomer Lotus Racing.
Officially, the operation is registered as the 1 Malaysia Racing Team, but Fernandes obtained permission to use the Lotus name under a licence granted by Group Lotus, the sports car manufacturer owned by the Malaysian automotive company Proton.
Group Lotus have racing ambitions of their own - they are supporting cars in F1 feeder championships GP2 and GP3 from 2011 - and reacted angrily to news of the arrangement between Hunt and Fernandes.
In an official statement, they announced that Fernandes could no longer use any form of the Lotus name from 2011, "as a result of flagrant and persistent breaches of the licence, which were damaging to the Lotus brand".
Fernandes's team reacted swiftly: they insisted they can race as Team Lotus and are seeking clarification via the English High Court.
It might to be a fruitful winter for the legal profession but, in the meantime, the principals of the aspiring Team Lotus are planning ahead.
A Renault engine deal is in the pipeline and Mike Gascoyne, their technical director who cultivated a fine reputation through previous work with Renault, Toyota and others, has recently signed a five-year contract extension.
"Mike's deal shows how serious we are," Fernandes said. "It's a reward for the incredibly hard work he and the team have put in to get us from just four people in September 2009 to our current position as a serious F1 player with a bright future."
And, indeed, a bright past. It might be 23 years since Team Lotus's last grand prix victory, but to this day only Ferrari, McLaren and Williams have won more.
sports@thenational.ae
