Lotus have written about the Track calendar 2017. They have new internal procedures intended to reduce their impact on the community:

  • No Lotus Driving Academy at Hethel – LDA is now a global activity with Academies in Asia, North America and Europe
  • No more Mitsubishi Lancer Club Sprint (exceptionally noisy vehicles)
  • No more formula type race car testing by 3rd parties
  • No vehicle running in evenings unless critical to Lotus business
  • No back to back events over the same or consecutive weekends
  • Weekend Events classed “potentially noisy” spaced out at no more than 1 per month with more than 4 weeks interval on average
  • Updates for the local community.

Potentially noisy users in 2017 currently limited to:

Lotus on Track:

  • No more than 6 Saturday events per year.
  • Comprises Lotus product owners Track Day events.
  • All vehicles noise tested to comply with regulation limits and records kept.
  • Has been running for over 10 years at Hethel.

Lotus Motor Club Sprint:

  • 2 fixed date Sunday events per year – 2nd April and 6th August 2017
  • Comprises Lotus staff club members, Lotus owners, other varied vehicles from associated clubs.
  • All vehicles noise tested to comply with  MSA regulation limits and records kept.
  • Has been running for 20 years at Hethel.

Classic Team Lotus:

  • 2 hours allocated per week during office hours for testing. Generally used once or twice per month)
  • Comprises classic and vintage Lotus racing cars.

Lotus Cars Engineering:

  • Week days and possibly week ends during core hours.
  • Vehicle engineering activities for Lotus products and 3rd party clients.
  • Comprises road going type vehicles.

Any comments to Alastair Florance, Group PR Manager, GROUP LOTUS PLC, Hethel, NR14 8EZ

T: 01953-608462 or E: aflorance@lotuscars.com


From an e-mail received by the Parish Council:

My name is Daniel Hartgrove and it is my role to manage the Lotus test track and Driving Academy.

We have had a number of noise complaints lately. We are very aware of the impact that the noise has on local residents and therefore we measure noise levels at the beginning of the day to ensure nothing on track will exceed 105db.  This is in keeping with track regulations which are enforced at Snetterton and most UK circuits.

Track events over the next 4 weekends are:

Saturday 13th August       – MLR Sprint track event

Sunday 14th August         – LDA Exige Experience

Saturday 20th August       – LDA Elise Experience

Sunday 21st August         – LDA corporate Event

Friday 26th August           – LDA Level 1

Saturday 27th August       – LDA Level 2

Sunday 28th August         – LDA Level 3

The track will be in use for the duration of the day between the hours of 9am & 5pm with a scheduled lunch break of 1hr. These times maybe subject to change due to the running order of the days.

If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Daniel Hartgrove
Driving Academy & Track
DRIVING ACADEMY, Potash Lane, Hethel, Norwich, Norfolk, NR14 8EZ, England
T: +44 (0)1953 608411
E: dhartgrove@lotuscars.com


An occasional meeting is held between Lotus Group plc and local residents to discuss matters arising from use of the track at Hethel by Lotus and their Driving Academy. You may be interested that Lotus Group are offering a 10% discount for residents’ family members. Contact Danny Hartgrove (dhartgrove@lotuscars.com) for more details.

Meeting notes: Local Residents Meeting 26 Feb 2015

2015 schedule for Lotus events: LDA CALENDAR 2015

The key to the codes in the schedule is:

FT = Factory Tour
HFT = Heritage Factory Tour (Includes CTL)
SYS = Scare yourself Sensible (1/2 Day Track Event)
L1,2,3 = Lotus Driving Academy Track Events
LOT = Lotus on Track (Lotus Owners Track Event)
LMC = Lotus Motor Club (Annual Sprint track Event)