After the controversy of the 1981 season with the twin chassis Lotus 88 the Lotus team upgraded it’s conventional single chassis Lotus 87 for the 1982 season giving it the Lotus T 91 tag. Still powered by the by now venerable Ford Cosworth V8 the Lotus 91 was one of the more attractive entries on the grid.

The 91 was a modest improvement on the Lotus 87 Nigel Mansell scoring a seasons best 3rd place finish on his debut in the model in the Brasilian Grand Prix. At the Canadian Grand Prix Nigel Mansell broke his wrist in an accident and after sitting out the Dutch Grand Prix where he was replaced by Roberto Moreno who failed to qualify. Nigel came back for the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch where he is seen in today’s photographs.

Unfortunately Nigel was not fully recovered and he could only qualify 23rd on the grid in chassis #91/7 before retiring from the race due to the discomfort from his wrist. While waiting for his wrist to recover properly Nigel missed the following French Grand Prix where Geoff Lees stood in and finished 12th.

Team mate Elio de Angelis scored a famous victory with his Lotus 91 at the 1982 Austrian Grand Prix where he held off, eventual 1982 champion, Keke Rosberg and his Williams to win by just half a cars length. The 1982 Austrian Grand Prix was the first, of two, for de Angelis, the last for a Ford Cosworth powered Lotus and the last for Colin Chapman who succumbed to a heart attack in December 1982.

Thanks for joining me on this “Broken Wrist” edition of “Gettin a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !