Eric Boullier leaves Lotus; Gerard Lopez in as team principal - MotorSportsTalk

In a stunning development, Lotus has announced the immediate departure of team principal Eric Boullier. Replacing Boullier at that post will be team owner Gerard Lopez.

In the accompanying statement on the subject, the team added it would officially unveil its 2014 challenger, the E22, at the beginning of the first Bahrain preseason test in February and “confirm its organizational structure for 2014 ahead of this test.”

“Lotus F1 Team has never stood still and we head into what promises to be an exciting 2014 season with an innovative new car, new partners and a new management structure at Enstone,” an optimistic Lopez said in his own thoughts.

“Great things have been achieved over the past years and we need to continue this momentum…We thank Eric for all his hard work over the past four years and we are confident we can continue to fight as one of the top teams in Formula 1 over the seasons ahead.”

Boullier had been team principal for the team since the 2010 season, when it was still known as Renault. Last year, he helped the team claim a solid fourth place in the constructor’s championship.

But off-track, there was much talk about the team’s financial status – talk that was fueled by Kimi Raikkonen’s mid-season revelation that he had not been paid by Lotus; more recently, Lopez said that Raikkonen (now back at Ferrari) has received part of his 2013 salary and would get the rest in due time.

Lotus’ decision to not attend next week’s first preseason test of 2014 at Jerez de la Frontera, Spain also did nothing to stop a growing sense of unease about the team. Boullier’s sudden exit will likely only make that unease deepen further.

As for where Boullier may end up, multiple reports including those from British F1 broadcaster Sky Sports (who says that Boullier left Lotus on his own accord) and the UK’s Telegraph newspaper have linked the Frenchman to McLaren, which launched its new MP4-29 earlier this morning.

With Ron Dennis promising changes after he returned to the CEO post in Woking, the future of current McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has been debated.

It bears noting that Whitmarsh was not quoted in team statements regarding today’s MP4-29 launch or yesterday’s promotion of Stoffel Vandoorne to reserve driver.

Now it appears that F1 observers will be waiting to see if Dennis indeed replaces Whitmarsh as principal and then puts the now-former Lotus man Boullier into the role.

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Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

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