Charouz Racing System (CHRS, also was known as Lotus in World Series Formula V8 3.5) is a racing team from

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, created in 1985 by .

History

In the 1980s, Charouz participated in the European Championship of Circuit Races' 1600 cc division in a

Toyota Corolla The is a series of compact cars (formerly Subcompact car, subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has bee ...

. By 1992, they prepared cars for a special cup series for

Ford Fiesta The Ford Fiesta is a supermini car that was marketed by Ford from 1976 to 2023 over seven generations. Over the years, the Fiesta has mainly been developed and manufactured by Ford's European operations, and had been positioned below the ...

s, Escort RS 2000s and Pumas. Since 1998, Charouz has competed in the

European Rally Championship The European Rally Championship (officially FIA European Rally Championship) is an rallying, automobile rally competition held annually on the European continent and organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The champion ...

, Slovak Championship and European Zone series. When the A1 Grand Prix series debuted in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, Charouz managed the A1 Team Czech Republic. The team later took over management duties for A1 Team Brazil. New for 2007 was the entrance into endurance racing with the

Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the ...

. Competing with a Lola- Judd prototype, the team finished the year fifth in their class championship, including a second-place finish at

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. For 2008 the team entered a cooperation with

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC () is a British manufacturer of Luxury car, luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Headed from 1947 by David Brown (entrepreneur ...

Racing and

Prodrive Prodrive is an England, English motorsport and advanced engineering group based in Banbury, Oxfordshire. History Prodrive was founded in 1984 by Ian Parry and David Richards (motorsport executive), David Richards. Prodrive sold its 51% s ...

, running a new Lola B08/60 coupe in the Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The B07/17 from 2007 was entered at Le Mans under the Charouz banner, but the car was run by Greg Pickett's Team Cytosport with help from Sam Hignett's Jota Sport, the same organization who prepared this car for Charouz in 2007. In 2010 Charouz ran four cars in the Auto GP series. In 2018, following the collapse of the World Series Formula V8 3.5, Charouz joined the

FIA Formula 2 Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship (F2) is a second-tier single-seater championship organized by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on road racing, racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the re ...

, fielding Antonio Fuoco and Louis Delétraz, and collaborated with

Ralf Schumacher Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Schumacher won six Formula One Grands Prix across 11 seasons. Born and raised in North Rhine-Westp ...

's US Racing outfit in the ADAC Formula 4 championship. This saw the team claim two wins from Fuoco in Formula 2, including a double podium at the sprint race in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, to finish sixth in the constructors' standings while claiming both the ADAC Formula 4 drivers' and constructors' titles with Lirim Zendeli. In November 2018, it was announced that Charouz would serve as a junior team to the

Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG, currently competing in Formula One as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and also known simply as Kick Sauber or Sauber, is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who pro ...

Formula One team from 2019 onwards. For 2019, the team expanded into the newly created

FIA Formula 3 Championship The FIA Formula 3 Championship (FIA F3) is a third-tier international Open wheel car, single-seater racing championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for ...

, while continuing its collaboration with US Racing in ADAC Formula 4. In December 2019, after a season competing as the Sauber Junior Team, Charouz revealed that it would revert to its former name for 2020. Louis Delétraz and Pedro Piquet were the first drivers to be announced for the squad. Both drove for the Charouz Racing System in its third consecutive season in the FIA Formula 2 Championship. For the 2021 season of the

, Charouz initially ran with a lineup consisting of German David Beckmann and Brazilian Guilherme Samaia, with former

Formula 3 Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

driver Enzo Fittipaldi replacing David starting at the round in Monza. Logan Sargeant would take Charouz's lone victory in FIA Formula 3 that year, helping the team to 5th in the constructor's championship. Fittipaldi would continue for 2022, partnering Cem Bölükbaşı at the start of the season. Their Formula 3 team ran 8 different drivers throughout the season, and finished 10th in the championship, with Francesco Pizzi scoring the team's solitary point. In 2023, German team PHM Racing took over the assets of the Charouz F2 and F3 teams, racing under the moniker ''PHM Racing by Charouz''. From the 2024 season onwards, the F2 and F3 teams were fully rebranded to ''PHM AIX Racing'', and then to ''AIX Racing'', after an acquisition from the AIX Investment Group.

Former series results

FIA Formula 2 Championship

In detail

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

FIA Formula 3 Championship

In detail

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Formula 3000

A1 Grand Prix

F3000 International Masters

24 Hours of Le Mans

Le Mans Series

Formula Renault 3.5 Series

World Series Formula V8 3.5

Auto GP

ADAC Formula 4

Formula 4 UAE Championship

Timeline

Notes

References

External links

* {{FIA Formula 3 Championship teams Czech auto racing teams A1 Grand Prix racing teams 24 Hours of Le Mans teams European Le Mans Series teams World Series Formula V8 3.5 teams ADAC GT Masters teams Auto racing teams established in 1985 1985 establishments in Czechoslovakia FIA Formula 2 Championship teams FIA Formula 3 Championship teams Auto GP teams International Formula Masters teams International Formula 3000 teams