The Lotus CEO Was Caught At 102mph... But Escaped Penalty Points

A good lawyer is priceless. The representative for Jean-Marc Gales of Lotus has managed to swap a long ban for a relatively short one - with no licence penalty points

The CEO of Lotus Cars has one hell of a good lawyer. Jean-Marc Gales, the boss of the British sports car maker, was caught driving at 102mph in a 70mph zone… but escaped without any penalty points.

The Luxembourg-born velocity enthusiast already had eight points on his licence when he was caught at three-figure speeds on the A11 near the firm’s Norfolk factory. Apparently, he was test-driving a new model. The recently-unveiled Evora GT410 Sport, perhaps?

Normally people in his circumstances would be banned for accruing over 12 points after the customary six had been added to his tally. His argument for getting out of trouble relatively unscathed was bizarre, but it worked. Mr Gales’ lawyer explained that the executive likes to test-drive customers’ brand new cars for himself to make sure they meet his standards, and that a further four-point hit would slap an automatic, lengthy ban on him, preventing him from ‘doing his job.’

As tenuous excuses go, it’s pretty superb. The magistrates agreed with the lawyer’s suggestion to impose a 30-day ban instead of more points. Anyway, in fairness, he probably has plenty of experience and expertise piloting Lotuses (Loti? Lotum? Lotea?) at high speed, on track and otherwise.

Mr Gales was caught at 96mph on the same stretch of road in 2014, earning him five penalty points and a near-£400 fine. Sentencing guidelines, which his lawyer called ‘handrails not handcuffs,’ suggest a sentence of six points or a ban of between seven and 56 days.

As things stand, the Lotus boss will be back behind the wheel before the end of February, enjoying the final sign-off drive of almost every car that leaves the factory.