Hello all! What’s with all of this water leaking out of the sky?

Having said that, March has been an awesome month down in Victoria, where many of you know I have been spending far too much time lately 🙂

The upside to spending too much time down there was that I got to go to the Phillip Island Histerics two weekends ago. This was mostly so I could scope out the other runners and riders in Group L, where the Eleven will reside if I get the CoD sorted out! And I can happily report that they are a lovely bunch of guys, all with the same intention of bringing the car home straight and true, so I am hugely looking forward to getting out there soon.

The other reason was to see all the beautiful and iconic cars that descend on Phillip Island for the weekend. While it might lack the glamour and prestige of Goodwood, in many ways the Classic is much more enjoyable, since there is absolutely none of the pretentious behaviour so often associated with top level motorsport events. Everyone was friendly and delighted to chat – the drivers, spanners, marshals and other members of the public. Great fun!

Many thanks to Geoff Wheeler for sorting out the accommodation and access to the Grandeur Club. OK, so that might reek of pretention a bit, but the AC was very welcome given ambient temps reached 30 degrees!

As always, we hosted the first round of the CSCA sprints a few weeks ago, with a beautiful day at Wakefield Park. It really couldn’t have been better – the rain had washed the track clean, the sun came out and dried everything for a few days before (I must admit my one excursion did fill the undertray with mud, so clearly it wasn’t THAT dry) and the air was cool but not too cold. So, the opening sessions saw some pretty serious times being posted for so early in the day.

Huge thanks to Mike for setting the day up so successfully, and to all the club members who came along to have fun, and who also kindly helped with marshalling, monitoring and flagging. It was an awesome day – and full details, including photos and times which show we are always are the pointy end, are on the website in case you’ve not been there recently.

While on the subject of motorsport, I need your help – and quite urgently! For several years, we have been trying to find a replacement for Mike B (I know he’s irreplaceable, but we need to try) in his role as Motorsport Secretary. This is a vital role both on the CLA Committee, and also in the wider motorsport world, and we now need to start the recruitment process to replace Mike in earnest, as he has declared his intention to retire at the AGM in September.

If the idea frightens but interests you, please get in touch, as we can certainly look to meet this role with more than one person. Drop me a line to [email protected] or give me a ring on 0408202208. Please!

Elsewhere, we sadly had to cancel Anne’s Scones and Cream event, so we’ll try again once the weather settles down a bit. It’s also high time we had a weekend run somewhere interesting; if anyone has a burning desire to lead a small group somewhere fun, please put up your hand. Otherwise I’ll have to do it!

Right, enough of my rabbit; here’s hoping you get the car out between showers, and I look forward to seeing some of you out and about, including at the Histerics next weekend at Wakefield with a bit of luck!

Meantime, keep it safe, upright and on the black stuff.

Pip pip,
Ashton