Well, April has certainly been rather more up and down than I was expecting (or, frankly, hoping for).

We learnt that very sadly and unexpectedly John Tarran Junior passed away on 4th April. John was one of life’s absolute gentlemen, with a delightful sense of humour, always willing to lend a hand, and with, as it turns out, an enormous circle of friends, all of whom will miss him enormously.

Personally, I only intersected with John through two of his many interests, his Lotus Formula Ford Type 61, which he ran in the HSRCA series and was last out on track earlier this year at Wakefield, and through his encyclopedic knowledge of Land Rovers, which he willingly shared with anyone polite enough to ask him the right question. His sense of humour is probably best captured by his nom-de-plume in the online world – Kevin Bacon – after his pet pig whom he saved from the Christmas pot several years ago. Our thoughts and condolences go to John Snr, Rosemary and Karissa. May you always remember all the fun and laughter you shared with John.

Then on Wednesday this week, as we were preparing for another Lotus clean sweep of the GT Trophy class in Targa Tasmania, we heard the devastating news that Tony Seymour, one of the competitors in his Lotus Exige, had died in an accident. Tony was well known and very well loved by all who had competed in Targa over the last few years, for his warmth, friendly competitiveness and love for Sandra and Alex. He will be greatly missed, and I know the whole Lotus community is mourning his passing, and will take some time to come to terms with this tragic event.

I am quietly hoping there is no more bad news to come.

It seems somehow rather less important to note that last weekend saw a number of us at the South circuit of SMSP for the second round of the CSCA sprints. Seth has pulled together a fuller report, but slightly unexpectedly, we had a dry, clear day and consequently there were some good times posted. As always it was great to see so many familiar faces, and particularly good to see some new ones! Long may the continued interest in this great grassroots motorsport continue.

Many thanks to Syd for the photo above. I gathered on the day that I appeared to be trying to save tyre wear, unsuccessfully as it turned out – my rears were not great to start with, and were toast by midday! We next gather at Pheasants Wood on 25th June, so I hope to see you then.

Socially, this month has been a bit of a washout again – I don’t mind admitting that I didn’t sign up to this weather when I moved to Sydney. Had I wanted rain for four months straight, I would have stayed in Edinburgh. However I gather from the long range forecast that there may be a change on the way, so I’ll stop whinging.

I very much hope we can catch up for a coffee and tyre kick next month, particularly as I am hearing great sounds of more and more “project” cars getting back on the road. So if yours is one of those, please, bring it along to one or more of the Sunday events.

Planning continues apace for the two major upcoming events – our Tour of Tasmania, and the 50th Anniversary celebrations for the Lotus Clubs of Australia next year. I’ll keep you posted on both as they progress, but as a reminder, you can make a booking to join us on the Tour of Tassie by clicking this link to our Member Jungle system.

That’s about it for another month – please take care, stay safe and look after each other,

Pip pip,
Ashton