Welcome to autumn! This morning was the first morning which really smelt like autumn, so I guess we can be happy with that. And let’s face it, this weather is perfect for open top driving!
On this subject, we’re starting to work more closely with the lovely folk at the Classic Rally Club to raise awareness and interest in the highly social past-time of tarmac rallying – basically an excuse to get your car out and drive for a weekend every now and then! More next month.
While most of the petrol-headed world is at the Grand Prix this weekend, I’ve somehow managed to avoid getting dragged down there this year, so instead will be watching with interest as the new season gets underway. Damon Hill was slightly less than complimentary about, in particular, the sound this year’s cars (don’t) make, but we’ll no doubt see what the noise is all about soon!
The main focus of our attention currently is the Club Lotus 50th (and Lotus 75th) Anniversary celebrations over the 23-25th June. If you haven’t booked, I will now start begging! We need to close out the numbers by the end of this month, so if you have been hesitating, please don’t hang around, as once we finalise numbers, we can’t simply add to them! Book here now: https://cla.memberjungle.com/index.cfm?module=event&pagemode=indiv&page_id=1791670
Not only will we have the wonderful Graham Balfe MCing us, and William Taylor as our guest of honour, but our lovely friends at SSC are coming along to represent the factory and, in particular, the ‘Future’ part of our theme of Past Present and Future, and will be bringing Emira demonstrators for use while we are out on the drive day on Saturday. So, if for no other reason, come along to experience the newest Lotus!
Fun fact: Club Lotus Australia is possibly the oldest Lotus Club in the world! The UK club wasn’t formed until a couple of years later. Happy for the more inquisitive to research this assertion and prove me wrong 🙂
In other news, the 75th anniversary of Lotus is being celebrated as one of the themes at this year’s Goodwood Revival. I am going to be going! If anyone else is doing likewise, please let me know and we’ll find one another somehow. I will actually be in the UK for three months, from end of June (I leave shortly after our celebrations) until early October, so I will try to bring some foreign correspondent content to bear in this column for those months!
Elsewhere, last weekend the first Rob Roy Revival took place at (who’d have thought) the hillclimb location in Victoria. The organising team have spent a huge amount of time and effort upgrading the track and local area, and I gather it was well attended which is great news; long may it continue! And I am quietly hoping to get myself slightly better organised for next years as this could be the start of something fun.
Other than those exciting events, we also have our Tyre Kicks, this month – the first, in Carrs Park, coincides with Easter Sunday, so for anyone not leaving town, go along for a self-paced Easter egg hunt (you’ll have to bring your own Easter eggs too!) and we’ll be back to something like normal for the 16th at Gough Whitlam Park – see you there I hope!
And in exciting news, I now have not one but three cars working! I had the slightly embarrassing situation at the end of January when the only one of the “fleet” which was actually roadworthy was the Elan. Since then, the Land Rrover clutch master cylinder has been replaced (and I have new spring shackles to fit), and the Elise had a new radiator fitted so that’s back on the road and proving an absolute joy as always!
Gidget is up on jack stands getting her underside checked following the Perth to Sydney rally, and the new shock absorber has finally shipped from the UK for the Elite (it gave way at the HSRCA event in December and has taken until now to sort out!), so that should be back on the road soon too! Then I just need to fettle the brakes of the Eleven to make that more enjoyable and less scary to drive, and all will be well in the world. And No 1. Range Rover is starting to look slightly less like space junk, and slightly more like a car again – I am hoping to get it back together and running before I leave for the UK – hmmmm – you know the old adage about IT projects? Yup, that applies here too – it’ll take twice as long and cost four times as much as budgeted.
Meanwhile, I hope you manage to get your car(s) out for some lovely cool open top motoring, and stay safe, upright and mostly on the blackstuff!
Pip pip,
Ashton