Our South Australian correspondent Andrew Stevens recently did some investigation into replacing the original steel fuel tank from an Elise or Exige, and kindly shares his experiences below. Enjoy.
Join Us Online for the 2020 Club Lotus Australia Annual General Meeting
We would like to extend a most cordial invitation for you to join us online via Zoom for the 2020 Club Lotus Australia Annual General Meeting from 7PM on Tuesday the 15th of September.
Michael Hipperson Releases New Book: Chasing Elites
Friend of the club Michael Hipperson has released his third book ‘Chasing Elites’, covering the Lotus Elite Type 14.
South Australia’s Lotus Torque for September, 2020
Catch up with our friends in South Australia with Andrew Stevens’ September 2020 edition of SA Lotus Torque.
Lotus Photos: August 2020 Tyre Kick & Coffee
Sunday the 16th of August saw us get together at Kokoda Cafe in Rhodes Park for our monthly Tyre Kick & Coffee. Scroll along, and enjoy a few photos of the festivities.
With the weather warming up and the people of Sydney getting more experienced at safe socialising in 2020, we had a good turnout to Sunday’s Tyre Kick and Coffee. We did a great job of decorating the car park, with the full variety of Lotus’ efforts represented and attracting passers-by to enjoy the cars and take a photo or two.
We enjoyed a slightly-extended catch-up in the car park while the still-wintery sun did its best to peek over the trees and shine on us and the team got the cafe open and coffee machine warmed up. From there it was time to head to the courtyard for a coffee and a bite to eat before kicking off Sunday proper.
Thanks to everyone who came along! We look forward to catching up with everyone next month, on Sunday the 20th of September, to share some tales of the CSCA sprint the week earlier on Saturday the 12th. Please be aware that the Tyre Kick & Coffee will start at 9:30am from September onwards.
Entries Open for CSCA 2020 Round 5 at Wakefield Park
Entry to round five of the 2020 CSCA super sprint series is now open. The event will be held at Wakefield Park on Saturday the 12th of September and hosted by the Triumph Sports Owners Association in conjunction with Motor Racing Australia, alongside round seven of the 2020 MRA series.
Entry is available at the following link:
https://motorrace.com.au/event/2020-round7/
You can find the official details below, with thanks to Terry Denovan of Motor Racing Australia.
We’ll hope that you’ll join us to get the cars out and enjoy a day of fresh air and good company out in Goulburn’s picturesque countryside.
‘The Preserve’ August 2020 Available for Download
‘The Preserve’ is the newsletter of the Council of Motor Clubs. It’s made available to members of CMC-affiliated clubs, and that means you!
With the 2020 Shannons Sydney Classic cancelled, this month’s magazine looks back at past events, catches up on news in the community, remembers Tony De Luca, looks back at 110 years of Morgan and more.
You can grab it from the following link, and we’ll archive it on the members page here.
The Preserve, August 2020 [PDF]
‘The Preserve’ is provided by the Council of Motor Clubs.
Lotus 2021 Postponed Until 2022
It is with a mix of disappointment and hope that we announce the postponement of Lotus 2021 to February 2022. We hope that when we arrive in Tasmania some eighteen months from now, our world will have reached a new equilibrium and we’ll be able to hold a celebration to suit.
The biennial Lotus spectacular is a celebration of the community and the marque which has drawn us all together. It has become clear that, outside of practical considerations, by the time we get to crunch time, the event may not be available to the entire community, whether that be due to ongoing concerns, regulation, or financial constraints. By postponing the event by a year, we hope to be in an environment in which it can live up to its spirit.
That said, 2022 is a long way away, and we could all use something to look forward to between now and then. So, in lieu of the original Lotus 2021 plan we are going to hold an informal Lotus road trip through country New South Wales in Autumn 2021.
The plan is to enjoy our cars and community for a weekend and take advantage of the temperate Autumn weather. It will be a relaxed, informal affair and all will be welcome. More details to come shortly!
From everyone on the Lotus 2021 committee we wish you our best and hope you are keeping safe and well and looking after each other. In particular, our thoughts are with our Victorian friends in these tough times.
Take care, and we’ll be back with more news in the coming weeks.
Ashton’s President’s Prattle for August, 2020
Hello everyone!
After many months of slowdown, July started to feel more normal, and even more so as we got back on the track AND got back into the social scene.
First up was the first Lotus Australia Lotus On Track day of the year on Saturday the 18th, which was preceded by an open track day on the Friday. I took the Elite down for a shakedown on the Friday, and to call the cars at the open track day eclectic would be understating it. I did have fun following a Holden Colorado as he bounced off the curbs, and to be fair to him he peddled hard. Then there was the Lambo that teetered around the corners and booted it on the straight – and often went straight on!
The LOTD the following day was an absolute blast – both for the fun on the track and the fact that we were allowed out for the first time in months, albeit with social distancing. And none of our Victorian friends, including Mark who organised the whole thing, were there. But there were some very fast times posted, and the Elite was a blast and even showed a clean pair of heels to a few much younger cars. And pilots.
On the Sunday we had the first gathering of the Tyre Kick for several months, which was well attended, albeit with the by now normal physical distancing in place.
So, let’s keep fingers crossed and sensible precautions in place so we can continue the fun. Looking ahead for August, we should have a fun weekend of historic racing at Wakefield Park for the HSRCA Spring Festival over the weekend of 29-30 August. In less good news the All British Day has been cancelled for 2020.
And continuing the theme, your organising committee for Lotus 2021 has made the difficult decision, given the escalation of events in Victoria, to postpone Lotus 2021 for 12 months to February 2022. Our current plan is to run some sort of country NSW tour in April/May for a long weekend instead. We’ll let you know as the thinking evolves.
Finally, we need to organise the AGM. The plan currently is to conduct it by Zoom on the evening of Tuesday the 15th of September at 6.30pm. We are currently getting the Zoom account organised and will publish full details shortly.
That’s about it for another month. Please stay safe in the current slightly odd circumstances, and particular our thoughts are with our Victorian members.
Pip Pip,
Ashton
Lotus Photos: July 2020 Lotus Cars Australia Lotus on Track Day
Photos thanks to Brett Stevens & Seth Reinhardt
After several months of downtime following the cancellation of CSCA 2020 round two, we were all of a sudden on full song on Saturday the 18th of July, with a Lotus On Track Day hosted by Lotus Cars Australia at Wakefield Park and CSCA 2020 round three at Pheasant Wood Circuit offering a motor sport fix.
A large contingent of the club chose the more open layout of Wakefield Park to blow the cobwebs out, so let’s catch up on the action with this report thanks to Ashton Roskill and photos by Brett Stevens and Seth Reinhardt.