Ed Burton has organised a drive to Bowral and its surrounds for the weekend of the 20th & 21st of May, 2017, and it sounds absolutely brilliant! Read on for the details, and get in touch with Ed to let him know you’re interested.
Lotus Photos: CSCA 2017, Round 2 at Sydney Motorsport Park
Following up quickly from March’s opening of the motorsport season at Wakefield Park was round 2 of the 2017 CSCA series, held on Sunday the 2nd of April and hosted by MG Car Club Sydney.
The Preserve February/March 2017 Now 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!
The February/March 2017 edition of the newsletter has been sent out to members, and is now available for download on our members’ page here.
This month’s edition keeps you up to date with important goings on, recaps the forum on the HCRS and CVS, takes a look back at the Sunbeam Owner’s Club of NSW’s 2016, shares a great pair of stories in ‘Four Young Blokes & a Dog and ‘The Story of the Red Zed’, and more.
Club Lotus Australia members can head to the members page here to download your copy. If you’re not a member of the club head here, and take a browse around the website to see why you should be!
CLA Build Stories: The Beginning of the Lotus Esprit VQ – Part 1
Club Lotus Australia is full of interesting people who are up to interesting things with interesting cars. We think that’s wonderful, so we’re going to share their stories with you here!
If you’d like to share your story on the club website, just send Seth a quick email at [email protected]
In this post, we kick off Geoff Winder’s journey with his Lotus Esprit VQ track toy.
Competition Report: CSCA 2017 Round 1 at Wakefield Park
Image thanks to Gino Valdes
Catch up on all the action at the first motorsport round of the year – CSCA Round 1 at Wakefield Park – thanks to this report by Mike Basquil.
April 2017 Edition of Chunky’s Chatter Available for Download
Image thanks to Gino Valdes
Thanks to the efforts of editor Tom Devitt and his contributors, Chunky’s Chatter for April, 2017, is on its way to members, and now available for download from the members’ page. Grab a copy, and enjoy!
Features in this month’s mag include:
- CLA Hosts the First Round of the 2017 CSCA Championship
- Lots of News from Western Australia
- The Return of Myths and Legends
- Jackie Stewart Calls for Crowd Funding for Jim Clark Museum
And much more! Enjoy Chunky’s lighthearted and sometimes irreverent monthly look at the world of Lotus.
Head to the members’ page to download your copy. And if you’re not a member already, have a browse around the site and hit up our membership page here to find out why you should be!
Ashton’s President’s Prattle for April, 2017
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
Update: 26th March Scones & Jam at Ebony Hall CANCELLED
This afternoon I bring the sad news that after weeks of relentless rain Scones & Jam at Ebony Hall, previously set for Sunday the 26th of March, has been cancelled.
The paddocks at Anne’s lovely Ebony Hall have been turned into a quagmire by the endless rain and, looking at the current forecast, will not be provided much chance to recover any time soon. We hope to reschedule the event in the near future, so stay tuned!
The HSRCA is Inviting More Modern Cars to their Autumn Festival
The HSRCA’s first historic race meeting of 2017 is coming up this April 7-9, and they are inviting new groups of more modern cars to join the fun. Entry is open through the CAMS Members’ portal, and HSRCA members receive an increased membership discount of $50.
In an effort to introduce new people to the sport of historic racing, and to encourage participation and the buzzing atmosphere for which their events are known, the club has been working with other Australian motor clubs to introduce new groups to their meetings. Their April race meeting will offer a super sprint and regularity trial for invited classes within these groups.
So far these groups will include cars constructed after 1987 and before 1998 which are representative of those that raced in the period and are compatible to run safely with other entrants. This extends Club Lotus Australia eligibility well into the early Elise and Exige models, and with an S2 running at their previous meeting we’re sure to find many models within our marque eligible.
If you’re interested in running and have any questions, the HSRCA suggests contacting David Ellis for guidance.
The Club has also been working to reduce the costs associated with entering the meeting, while also increasing track time to provide similar value to an equivalent super sprint event.
The Autumn Festival will also feature entertainment for the kids and the whole family, with market stalls, local food, a jumping castle, and more planned for the weekend.
HSRCA events are traditionally relaxed and social and feature brilliant grids of historic racing and sports cars doing what they do best. We’ve enjoyed some great weekends with them in the past, and look forward to sharing many more with then in the future!
Entry is open through the CAMS Members’ portal here and will be for a few weeks yet. If you’re an HSRCA member you will receive an increased members’ discount of $50.
Lotus Motorsport Report: MSCA Round 2 at Winton
This report of the action at round 2 of the MSCA series at Winton comes thanks to Vicky Rowe, and includes a little story of her education on ripple strips, with images thanks to David Buntin.