This just in:

Well, I can scarcely say Happy New Year given it’s now February, so let’s go with I hope 2023 is all you wish for instead.

And I for one have made several resolutions which, unusually, I intend to keep!

For one, I have committed to listening more to our membership’s needs, wants, and ideas. So please, do let us know if there is something we should be doing that we aren’t. Would you be interested in us reinstating the shed tours, for example? And if so, is a weekday evening too inconvenient, or still good? Or would you prefer a weekend? How can we make grass roots motorsport even better? Or anything else that tickles your fancy.

My other resolutions are mostly related to things I failed to achieve last year too (like rebuilding the Range Rovers), but there’s not enough room here for all that.

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Happy Christmas to you and yours from all the CLA Committee, and may I personally wish you a fantastic break and a lovely time with friends and family over the Christmas and New Year.

As we storm towards the CLA Christmas Party and AGM next weekend, it’s worth reflecting on what has been another momentous year in all sorts of ways. And as a reminder, if you would like to join us at the Hydro Majestic on Sunday (10th), tickets are still available for lunch at $75 per head, subsidised by $25 by the Club.

In a subtle change from last year, where COVID ruled our lives, one of the more dominant themes this year has been the extraordinary weather. Our thoughts go to all those who have been impacted by the storms and associated flooding which round three of La Nina has brought, particularly to the east coast; but the rest of Australia has not been immune, as we discovered (the hard way!) on the recent Perth to Sydney Marathon rally. The outback has had a lot of rain, there is a huge amount of vegetation, and the roads and tracks we were on were often very wet!

And as I got the Elan out recently I realised (while filling in the log book) it was the first time since I had registered it back in August that I had driven it.

However, good news is apparently just round the corner. We’ll see if the forecasters have got any better.

By some luck, the Tour of Tasmaina took place in the one fine week we seemed to have had all year. I gather from those who took part that it was a tremendous success, and a huge thank you to all those who joined in the fun. And thank you again to the committee who put in the hard yards to make it happen.

Other than the weather’s impact on our social activity, the motorsport calendar has had a bit of an up-and-down year too, with the tragedy at Targa Tasmania this year, where we lost our close and lovely friend Tony Seymour, the whole tarmac rally calendar was thrown into uncertainty, and then we had the additional bad news that Wakefield Park was closing, possibly permanently, thus robbing us of one of the best small car circuits in the country.

However, despite all the cancelations, changes and challenges, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s not a train coming the other way!

Next weekend, acting as a great full stop to the motorsport calendar, we have the HSRCA Summer Festival, and looking at the entry list, it’ll be a fabulous weekend with a load of amazing cars running, and several CLA members out there, so please do come along to Sydney Motorsport Park and say hi. The wild and whacky Historic Sports Sedans are out in force, along with Formula Ford, Group N (the Minis and Lotus Cortinas up against the Mustangs – always a laugh to watch), as well as lots of open wheelers in Formula 5000, and Groups M and O. With whom I will be running the Elite in Group L – I think we’re in garage 25 or thereabouts so come and say hello.

And next year marks the 50th Anniversary of Club Lotus Australia, with our celebrations taking shape for the weekend of June 23rd-25th. Expressions of Interest are now open and if we can’t get the link sorted in time for this edition of Chunky’s, we’ll get a note out with the link shortly.

I was recently reminded that next October is also the 20th Anniversary of Aussie Elises, which also means I will have been living here 20 years too! We’ll see if we can’t make something work either in cahoots with the CLA event, or later in the year perhaps.

As a result of the changes the closure to Wakefield has resulted in, CLA will be picking up the baton from the Morgan Club and running our round of the CSCA series at SMP in August, instead of at Wakefield in March.

So there’s lots to look forward to in 2023, and all that remains for me to say is please do come along to the AGM and Christmas Party if you can, I’d love to see you in person, and failing that, I hope you have a lovely break over Christmas, and, as always, please stay safe, and keep it mainly on the blackstuff.

Pip pip,
Ashton

Welcome everyone to November. How did that happen, you might ask. As indeed I recall doing so last year, and the one before that prolly.

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Well, here we are into the last quarter of 2022 – who’d a thunk it? Where has the year gone so far?

It’s certainly been a bit up and down, both weather-wise (and sadly I gather we are heading into the third La Nina cycle) and emotionally. We have lost some close friends, and had our share of disappointments, but also some highs.

On which subject, the crew currently galavanting around Tasmania appear to be having an absolute ball, with fantastic roads, loads to stop and see, and by all accounts some great food and lots of drink being consumed. And all with the sun shining on them.

And of course we’ve actually managed to string together the bulk of the CSCA series, although the closing (possibly permanently) of Wakefield Park would be a terrible shame. If you haven’t signed the petition online, and would like to see Wakefield re-open, please lend your voice to the conversation. It is a complicated situation, and probably not that easy to recover from what has been said in the past, but we can but hope that good sense can prevail and we can go back to enjoying the weekends in Goulburn.

In the meantime, Motorsport Australia has re-categorised the Pheasants Wood circuit resulting in the track densities being increased, so potentially this will allow for slightly larger fields and more frequent meets there, which may help alleviate the loss of Wakefield if our hopes don’t eventuate.

While we had the very successful Shannons Classic in fine weather, and with a very strong showing across the board, we weren’t able to hold the All British Day at Kings School. So, we are busy planning for a get together over the Christmas season to try to compensate a little for the lack of social events outside our Tyre Kicks, which have, it must be said, continued with enthusiasm.

If you fancy a proper Christmas gathering (and can face joining us for the AGM), please join us on Saturday 10th at the Hydro Majestic – tickets available through the Member Jungle app or through this booking link.

Just in case you haven’t already booked in for the Elan’s 60th birthday weekend in the Hunter, details for this are also on the website, including the gala dinner booking – get in fast as there’s a lot of interest!

Looking slightly further out, we are also getting our skates on for a celebratory weekend in recognition of our 50th Anniversary in June 2023; pencil it into the diary (the weekend of Friday 23rd-Sunday 25th June) and we’ll start getting some details circulated shortly.

And right now, I need to get a bit of focus on the imminent Perth to Sydney Marathon rally, leaving from Perth on 28th October and arriving into Warwick Farm (just like the original London-Sydney Marathon which this is replicating the last leg of) on Sunday 6th November. There is parking for car clubs near the finish, and I would be very grateful for any support at the finish line if you fancy a drive down!

On the previous day (Saturday 5th) we will be in Cooma, coincidentally at the same time as the Motorfest which I gather we are participating in. So if you fancy joining us down in Cooma, that would also be lovely. The car is almost ready to go on the transporter on Friday (it was supposed to be going by boat, but shipping is all thrown up in the air currently) and having spent some time in her over the weekend, I am quietly hopeful we have solved all the issues Gidget had when she returned from Paris. Wish me luck!

With that, I need to get this over to Tom, so to all those reading this from the Tour of Tassie, I’m not really jealous at all!

Take care, stay safe, and keep it mostly on the blackstuff.

Pip pip,
Ashton