Kicking off 2018’s Motorsport with a Lotus Only Track Day at Mount Panorama

Images thanks to Paul d’Ambra of Lotus Cars Australia

We kicked off 2018’s motorsport adventures in style on Wednesday the 7th of February, taking a road trip to Australia’s most iconic race track, Mount Panorama, for a Lotus Only Track Day hosted by Simply Sports Cars. Scroll along for a mega photo gallery of the day, with thanks to Lotus Cars Australia’s Paul d’Ambra, and a huge collection of on-board action thanks to the community at Aussie Elises.

We’d like to send a huge ‘THANK YOU!’ to Lee, Mark and the team at Simply Sports Cars for an absolutely magic day, and offer a big congratulations on pulling off a magnificent motorsport opportunity.

Mount Panorama isn’t just an awe inspiring, historic, challenging and fast circuit, it’s an exclusive one, with track time in significantly greater demand than the circuit is able to supply. We’re very grateful to have had this opportunity and to share it with great friends in the club as well as Lotus Cars Australia and Simply Sports Cars.

“The Lotus Only Track Day at Mount Panorama was just brilliant! Brilliant company, brilliant cars, brilliant circuit, brilliant weather and impressive times (at least at the top of the table!) A million thanks to Lee and Mark for taking the punt, and for all the Simply Sports Cars team for putting together such a friendly, fun and memorable day. Roll on LOTDs for Wakefield and Phillip Island!” – Ashton Roskill, President of Club Lotus Australia

Thank you also to everyone who joined us in Bathurst and took part in the day. It wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun without you! We enjoyed seeing the clocks light up with some fast times and, more importantly, had fun socialising and catching up with everyone.

Before we get stuck into the photos, let’s hear from a few people involved in the day. Thanks to everyone who got in touch with feedback and comments and a huge thanks to everyone on Aussie Elises for all of the comments and video sharing. If you’d like to join in the discussion and get involved in the community, check ’em out here.

For the full collection of photos, including Paul d’Ambra’s shots as well as others from the community, check out the Google Photo gallery here. To follow along with Simply Sports Cars’ coverage of the event, check out their full blog post here. For combined results from the day, hit Natsoft’s website here.

Expressions of interest are being taken for the mid-July Lotus Only Track Day at Wakefield Park and the Phillip Island Lotus Only Track Day in early November. Email emma@simplysportscars.com to put your name down.

“I really appreciate everyone’s efforts with putting on a fantastic event and dealer conference. So great to see it all in person and meet so many people. We wish we could replicate more of this around the world” – Mark Fullalove, Sales Manager International Markets for Lotus Cars Limited

“What an incredible atmosphere! I can’t thank my team enough for the energy they put into making these events happen.”

“The Lotus Community in Australia continues to amaze me with their enthusiasm, energy & camaraderie. We’ve already seen social media and forum posts talking about owners of other marques coming to see our garages and being blown away by what they saw. It wasn’t just the cars – it was the people and the vibe.”

“We finished 2017 with 100% growth, having sold over 60 cars in Australia, and 2018 is looking even stronger with amazing events like the new Targa High Country and another Lotus Only Track Day in November at Phillip Island. It’s a great time to own a Lotus sports car.” – Lee Knappett, CEO of Lotus Cars Australia

“It’s truly humbling to be a part of a team that helps people tick experiences like this off their bucket list.”

“It is a marketer’s dream come true to see so many people come together, more as a family than a group of strangers. The pleasure that people get from driving a Lotus sports car can’t be measured in numbers – you just have to look at the happy faces and feel the pure enjoyment. These events get you as close to being a racing car driver as you can get.”

“We are looking forward to our Targa Tasmania, High Country and Great Barrier Reef events, not to mention our first trip to Phillip Island to be part of a full blown race weekend. It’s what dreams are made of if you love driving.” – Paul D’Ambra, Brand & Marketing Manager of Lotus Cars Australia

“Wow – what a fabulous event! Dinner, driving, camaraderie – all first class! Can’t beat it. Thanks Mark, Lee and team SSC.” – Rob

“I came.. I saw.. I didn’t conquer! Congrats to the guys and girls at SSC for organising and running a sensational event. You just keep raising the bar.”

“The track is a unique challenge, featuring so many blind corners and camber changes. I was just starting to get my head around it in the last session. I will be back!”

“As always it was wonderful sharing a unique experience with such an awesome group of people. Thank you all!” – Leigh

“Sensational! SSC you really do set the standard for a sprint event. It was great to catch up with everybody and I couldn’t have asked for a better day. I even managed to drop my PB by 5 seconds. Roll on Phillip Island!” – Lee

“Excellent way to spend a day. Bathurst, great mates, great food and Lotuses. What could be better? Thank you for all the hard work to make it such a success. I know that it doesn’t just happen.”

“Can we do this every week?” – Dave

“I can’t thank Lee, Mark and the team enough for having the guts to get this Bathurst LOTD up and running. I do hope we can come back next year! Thank you to ALL of the SCC crew. Incredibly well organised day and, as always, great to catch up with so many mates.” – Tim

“What a day! It was great to see so many faces from all around the country and there was actually time to catch up with most of them. The circuit blew my mind a bit, but I was still smiling at the end the day. I think it was relief!”

“Mark and Lee really put their necks on the line to make yesterday happen, so a huge thanks to them and the entire SSC team for their commitment and dedication to making sure we all had a good time. Thanks also to all the other participants for your camaraderie and general joviality.” – Michael

“I can only echo the thoughts already shared about the whole day. Hugs and kisses to Mark, Lee, the SSC crew and our sensational Lotus community. We are so lucky to have these guys and each other to share our automotive passion with. Thanks for helping me ticking off one of my bucket list tracks!” – Joshua

“The Bathurst LOTD was such an amazing experience. As a car enthusiast, I have always dreamed of driving at Mt. Panorama fast! And because I have a Lotus and am so lucky to be a part of this active and incredibly well supported community, this dream became a reality. A big thank you to SSC for making it happen. As always, the event was a success and so much fun.

I was a bit nervous during the first session but after a few laps around the track with fellow lotus enthusiasts, who are all highly skilled, respectful drivers, the nerves disappeared and it was just pure enjoyment! I can’t wait for the next one.” – Gino

“The Bathurst LOTD was incredible! I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be there, and it was wonderful to share the experience with the SSC and Lotus family.”

“As a novice sprint driver who had trained on the PS4 leading up to Bathurst, it was overwhelming, scary and exciting all at the same time. As always, the well seasoned Lotus drivers on the day were very encouraging and happy to mentor those less experienced like me, which helped to calm my nerves and build some confidence. It is a day I will always treasure, and can now tick off my bucket list.” –
Melanie

Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences!

The Aussie Elises crew have been very busy sharing video of their runs around The Mountain and we’ve included a few of those runs below. Enjoy and thanks again to everyone for the great vids!

Finally, we make it to the photos! Enjoy these images from the Mount Panorama Lotus Only Track Day, February 7th 2018, with thanks to Paul d’Ambra and Derrick Cho.

With thanks to Derrick Cho

With thanks to Pauld’Ambra

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