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’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.
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.
Catch up on all the Lotus action in Western Australia thanks to the March edition of Quokka Talk, by Eddie Lankhorst.
Anne Blackwood has very kindly invited us to Scones & Jam at Ebony Hall in just over a week, Sunday the 26th of March, and we need numbers to make it happen!
We will be heading to Anne’s beautiful’s beautiful property just outside of the city to take advantage of (hopefully) beautiful Sydney Autumn driving weather and catch up over scones, jam and no piss-and-wind cream. Anne has organised a barista to ply us with good coffee, and it should be a very civilised gathering featuring particularly great company.
Ebony Hall is also the venue for Round the Buckets, so we plan to hold a few practice sessions to get geared up for the event, which will be held in September. Round the Buckets is consistently brilliant, and these practice sessions should be no different!
Numbers are a little low at this point, so if you are interested please get in contact with Anne and let her know that you’ll be joining us. Get your friends and family involved as well, and we’ll make a great day of it. Please RSVP to Anne by Wednesday the 22nd of March, 2017.
Looking forward to getting together on Sunday the 26th!
Club Lotus Australia hosted the first round of the 2017 CSCA series this weekend, Saturday March 11th, at Wakefield Park.
It was a beautiful Autumn day, and the motorsport was as fine as the weather. Enjoy the photos below, thanks to Jennifer Hogan, Craig Sheppard and Gino Valdes.
Thanks to Jennifer Hogan
Craig Sheppard’s son Liam – a CLA member competing in his first sprint having just finished karting enjoying his first time in the car. Thanks to Craig Sheppard.
Thanks to Gino Valdes
Images: Jack McLaughlin
The LOST Fraternity got together this Saturday, the 11th of March, for a run to Hawkes Nest and the Tea Gardens Motorfest.
Starting at McDonald’s in Hexham they drove across the Hexham bridge, down the Pacific Highway via Raymand Terrace and Karuah before turning off to Myall Way and Motorfest.
It looks like a magic day, and you can get a feel for it with these great photos by Jack McLaughlin.
Don’t know about you, but already I am starting to think this that year might be vanishing before my eyes.
Big thanks to the seven stalwarts who braved rather less than perfect weather for the Gerringong Lions Car Show – we scooped two trophies (Ken Miller and Richard Carter – well done gents!) and the photos are on the website. Thanks too to Evan for leading the charge in my absence – a stomach bug picked up in sweaty Brisbane – ’nuff said.
March is upon us, and there is lots to see and do!
Simply Sports Cars has their New Car launch next Tuesday (7th March) so if you haven’t received an invite, call them and invite yourself – you will be most welcome.
CLA hosts the first round of the CSCA sprints down at Wakefield on 11th. As this is the day before my birthday, I have asked the other competitors to be kind enough to let me appear in the top 20 FTD – something tells me that was a red rag to a load of bulls…..
The following weekend is the Phillip Island Histerics, so a number of us will be down there, either racing or (in my case) learning the ropes so that I might get a chance next year
And the 26th March has us invited to Ebony Hall on for Scones and Cream – how frightfully British. We’ll also be running P1 and P2 for September’s Round the Buckets, so come prepared.
Otherwise, life continues apace. Brian Caldersmith’s planning for the mother and father of all Lotus parties is well underway, with expectation for around 100 Lotus cars to attend the Shannons CMC day in August in celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of the Type 14 Lotus Elite (there will be around 40 of these beautiful cars alone). Since it is also the 60th Anniversary of the Seven and the 50th birthday for the Elan +2, Type 49 and Type 51, there are lots of good reasons to put it in the diary (12th-13th August in case you are wondering).
Elsewhere in the “alternate” world (or AntiSocial world) I have been interested to see the rise in quite specific interest groups – one for the 50s-70s Lotus cars, as an example on Faceplant. I do wonder about the long-term sustainability issues some of these platforms might face, and what they may mean for the integrity of the data, but in the short term it is wonderful that so many are willing to post up so much fascinating information.
Anyway, enough of my philosophising. I am sure that I have as usual missed more than I have remembered, so Tom will do his usual tremendous job of sweeping up the mess!
Meantime, I hope to see lots of you out and about this month, so please be safe, keep it upright and on the black stuff.
Pip pip,
Ashton
The March edition of Chunky’s Chatter is on its way to members, and is now available for download from the members’ page. Grab a copy, and enjoy!
Features in this month’s mag include:
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!
Images thanks to Gino Valdes
The Gerringong Lions Club’s Gerringong Motor Fest was held this past Saturday, the 18th of February and saw a stunning collection of Lotuses join in the show.
The Club Lotus Australia display included seven cars – two Elise series 2s, a Series 1 elise, two Elans, an Elan +2 and an Evora. It was an enjoyable day all ’round, and we’d like to send our thanks to those who came out to enjoy it with us.
Congratulations to Ken Miller, who won a trophy for ‘Best Performance Car’.
Keith Watson of the Lions Club of Gerringong has sent around a lovely report and thank you, which you can find below. Gino Valdes has also kindly shared some photos from the day, which follow the report.