Long-time Club Lotus Australia member, tidy steerer and all-round good guy Rob Bryden has been announced as the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party’s number 1 senate candidate in the upcoming July 2nd election.
Club Lotus Australia Action at Sydney Retro Racefest
Sydney Retro Racefest is coming up this Queen’s Birthday long weekend, over the 11th and 12th of June, and is set to be the event’s biggest outing yet.
New South Wales’ premiere historic race meeting will bring together a stunning collection of historic racing machinery for a packed weekend of racing. It will be headlined by the Group C and A historic touring cars of the Heritage Touring Cars series, but we’re planning to make our own mark on the event with some extremely lovely Lotuses.
Chief amongst them will be what’s sure to be the biggest gathering of Lotus Elevens that we’ve seen in Australia. Through a great deal of hard work and persistence, and no shortage of charisma, Club President Ashton Roskill has inspired an impressive percentage of Antipodean Eleven owners to get involved and take part in the event.
The Elevens will be featured in a display and several will be taking part in Regularity events throughout the weekend.
In Formula Ford Dan Bando will be ringing the neck of his beautiful Lotus alongside John Tarren aboard his Lotus 61. Robert Bryden will be enjoying his first outing in his Lotus Elan in Regularity and, with his Elise not quite qualifying for historic competition just yet, Syd Reinhardt will be running a GSM Dart in Group S competition.
The event will run over the 11th and 12th of June and feature sports and racing cars from half a century of motorsport history. Everything from the aforementioned Heritage Touring Cars series to earth shattering Formula 5000s, a few Formula 1 gems, Formula Fords and Vees, Q & R sports race cars and the classic sports cars of Group S and muscle of Group N will hit the track and race like it’s somewhere between 1950 and 1999.
And the best part is, thanks to historic racing’s good nature, it’ll feature a chilled out atmosphere and offer great access to the cars and the women and men who look after and race them.
If you have a historic sports or racing car and are interested in entering, entry is open through MEECAMS.
And if you’d like to come along to check out the action, spectator passes are available through the Sydney Motorsport Park website, and will also be available at the track on both days. Entry for kids under 12 is free.
Put the 11th and 12th of June in your diary, and head out to Sydney Motorsport Park to join in the fun!
It’s Time to Start Making Plans – Lotus 2017 is On The Way!
The Lotus 2017 Biennial meet is set for the 2017 ANZAC long weekend, the 22nd to 24th of April, and will be held in Beechworth, hosted by the Victorian Lotus community. The www.lotus2017.com event website is now up and running, so head over there to get the low down on Lotus 2017!
The basics are already online and ready for your perusal, and the site’s registration portal and eCommerce payment systems will be online soon.
The event will be held over the 2017 ANZAC long weekend – Saturday the 22nd of April to Monday the 24th of April in historic Beechworth in North East Victoria. Beechworth is situated in the heart of wine country and is just an hour away from Winton Raceway.
Lotus 2017 will kick off with registration on Saturday afternoon, followed by a social welcome meal at The George Kerferd Hotel in the Mayday Hills parklands. Said socialising will continue on Sunday and Monday evenings with a meal at the Lindewarrah planned for Sunday evening and the gala dinner and awards presentation to be held at Brown Brothers on the Monday. Each of these meals are included in the entry cost.
Sunday the 23rd of April will see us gather for the traditional Concours d’Elegance at the Mayday Hills oval. This casual show ‘n shine format concours will be a great opportunity to catch up with friends, and will conclude with a picnic lunch that is also included in the entry.
Monday’s track day will provide an excellent opportunity to stretch your Lotus’ legs around Winton Raceway. The Lotus Only Track Day will be held by Simply Sports Cars and is sure to be another excellent installment in the series!
For those not wishing to partake in the motorsport component, tours around the region will also be on offer. The Chiltern and Rutherglen historic tour to Chiltern via morning tea at Yackandandah will be followed by lunch at Cofield Winery’s Pickled Sisters restaurant.
Entry to the event will be available at a cost of $500 for adults and $250 for children under the age of 18. Kids under the age of six may join in for free. Accommodation and the track day are not included in the cost of entry.
Keep an eye on the official Lotus 2017 website and the Lotus Club Victoria’s Facebook page as details progress. If you have any questions, please contact Alec Spyrou & Cris Johansen at [email protected].
We’re looking forward to catching up with everyone in Beechworth next April!
To get an idea of the mischief we got up to for Lotus 2015, check out these links:
A MEGA GALLERY OF LOTUS 2015 PHOTOS & TALES OF ROAD TRIP ADVENTURES!
REPORT: LOTUS 2015 FROM A WA PERSPECTIVE
LOTUS PHOTOS: EVERY CAR AT THE LOTUS 2015 CONCOURS D’ELEGANCE
CLA Build Stories: TUFT’S Eleven May 2016
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 fast forward six months from our last update on the TUFT’s Eleven and catch up with Ashton in May, 2016.
Lotus Photos: CSCA Round 3 at Sydney Motorsport Park
Head to Sydney Motorsport Park to catch up on Round 3 of 2016’s CSCA sprints, thanks to these shots by Paul Cooper.
Entries Now Open for June Simply Sports Cars Lotus-Only Track Day
Simply Sports Cars’ June 24th Lotus-Only Track Day is now open to entries, and spots are filling fast! Book your spot through SSC’s website here.
Simply Sports Cars will hold another of their fabulous Lotus-Only Track Days this June 24th at Wakefield Park. Sessions for Drive, Sprint and Race groups are available, and will offer a very healthy amount of track time throughout the day.
Drive sessions are not timed, and are designed for people who would like to learn and practice the craft of driving, or just get out on the track and enjoy their Lotus in the manner for which it was designed.
Sprint sessions follow usual supersprint conventions and are for competitors who like to test their times against the clock.
Race sessions involve practice, qualifying and three races, including one reverse grid handicap, in one very full day of motorsport. They’re competitive, but driven in a respectful and gentlemanly fashion. The goal is to develop skills at the wheel, enjoy some healthy competition and bring the cars home with a smile.
Speaking of developing skills, experienced drivers will be available on the day to offer advice and instruction, and to help you improve your confidence, safety and lap times. Simply Sports Cars will also be on hand to answer questions, help out with your set-up and suggest new shiny bits for the car.
Dinner at the Astor in Goulburn is a highlight of these days, and we’re sure this time out will be no different! The social night will be held on Thursday the 23rd of June – stay tuned for details as we get closer to the event.
The Simply Sports Cars team and many event participants will be staying overnight at the Mercure Goulburn, formerly Trappers. If you mention that you’re staying for the Lotus day at Wakefield, they’ll give you a 10% discount on your booking.
For more information, and to book your spot, head to Simply Sports Cars’ website here.
Image thanks to Simon Kalis
Chunky’s Chatter May 2016 Now Available for Download
Catch up on all the Lotus news in the May 2016 edition of Chunky’s Chatter, which is now available to download from the members’ page.
Features in this month’s mag include:
- Everything you need to know about updated standards for racing apparel thanks to Mike Basquil
- We have a look at Ed Holly’s Lotus 7 restoration
- John Wilson recalls a race with newcomer Emerson Fittipaldi
- Anne Blackwood has her own Kardashian story
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.
President’s Prattle: May 2016
I’ve just returned from the first SSC Lotus Only Track Day of the year, held on Saturday 30th April, and what a fantastic day it was!
If you haven’t been to one, you really should. There’s opportunities for everyone to enjoy their cars, whether they’re interested race, sprint or drive, and wives (or husbands for that matter), children and pets are most welcome.
OK, I made up the bit about pets.. Nevertheless, the day is brilliantly organised and run by Mark O’Connor and the team at Race Solutions.
We had 75 Lotus cars on the track on Saturday and not a single accident. A couple of “failed to proceed” moments, but that was it. And the weather was spectacular!
Did I mention you missed a blinding day if you weren’t there? To be fair a lot of you were and it was, as always, as much the social time as the track time that made the day so good. So come along to the June one – I look forward to seeing you there.
Oh, and a small announcement by Lee nearly slipped through unnoticed – Simply Sports Cars and Lotus Cars will shortly announce that SSC is taking on the distributorship for the factory in Australia. This is fantastic news for Lotus, SSC, and all of us who enjoy these cars, so huge congratulations to Lee and the team!
By stark contrast to last Saturday, we have an issue with attendance at our monthly meetings, which Tom is covering elsewhere. Clearly, if we can get 75 people to drive to Goulburn but only four to go to a Wednesday night, something needs to change. See Tom’s note, and let us have your thoughts. In the meantime May’s General Meeting is not going ahead as we don’t have a venue agreed.
For what it’s worth I think the monthly mid-week event has possibly run its course but I will leave that for you to decide. Please write and tell us your thoughts.
This Sunday (May 8th, also Mother’s Day!) we have a drive day to the Hunter Valley with the added bonus of music in Peter Ross’ paddock – if you didn’t see the previous note, take a look at this post on the website.
Otherwise, thank you to all those who responded to my provocative comment about historic racing; clearly you feel strongly, for which I am grateful since I for one would like to see it continue!
On that subject, to date we have seven Lotus Elevens coming to Retro Racefest at Sydney Motorsport Park over the June 11-12 weekend – given this is 2.5% of the global Eleven population it is a magnificent showing! Please come along and say hello!
In the meantime, if anyone is financially minded and willing to join the committee as our Treasurer, please stick up your hand! Kris has decided (quite understandably) that putting up with me for 8 years is more than most people get for murder and has decided to hang up whatever it is that finance-types hang up. Our undying gratitude is due to Kris for all she has done to organise and run our finances so successfully, but now it’s your turn (yes, I’m looking at you!)
Do get in touch if you’d like to join a truly awesome committee and have some fun while also making a greatly appreciated and welcome contribution to our Club.
On that note, keep safe, upright and on the black stuff!
Pip pip,
Ashton
Lotus Photos & Report: Martin Duursma & Richard Wodhams in Targa Tasmania 2016
Targa Tasmania 2016 ran over the 11th to the 16th of April and featured a healthy collection of Lotuses vying for victory or out to enjoy the event.
Martin Duursma and Richard Wodhams ran in the GT Sports category in the classic Australian event, and did us all proud with a third place finish. Read on for their story, illustrated by some great shots thanks to Martin.
Club Lotus New Zealand Edition 60 Available for Download
Our friends in Club Lotus New Zealand have just sent out their latest newsletter, Edition 60, which celebrates 40 years of Club Lotus New Zealand. Download it below!
This edition’s features include:
- Lotus News
- NZ Festival of Motor Racing 2016
- Transalpine 2015
- Packard & Pioneer Museum
And a whole lot more!
Download your copy from the following link, and enjoy!
Club Lotus New Zealand Edition 60 [PDF]
Please also make sure to head to their official website here, their Facebook page here, and their YouTube channel here to keep in touch with everything they’re up to.