Events

Round 2 Morgan Park Sprints – 2017

Round 2 of the Qld Super Sprints B Series held at Morgan Park

By Gary Pitt. Photos by Gloria Wade and Vyvyan Black.

The Lotus Club Qld have a solid history at the CAMS covered Queensland Super Sprint Series and even with a few missing from this round we still had 11 members representing themselves and the Club for Round 2. We often make up around ten per cent or more of the total entries.

The weather was a mild for a winter weekend in Warwick which was nice, but not without the customary weather-affected running for this time of year. Friday afternoon practice was clear, but Saturday morning’s start was delayed by an hour while we waited for the fog to lift and the roos to be shooed away, Sunday’s running was slow due to early morning rain and a wet track.

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Mt Mee Day Run – July 2017

Civilised, definitely civilised

By Clive Wade, photos by Gloria Wade.

8:00am for 8:30am start on a sunny Sunday morning in dear old civilised South East Queensland. Middle of winter, blue sky, roof off… and NO HOTTIE.

Not like the last Lotus Day Run which Gloria and I attended, an LCV EMR no less. Here I was, taking in the lovely blue sky of Melbourne before our departure in the Murray’s front garden when I was presented a hottie by the Australian Expert on Hotties, no other than Jeanne Murray.

Now Jeanne knows all about the necessity of hotties in Lotus Elites, and in miserable Melbourne I can understand her need, and subsequent utterances, in regard to her norm of chilly weather combined with a lack of heater. And Peter naturally presuming all windows should be removed for the real experience of motoring in a 1957 Lotus Elite. But here in SE Qld there is NO NEED for such apparel, not in our perfect winter weather. And so we arrived at the start location of Eatons Hill, hottieless and roofless, snugly warm, the heater wafting warm air over our toes and knees to help cope with the outside temperature of 15 degrees… quite civilised really.*

Digressed a little didn’t I? Well we did have a civilised start at a civilised location at a civilised time. And only 10 minutes (or so) late our entourage of 9 cars pottered off towards morning coffee at the Pitstop Café, Mt Mee. This entailed a quick tour of an outer Brisbane suburb and on to country roads of less restricted speeds. Yes, we were off and enthusiastically following our new member Justin when the phone rang. “Did we miss a turn?” asked Norma Upham. “Yes”, answered Gloria, it would appear the boys at the wheels were having far too much fun on this winding road to notice the planned turn off to Clear Mountain and, after all, coffee did beckon. Actually, it felt like an LCV Gold Fields Tour – all members so easily lost, like lemmings to the slaughter.

We were soon on the Samford to Dayboro Rd when the first sign of trouble appeared, though it didn’t live up to the famed Lotus acronym, it wasn’t serious. Johann’s newly acquired supercharged Elise decided it had plenty of power using just 3 cylinders rather than the usual 4, the ECU disagreed, and Johann parked the argument at the side of the road. Being good Samaritans, and having a sense of presidential responsibility, Gloria and I parked up to offer my enormously minimal technical help… alt/control/delete came to mind. Johann was ahead of me, but was looking rather disappointed with the result. No worries said I, let it sulk for another minute or so and try again! Success! We were soon on the road.

Now of course, starting on a nice open road in first gear is the perfect opportunity to show off to the loving spouse the joys of having a vigorous Honda in the boot… some blokes are just plain dumb, you’ll never guess where the next conversation went, and after nearly 42 years of accumulating knowledge in wedded bliss I realized all my actions were totally defenceless. Apparently 0-100 in 4 seconds just isn’t impressive.

We soon caught up with the Lotus entourage who had slowed for our benefit, pottered through Dayboro and then whizzed up to coffee, and for some, bacon and eggs at Pitstop. An enjoyable Lotus road up the hill only hindered by speed limits. We enjoyed it as the speed limit is mostly unattainable anyway with all the hairpin bends, so a good time was had by all, and the coffee fully enjoyed.

Next stage plan was over Mt Mee, down one of the best hill descents known to man, quick right turn onto the d’Agular Highway for a few kilometres, turn right into a nice winding back road to the top of Mt Mee, left at Dayboro and onto Old Petrie Town for lunch.

Ahhhh ha, ha… the best laid plans of mice and men… whoever would have thought we might find an impeccably driven Mercedes S Class would come into view 100 metres into the famed descent? And going our way no less! None of us! But just as sure as eggs are eggs, the said Merc appeared just as we passed the last place we could safely stop without hindering traffic. And so we all took in the delightful scenery of the d’Agular Range, as we safely stormed down the mountain at a cracking 30kmh. Though it must be said, none of us had realised there is a view on that part of the road. After that, we had a delightful drive around the remainder of said route, fully enjoying the last of the Lotus roads through to Dayboro and Old Petrie Town.

Old Petrie Town is always worth a stop for the mechanically minded. The girls can disappear into the markets whilst the lads disappear into working steam engine displays and the like. And we did. Directly after lunch at the quaint “The Emporium” Café we divided into the historically successful division of entertainment and did what each gender does best… shopped or workshopped.

A great day out and a big thanks to new member Justin! Membership only 6 weeks old and he has his hand up to organise a really successful day. Great to see such enthusiastic new blood.

*Footnote: For anyone confused, read the magazine July Issue “Invitation EMR Article”, page 28. Also, Victorians call any Day Run starting in the morning an EMR, where as in Qld EMR means EARLY Morning Run.

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Lakeside Beyond Blue Regularity – June 2017

ICC Round 4 – BMW Club Regularity Run Lakeside International Raceway

Words by Shane Murphy. Photos by Vyvyan Black and Shane Murphy.

The 2017 Interclub Challenge has certainly been a challenge with events having to be re-scheduled for all manner of reasons.

As per previous years, the BMW Club was the event host with Beyond Blue the worthy focus of the day and the recipient of all funds raised. The 2017 Lotus Club Queensland team consisted of Vyvyan Black in his 1968 Elan Plus 2 (and your author) in the Green Machine – maybe Vyvyan’s Elan could be the Blue Machine!

Having no favourites, equal photo coverage is given to both team members, it’s beyond the authors control not to feature once again “the Green Machine”.*

For the uninitiated, a regularity run is a very technical exercise, a mental challenge not suited to all; in fact it was so challenging I only partly entered the event, challenging the event organiser to grant me a late entry.

The field was divided into teams of up to five cars, largely around club lines. Given that Vyvyan and I were the only Lotus Club entries, compounded by my late paperwork, we were buddied up into the randoms, my team was The Late Comers and Vyvyan’s The Triumph Troupadors. Four running groups were bundled up to spread the number of cars on the track at any given time.

The event format is simple: nominate a lap time, then stick to that time all day long. Points are lost for lapping faster than the nominated time (1 point for every 0.1 seconds faster) and for lapping slower (2 points per .1 seconds under).

Each group was given a morning practice session from which each driver had to nominate their lap time for the four regularity runs, that sounds fine in theory, but of course in the morning it absolutely bucketed down with plenty of standing water and in places sheet water racing laterally across the track, very interesting!

Vyvyan, a regularity novice and driving Lakeside for the first time, entered the Happy Laps held just prior to the main event, a strategic move to get a feel for the track and the local climatic conditions.

Lapping in the rain at Lakeside was very exciting with plenty of offs, including a big off into the muddy kitty litter by me, embarrassingly on the cool down lap!

The practice was run, times nominated, the weather conditions were poor and of course the nominated time would be problematic if the rain stopped and the track dried, which of course it did.

Clearly a number of the teams were very good at regularity runs and by the time we had run in three sessions, leaders were emerging, tragically the The Late Comers and The Triumph Troupadors were not at the pointy end of the points tally. Vyvyan was dealt a major blow during his second run when his throttle cable came loose and he had to coast to the pits with no power.

We soldier on and as the afternoon progressed the weather cleared, the sun shone and the track dried out.

Clearly not challenged by the regularity concept many of the drivers took advantage of the clearing conditions and went for it, including yours truly and a certain Plus 2 driver. My fellow team members raised the odd eyebrow and I started lapping twenty seconds or so below my nominated time, of course my justification was that we were out of contention so why not.

Over $21,000 was raised for Beyond Blue, so a great day and a brilliant outcome.

A special thanks to Denis Weisz BMW Club Co-Motorsport Director and his team, a lot of background work goes into event organisation, looking forward to next year.

*Editor’s Note: Actual image count is Green Machine 6, Blue Machine 2. So we evened things up by making the banner photo a Blue Machine feature!

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HSCCQ Khanacross – May 2017

By Shane Murphy. Photos by Dick Reynolds and Shane Murphy.

With a small gap open in our Lotus events calendar Dick and I, well mainly Dick with me tagging along for company, decided to fly the LCQ flag and give the Khanacross a crack.

For the uninitiated, the HSCCQ run both a motorkhana and khanacross type events, the fundamental difference between a motorkhana and a khanacross is as follows:

Motorkhanas are motor sport events designed to test the acceleration, braking and handling of cars and the skill and judgment of drivers. Most importantly, a motorkhana provides fun and enjoyment whilst practising and learning car control. Oversteer and understeer will be found in abundance, but at safe speeds under controlled conditions.

The word motorkhana seems unique to Australia and New Zealand, but similar events are known as Autotest in the U.K., Autocross or Solo in the U.S., and may be known as autokhana or gymkhana elsewhere.

A day’s event consists of a number of tests, generally selected from pre-determined layouts. The surface may be sealed (bitumen), or unsealed (grass or dirt). Cars compete one at a time, always starting and finishing in designated ‘garages’. Markers are witch’s hats or stakes with coloured flags atop, and time penalties are incurred if the markers are hit, or if an incorrect method is used.

Six to twelve tests make up the day’s competition, with winners being those drivers with the lowest total times, including any penalties. Different sizes and types of cars are separated into classes, meaning that more than one driver can take home a trophy. Khanacross fits in between mtorkhanas and rallysprints, introducing higher speeds, whilst not requiring high levels of vehicle modification.

Now that the facts are cleared up, let’s review the day!

As usual the event was run by Keith and Mary with military precision, the promise of 4 runs on each test. The afternoon runs are to be run in the reverse direction to the mornings runs, just to ensure no complacency sets in.

With only two Lotus Club Queensland members participating, the pressure was on to put on a good show, the scrutineer, Mary, noticed Dick’s slicks and quickly elevated him to the Specials Class, or was that the class for ‘specials’?

After the first run, The Green Machine had shown a clean pair of heels with a time of a little over a second faster than Dick’s, slicks and all. However, that was the last of it, as Dick commenced to ‘Gloat over the Field’ and set some pretty rapids times (on both courses) duking it out with the Dattos and the other top runners.

All in all, we had a blast, the final tally, Dick was third outright (behind the Dattos and first in Class F; I was seventh outright (oh the irony) and second in Class B.

A quick cold one for the road to finish out the day, looking forward to the DTC next month.

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Morgan Park B Series Rd 1 – May 2017

Story by Vyvyan Black, Photos by Gloria Wade & Vyvyan Black.

The day started at the wretched hour of 4.30am. What strange misadventure is this, I thought.

What kind of idiot gets up at this time? What I didn’t know was that all the sensible people leave late on Friday and stay overnight. Never mind. Off I go, into the blackness and the cold, and the fog. And what a fog it was!

The further from Brisbane, the thicker it got. So much so that at one point I’m zooming along at over 120kmh with just ten feet ahead visible – only the occasional reflector as my guide. It was almost dreamlike and I might have lost myself in it if it weren’t for the thought that a big red roo could jump in front at any moment. Where was I heading?

Just outside of Warwick there’s a track at a place called Morgan Park, that I’ve heard about but never actually seen. Being the webmaster of this glorious club I get to look at all the photos that have ever been taken at the various events members attend, and this event comes up a lot. Looks pretty serious I thought.

For those who don’t know, I’ve recently acquired my 1968 Plus 2 and have managed to have a go at a couple of hill climbs. These events marked the first time in my life I have ever raced a car. Well, apart from my foolish youth – and that was only on public roads where I always was a bit of a leadfoot! Still can’t stand slow drivers in front – sheesh!

So, I’m a complete novice. I have to say it’s pretty daunting when you turn up, having driven to the track, and you see the magnificent vehicles that you’ll be driving against. They all seem to have arrived via trailer, unregistered and built specially for track use. Slicks, and modifications everywhere, even sponsorship logos. What am I doing here?

But there’s a number of cars that also drove to the track, mostly have very few modifications and don’t have any sponsorship decals. These cars are of course the Elises. No chance against them either, but luckily everything’s roughly classed into like capacity.

So here’s my first real race situation. But I quickly felt at ease, and after a bit the Elise guys turned up. Here’s the club attendees and times:

Geoff Noble	S2 (SC Honda) Silver	03:54:581
Garry Pitt	S2 (NA Honda) Red	04:20:366
Martin O’Brien	S3 (SC Toyota) Orange	04:20:627
Joe Arico	S2 (NA Ford) Black	04:28:337
Jason Patulo	S2 (NA Honda) Yellow	04:28:579
Clive Wade	S1 (NA Honda) Green	04:34:474
Rob Stevens	S2 (NA Rover) Blue	04:43:830
John Flynn	S1 (NA Rover) Green	04:51:190
Vyvyan Black	Elan Plus 2 (NA Lotus) Navy & Silver	05:33:068

It’s a very nice track. Recently resurfaced and lots of variety. On my first warm-up lap I was getting giggly. This will be a gas! In a way I felt like a lad again. Pity I don’t have the daredevil attitude and the stamina I used to. But what fun!

Some had hiccups – Geoff repaired a small suspension component and Clive was alarmed by a noise in his newly refurbished powerplant that actually turned out to be a window rattle. Over the course of the two day weekend I got slightly better each run, enjoyed some ding dong bouts with a couple of the others in my group and had a total ball. On the drive home I realised that I didn’t think (and the scrutineer didn’t ask) to remove my spare steel wheel, tools and wooden boot lining. Talk about just adding lightness!

I cannot understand why more members don’t do these events. There’s nothing like it for driving your car the way it was meant to be. It’s not even that expensive. And if a complete schmuck like me can do it, what’s stopping you?

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Wheel tracks across Mongolia

Peking to Paris in a 1954 Austin Healey 100/4

By Giles Cooper

The Peking to Paris Rally is one of the most iconic motoring events in the world. The first one, in 1907, came from a challenge by the French newspaper, Le Matin, which stated “What needs to be proved today is that as long as a man has a car, he can do anything and go anywhere. Is there anyone who will undertake to travel this summer from Peking to Paris by automobile?”

As a result, five cars started on the 10th June 1907, and the 14,994km event was won 60 days later by Italian Prince Scipione Borghese driving a 7 litre Italia. This amazing event is usually considered the first true international motor rally, even though the winner’s prize was only a magnum of champagne.

Resurrected in 1997, the 2019 event will officially be the 7th Peking to Paris, and two Australians, Ashton Roskill and myself, have been fortunate enough to secure an entry, despite it being oversubscribed 2 years before the start. This is the first part of the story of their preparation, and eventual participation in this amazing rally.

First of all, who are Ashton and Giles?

Ashton is a 52-year-old Sydney resident who works full time as a Management Consultant, and has a passion for cars, most of which are Lotus. He has competed in GOME rallies in Europe, raced motorcycles and rallied a Ford Escort. He also has a love for S1 Land Rovers and recently acquired a 1954 Austin-Healey 100/4 with a view to competing in a rally such as the Peking to Paris.

Although he was born in Australia, he grew up in England, only returning to live in Australia in 2003. Since then he has pursued his passion for cars, sprinting his Elise in the Combined Sports Cars Association Series since 2006, and more recently campaigning his Lotus Eleven in Targa High Country and Historic Regularity; he is also the current President of Club Lotus Australia.

I am a 69-year-old retiree, and recent survivor of throat cancer. I was born and educated in England, and emigrated to Melbourne in 1968, where I worked as a teacher. Shortly afterwards I started to work in the oilfields, and spent the next 40 years working and living all over the world, looking for oil. Motor racing has always been in my blood, and wherever possible I’ve competed in everything from karts to radio-controlled cars to Formula Ford. While living in Scotland I purchased my first Lotus in 2002 and attended a Lotus track day at Knockhill. There I met Ashton, who was also looking at shipping his Lotus Elise back to Australia. Since then we have remained friends and are active founding members of Aussie Elises, which caters to most modern Lotus.

Giles at the Alaskan Arctic Circle, 2012

In 2012 I became the first (and so far, only) person ever to drive an Elise to the Alaskan Arctic Circle up the Ice Truckers Highway. I then spent the next 2½ years driving around the world in a Toyota Landcruiser. In late 2016, I was wondering what to do next when Ashton called and invited me to co-drive his Healey in the 2019 P2P. Milliseconds later, Team Healey was agreed, and we set to work. First thing settled was the delegation of work – since Ashton works full time. It was agreed that I would oversee the rebuild, while Ashton would largely finance it – at least until some sponsorship was obtained. This meant moving the car to Queensland.

The car, chassis No. BN1-L/150638, was originally a LHD vehicle that lived some 40 years in California, so it was fortunately never exposed to the evils of English winter salted roads. It then lived in Western Australia where it was converted to RHD, until it was purchased in 2015 by Ashton, and brought to Sydney.

A lot of discussion has been held on how to prepare both ourselves and the car for such an event, but it was not until our entry for the P2P was officially accepted by the ERA in March 2017 that work began in earnest. I trailered the car home to Queensland and then spent April in the UK, making time to visit Austin Healey parts suppliers like AH Spares, Northern Healey Centre and Moss to work out what would be required. After returning home in early May, work started on the car and while I’ll do a lot of the parts sourcing and minor fettling of the car, it was decided to farm out some of major chassis work to Classic Car Centre on the Gold Coast, where Mark Boldry has extensive experience with classic car restoration, especially on Austin Healeys.

New chassis fabrication at Northern Healey Centre

At the moment (May 2017), work is mostly focused on stripping the car down and working out what needs to be replaced or beefed up. The P2P rally is initially across Mongolia and Kazakhstan where there are few if any roads, – rough, rocky and sandy tracks and river crossings are every day occurrences and cars are stressed to the maximum. After that it is north to Moscow on poor quality roads, before dropping back down through Europe where conditions hopefully improve slightly. While the later 3000 Big Healey models had an excellent rallying record in the hands of people like Pat Moss and Rauno Aaltonen in the 1960s, the biggest issue is ground clearance, especially of the exhaust.

We will therefore be copying the factory cars and re-routing the exhaust down the side of the vehicle, instead of underneath it. This entails cutting into the passenger side of the car, shortening the door by some 10 inches, and locating the exhaust along the sill of the car, exiting behind the door. We will also be running high profile light truck tyres to increase ground clearance further – rally tyres are too soft a compound to survive the 14,000km.

Finally, everything on the car, from suspension to bodywork to electrics, must be capable of withstanding incessant pounding from poor roads, as well as water from river crossings and dust from Gobi Desert roads, so all of the suspension is to be rebuilt.

We also have to carry all our own spare parts, be prepared to camp for the first couple of weeks, and carry enough fuel to cover a full day of up to 650km – a challenge indeed. It is going to be an amazing adventure and we hope that you will share it with us as we prepare both the car and ourselves over the next 18 months. Then we tackle the event itself, starting in June 2019.

We have chosen two charities to support while we are doing this – Cancer Research and Beyond Blue, dedicated to helping people with depression, both for very personal reasons. Half of all funds we raise initially will go to these charities and once our costs are partially covered, 100% of any remaining amount raised will go to them.

We can be found on our blog here.

We will shortly have a Facebook site for day to day coverage and support. Welcome aboard Team Healey, for the adventure of a lifetime!

DTC Round 2 – June 2017

A Winter’s Tale – the June Lakeside DTC

By Alex Molocznyk. Photos by Gloria Wade, Shane Murphy & Dick Reynolds.

For the first winter event of the club calendar South East Queensland weather deteriorated with temperatures plummeting into the balmy mid-twenties, totally cloudless skies and no detectable winds.

Undeterred by the conditions, forty-two starters included 16 Lotus, 8 Clubman (with Shane Murphy’s Super 7 eligible for both Lotus and Clubman camps) and the remainder made up of an eclectic mix of Mazda MX5s and RX7s, Toyota MR2s, a Jaguar D-Type, Ford Fiesta, Focus and Escort, Subaru WRX and BRZ, Renault Clio and Megane together with a radical looking Westfield XTR2 and an extreme RCR Superlite Roadster.

Batwing Paul Stokell had his Lotus Exige S still in livery from his outstanding result at Targa Tasmania. Porsche defector Phil Hart brought his shiny silver Elise recently acquired from WA. Phil’s choice of the silver colour indicates he has not yet fully let go of his Porsche heritage regardless of his protestation that it was the only one available that ticked all his requirements. Following a long absence from any recent competition Clive finally overcame the ECU monster reared from the riceification of his lovely S1 Elise and entered the now ex Rover-engined car as an Elise HP. The jury is still out as to what HP stands for, trying a reach a decision between High Performance, Honda Powered or Horse Pooer. New member, Sion Bowen had his two week old beautiful black Elise 220 Sport. A nice touch is the factory plaque engraved with the maker’s signature, authenticating its hand-made origins.

Second car onto circuit was an Escort rally car that spun on the first corner, took out a witch’s hat on another, then continued somewhat erratically for two more corners. Fortunately, this did not set the tone for the day with most of the following drivers putting in clean runs – although there were some notable exceptions such as Liam, Daryl, Mal and Dick who all need to come up with a convincing story as to why they were always out of shape across the finish line.

Fastest time for the day (FTD) was won by Stephen Foss in his 2008 Westfield XTR2, set on run 6, his last of the day. Paul Stokell’s Exige S showed his professional experience by setting the fastest times for the first two runs. Clint Watts ran a close second – within a second of Paul’s times. On runs 3 and 4 the roles reversed with Clint running the faster by less than .05 secs on run 3 and .04 secs on run 4.

Paul did not run after the lunch break and Stephen Foss who was consistently reducing his times with each run managed to take the fastest time with a PB for run 6 from Clint by .05 secs. Stephen maintained his lead by .03 sec on run 6 and set FTD from Clint by .02 secs. Clint continued with fastest times for run 7 from Lindsay Close 2007 Exige S by .06 secs which was Lindsay’s PB and for the last run 8 by .40 secs from Dick Reynolds who also ran his PB in the 1988 Caterham Super 7.

One second separates the overall first six places and 2 seconds over the top ten. Considering FTD was set by a race car it demonstrates how well the road registered cars compare. Dick Reynolds was delighted with his PB on the last run and job done, getting well inside the top ten. Liam Philp sharing the 2001 Caterham Super 7 with his dad Ken ran consistently third for six consecutive runs and both father and son finished in the top ten.

Top Ten
Stephen Foss	2008 Westfield XTR2
Clint Watts	2007 Lotus Exige S
Paul Stokell	2014 Lotus Exige S
Lindsay Close	2007 Lotus Exige S
Liam Philp	2001 Caterham Super 7
Dick Reynolds	1988 Caterham Super 7
Martin O’Brien	2013 Lotus Elise S
Paul Torrisi	2004 Lotus Elise 111R
William Ahlstrand	1986 Toyota MR2
Ken Philp	2001 Caterham Super 7

With the benefit of hindsight an analysis of the results shows a very close and hard fought competition. However, in reality the day was a relaxed event where the social side of the event blended with the friendly spirit of club competition. The success of the day was the result of the tireless work by Darryl Wilson organizing and seamlessly running the event together with the assistance of everybody that helped to set up and run the event including the ever revolving line of timekeepers alternating between competing and recording times.

Hon. Mention Outstanding Category Achievement

FTD 1988 Caterham Super 7 just outside of top ten – Jon Young
FTD 2011 RCR Superlite Rockstar – Con Torrisi
FTD 1998 Caterham Super 7 with shiniest guards – Daryl Wilson
FTD 1997 Lotus Elise HP Sauce – Clive Wade
FTD 2004 Lotus Exige – Alan Newitt
FTD 2011 Lotus Elise – Michael Blessas
FTD 1968 Lotus Super 7 – Shane Murphy
FTD 2012 Lotus Elise – Phil Hart
FTD 2008 Lotus Europa – Steve Lennox
FTD 2002 Lotus Elise – Mal Gray
FTD 2011 Lotus Elise – John Simmons
FTD 2017 Lotus Elise – Sion Bowen
FTD 2003 Lotus Elise – Alex Molocznyk
FTD 2005 Lotus Elise – George Row

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Lotus 2017

Preparation, Packing and the Road Trips

An exposé into the trials and tribulations of those adventurous Queenslanders who braved the highways and motored to Beechworth. A test of endurance, preparedness and mechanical skill.

The Murphys

Beechworth Bound

Lotus polished, Lotus loaded, tow-car fuelled, iPods loaded with e-books (check out S.Town on podcast if you are up to the most down-loaded e-book in 2017).

Day 1 – Brisbane to Toowoomba to Millmerran, re-fuel, tea and sandwich, 10 hours in the saddle. To our surprise the Newell Highway speed limit was 110, fantastic I am making a 10 % gain all the time!, very motivational.

Day 2 – Dubbo to Beechworth, Lunch at Wagga Wagga (check out the Blessed Bean Café next time you pass) phew 1,400 kilometres down, the last hour it poured down, welcome to Victoria, 8 hours.

Brisbane Bound

Day 1 – Beechworth to Forbes where we indulged in a local pie, very Australian. Parks to Gilgandra for the night. We shouted ourselves to the “special” King Room for $110 in a local Motel, worth the upgrade. Dinner at the Gilgandra RSL on Anzac Day; now that was entertaining, with the choice of either a VB or XXXX longneck to take-away, feeling slightly out of place in the very rowdy crowd, Jen and I being the only sober ones in sight, of course the “snitty” was great.

Day 2 – Gilgandra to Coonabarabran; breakfast at Tastebuds on Dalgarno, difficult menu to choose from until the lovely owner peered at me in a sympathetic and understanding way, you know we are a vegetarian café don’t you! of course I retorted, clearly, I had been out manoeuvred by my navigator. A couple more fuel stops and we were home in a flash, well by 7 pm, trailer un-hitched, garage door down, another 1,400 kilometres no issues, no Bearing trouble, no navigation trouble, no wildlife trouble, no Police trouble, overall a great experience, if it only hadn’t rained virtually all the way it would have been quite relaxing. I never did quite work out what fuel economy we achieved!

Shane Murphy

The Wilsons

Well around February 2016, we decided to book for Lotus 2017.

It always seems such a long way off until the last month or two when you are half way through a long list of stuff to do on the car. Having had to deal with quite a bit of damage to the Elan last time we shipped it to a national event, I decided to tow it instead. Thanks go to Tony Galletly for the loan of one of the best towing trailers. The Merc Estate was fitted with a cool Euro tow-bar complete with removable tongue so no evidence of tow-bar to spoil the lines.

I started early in 2016 looking for hard to get parts that have been missing in my restoration from a pile of bits in 1977. On the road in 1990, there have been some including the crash padding over the dash panel that are just not made as original product replacements.

So the challenge was on. The interior was stripped, new carpet, seats re-foamed and door trims replaced with a newly available pressed vinyl panel from the USA. Thanks Dean for a great job. New window glass – complete with holes, which is hard to toughen without explosions, were made by Glass 4 Classics at Nerang Gold Coast. Thickness is finally available in Oz.

Then to the crash pad – with a mold made, finally I have ended up with a replacement that looks and feels just like the original product with soft touch and vinyl covering. No ABS or Fiberglass hard surfaces. With the Easter break approaching fast and a very close prototype, the final item was nowhere to be seen so I still had a pile of wiring, no dash panel, instruments or steering column. It was ready Good Friday morning so now to fit it.

Thanks also here to Steve Lennox who helped refit the complete windscreen frame assembly the week before. Leaving Wednesday morning with Clive and Gloria in convoy was approaching fast. Four 16 hour days followed and I finally started it on Tuesday afternoon. New fuel pump works.

Tony arrived around 7:30 pm to load the car on the trailer and I was still screwing things together while my son in law Daniel polished and cleaned the car.

On the Road – The trip south was eventful with the older tarp covering the car blowing out around Ballina. As luck would have it, there was a Bunnings right in front of us at the turnoff so after lots of wrapping and ratchet straps, we headed onward to Beechworth via Port Macquarie and Goulburn.

We had planned to travel the Great Ocean Road in the Elan and Elise with Clive and Gloria after the weekend event but 7 degrees, rain and roadworks – read dirt, proved our decision to leave them at Col Croucher’s home in Wangaratta to be very wise. Thanks again Col. We found lots of wonderful sights, bakeries, restaurants and B&Bs along the way – highly recommend it as a great tour.

The trip home was pretty straightforward teaming up with Colin and Robyn McKay at Wangaratta after their Alpine tour in the Elan complete with snow.

We were stopped for a cuppa mid-afternoon in Parkes when an immaculate black S1 Elise arrived – with Tasmania number plates. The driver, Dave, was en-route from his family home in Tasmania to his new home in Townsville. We were on a short trip – apparently.

Thanks to everyone for all the help, friendship and fun. It was a fabulous trip.

Craig Wilson

The Bodes

After 5300.8km (including the 1km false start we had due to a forgotten under-body shield) and also having only just got the car running 2 days prior after 6 months off the road, we have returned from our extended Lotus 2017 trip. Cass and I took the opportunity to visit The Great Ocean Road after the Beechworth event via the Grampion Mountains.

The Great Ocean Road was a bit windier and wetter than hoped, but still a lovely drive with great natural sights when there wasn’t road works or thousands of tourists. We then continued on to Philip Island via the Queenscliff to the Mornington Peninsula car ferry (thanks Andrew and Susan Stevens for the tip) to see the Little Penguins and then home via Canberra and Sydney. Of course, the Europa S didn’t miss a beat even on a few dirt roads. It was a great grand tour in the so-called Lotus “Grand Tourer”.

Plenty of kids in the country towns jumping with joy including wolf-whistles when we drove through and of course the usual stares and waves from kids-at-heart. By the time, we got home the car was a bit dirtier than after the surprise Concours win and the boot full of presents for kids and wine for the collection. Overall another great event and bring on Lotus 2019.

Andrew Bode

The McKays

Proposed departure date, Easter Sunday. This early departure date was to facilitate Robyn’s pre-arranged dealings in Melbourne. This involved her meeting up with a friend (from Brisbane) to hit the shops, and to attend an exhibition for a full day.

Whilst they were at it, the husband (an old Qantas friend) and I visited the Fox Collection (not a Lotus in sight) and then toured The McKay’s old haunts around Mt Macedon, Woodend and Kyneton. The highlight, other than seeing our old house at Mt Macedon (one of the survivors of Ash Wednesday) was our visit to the Kyneton Aero-club. I was a member of the club in the early ’80s flying their Cessna 172. It was a highlight, because they were preparing the airfield for an upcoming fly-in and air display and there were heaps of people to talk to and aircraft to look at. Always a pleasant way to put a sizeable dent in the day!

The early departure also precluded us from joining any “convoy” for the trip to Beechworth.
Due to the visit to Melbourne, and a planned, short tour of S.E. Victoria after Lotus 2017, we arranged, in Wangaratta, a storage shed, for the Elan when driving the X5, and the X5 when driving the Elan, and outside storage for the borrowed trailer.

This is the same as we have done for the past three Biennial meets, and has worked out well. The trailer was picked up on the Friday prior to departure and fittings and tracks modified to accommodate the Elan. Saturday night saw the Elan strapped on to the trailer and waiting in the garage for a quick departure on the Sunday.

We departed The Gold Coast at 0500 for the Newel Highway via Toowoomba and Goondiwindi, on Easter Sunday, with a breakfast stop planned at Toowoomba, lunch at Narrabri and an overnight stop at The Acacia Motel in Coonabarabran. This motel was chosen, as we stayed there on the way to Lotus 2015 and the parking is easy and away from prying eyes. A Chinese restaurant is located within stumbling distance, so a very agreeable place to stay. The motel, not the restaurant.

Another 0500 departure and we arrived, without incident, at the storage facility in Wangaratta. With the Elan tucked away in the storage shed and the trailer in the storage yard, we went in search of our hotel. The only sour note, was the X5 was starting to be a little hesitant to start. The battery was almost new, so visited an auto electrician the next morning to discover the starter motor was loose and moving on its mounting bolts. Suspect that it was never tightened properly from a recent clutch change! With this remedied, sort of, we were on our way to Melbourne.

Back in Wangaratta on the Friday prior to Lotus 2017, swapped the X5 for the Elan, and set about having a really good time for the next four days.

After the festivities and our short, and very wet, tour of S.E. Victoria, we returned to Wang’ to load up the Elan and trailer and set sail for home. This time, we were fortunate enough to team up with Craig and Carolyn for the trip home. Shared accommodation, separate rooms of course, and dinner with them prior to heading to Col Croucher’s house to pick up Craig’s Elan and trailer.

Headed off for the Newel Highway and another overnight at “Coona” and another Chinese meal (should be good on the Chinese food for a year or so). A tea stop was called (we had the club walkie-talkies for inter car communications) in Parkes to stretch and break the journey. As we were getting stuck into the tea and fruit cake, a purple Elise pulled up. The driver was amazed to find a pair of Elans so far from home. Turned out, that this chap, Brett, was driving his car from Tassie to North Queensland. He joined us for tea and cake and then drove with us, or near us, to Coona.

Interestingly, he purchased his Elise S1 new in Jersey, eventually moved it back to Tassie and left it in a container at his parent’s house for several years before resurrecting it and blasting off for Queensland. Said he would join the club and be a starter for Lotus 2019.

A very cold departure from Coona the next morning saw us winging north to lunch and final farewells to our traveling companions at Warwick. Really enjoyed Craig and Carolyn’s company over the period.

Trailer returned to its owner, and the Elan cleaned and ready for the Club Monthly meeting tonight.

Colin McKay

Rob (an adventure with Martin)

For a few weeks before leaving, I had thought I’d get the hard-top roof finished. But it was not to be – the details of getting a weatherproof seal working on the leading edge of the roof, and on the windows, required a number of trips to the Clark Rubber store – getting various pieces of neoprene and glue, and making up the weather strip shape as I went along. Which all took time.

So when I had just two days to go, and still hadn’t tested the design even with a hose, I decided to put the project on hold and return to the original roof design that Lotus had intended for the Elise – the mostly waterproof soft-top solution.

I was deeply suspicious that at some point during the 6-day trip, there would be rain, and being held in Victoria, there would be lots of it. At least the soft top was waterproof when driving, even though there was a persistent leak from each A-pillar-door join when stationary. (Solution: just don’t stop!) I also changed over to a new set of Yokohama AD08R tyres, which were supposed to be perfect for road, and better if wet.

So, bag packed, helmet, toolkit and driving shoes stowed in the boot, it was time to depart. I met up with Martin at Goondiwindi at noon, as he’d left a bit earlier, and we then traveled in convoy down the Newell Highway.

I stopped at Gilgandra, (8.5 hrs), while Martin headed on to Parkes.

The tyres proved to be very good on road – quieter and smoother than the older Kumho R-spec tyres had been. Unfortunately, not a drop of rain on the way there. The roof – well it was the same as ever – stretching at speed causing a pressure bulge in the centre.

Next day we met up at Parkes, (I left early to catch up, appreciating a beautiful sunrise in the process) and we continued to Beechworth by lunchtime.

A shout from the upper floor verandah of the bakery reminded us that the rest of the Queensland contingent had arrived already, and were also having a feed there.

Just a kilometre further was the George Kerferd Hotel, and a king-size room all to me!

PS. It was on the return to Brisbane that it rained – 14 out of 16 hours driving back was wet. The Yoko tyres were really good in these conditions – probably the best tyres I’ve ever used on the Elise for a combination of road and track usage. And the roof leaked.

Rob Stevens

Martin and Suzanne

With around 18 months to plan Suzanne and my attendance to the next Lotus gathering from what was a mixed Lotus 2015, for me anyway, time was on my side. Needless to say, planning began in earnest a few weeks prior to Lotus 2017. Doesn’t time fly when you procrastinate?

Having come off second best on the way to Lotus 2015 in what was Round 1 of the battle for supremacy of the road with the local skippy contingent; I was not keen to risk my good clam to the Lotus 2017 trip. The plan: I’d try to fix my somewhat damaged ‘track’ clam and put that on for the trip.

I recognise that I’m no expert but it couldn’t hurt to give it a crack (pun intended). Actually, fix might be a bit of a misnomer, ‘bodgie it up’ is more fitting.

I set to work with my trusty grinder and sander to see what’s what, creating films of fiberglass dust across in the yard (and clothes line) – well, I didn’t want to get the new shed covered in it;). Many hours and litres of acetone later (messy stuff, that fiberglass), I had glued it all together. With all those compound curves to shape, it was a little daggy in spots but I thought it was passable. I found it difficult to reform the creases in the front of the clam so I ended up filling them like many do. Referred to as “shaving” I believe. I actually like the look of a shaved clam but the daggy bits do stand out more.

I am usually a patient man but not when it comes to sanding and painting. So, a quick trip to Supercheap for some gel coat, high fill primer, colour matched base paint with glittery metallic stuff – which was surprisingly good match to the original, and a couple of rattle cans of clear. Done! Let’s just say it was never going to be as smooth as a baby’s bum, more like a full nappy, but in Chrome Orange. Perhaps in the near future I will ship it off to the body shop for a proper jam job, but no time now.

So, with a single day to go I completed the great clam swap without a hitch. Thanks also to Suzanne, the trusty apprentice at “Marto’s body works”. Gave Rob Stevens a quick call to confirm departure time and meetup point, packed my helmet, race suit, boots, gloves, paperwork… oh and some other clothes in a bag that night ready to set sail to Beechworth and hit the hay.

Off to a good start at around 7:20 am. The first leg to Goondiwindi for a splash of fuel and a nibble was a dawdle. Also meet up with Rob here as he was only 15 minutes behind me by then. The usual formalities and a quick critique of my clear coat painting skills and his tyre choice and we were off.

Thanks for being so kind on me Rob even though I knew you were just being polite. I assured Rob in my humble opinion that he couldn’t go wrong with the AD08Rs.

As my sense of direction is as good as my spray painting, I suggested Rob take point, which he kindly accepted. No! I swear it had nothing to do with clearing the roos.

A rather uneventful run south found us cruising through to Narrabri for a splash and dash for the cars and our bellies, then on to Gilgandra. Rob had booked to stay overnight at whereas I had to run on for a further 2 hours to Parkes.

Stopping at Dubbo for fuel it was evident I could not get to Parkes before night. Was I worried about the light fading as dusk approached and I entered the roo witching hour? Ha-ha, no! I was safe in the knowledge I had a fresh clam tucked away at home and a newly formed shield of dodgy paint and fiberglass out front to protect me. I powered on. They wouldn’t stand a chance. As it turns out the skippy’s must have heard about my cunning plan because not a beady eye was sighted. Ding! Ding! Round 2 to me I’d say.

Next morning, I took the time to backtrack a little to “The Dish” aka Parkes Radio Telescope. Rob was some ways off yet and I just had to indulge my inner geek.

Glad, I did. Very interesting place. I won’t bore you with the details here. Check it out next time you’re passing by. Okay, for those interested here are a few facts:

Big – 64 meters in diameter
The moving part of the telescope weights 1,000 tonnes but it is not fixed to the concrete tower. Its own weight holds it in place.
If the wind exceeds 35 km per hour it must be ‘stowed’ by pointing it directly up or it will set sail.
Designed by, engineered by Freeman Fox, the company that had designed the Sydney Harbour bridge.
Constructed by the MAN Company (Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nurnberg A.G.) in Germany.

A spot of coffee and breakfast back at Parkes and a top up at BP, just then Rob turned up, so we were off once more.

The original plan was to swing by Albury Airport to pick up Suzanne who winged it. But, the good news for all was that Carol was on the same flight as Suzanne so they shared the hire car to Beechworth. So we just motored through to Beechworth. Why didn’t Suzanne drive down with me, I hear you ask? Suzanne refers to time spent traveling on 4 wheels as “car jail”. You get the picture.

I must say, I was pleasantly surprised at what a beautiful and lively little spot is Beechworth. We came into town and pulled up in front of the famous Beechworth Bakery to be greeted by the rest of the Queensland contingent and a fabulous pie.

The rest folks are as they say history.

Finally, a big, big congratulations to the organisers of Lotus 2017 and all who lent a helping hand. Well done. If you were there, I hope you had a great a time as I did. If you missed it, make the effort to come to Lotus 2019.

Martin O’Brien

The Barrams

It started out pretty simply. Are we going to Lotus 2017? Yep. Why not? We will just tow the Seven down from Brisbane in the trailer.

Then I damaged my Cheetah race car and decided that the best move was to take it to Michael Borland at Borland Racing Developments at Braeside, in Melbourne. The stripped down tub fits in the trailer with the Seven. This is looking good.

Now I have a mate here in Brisbane who is “managing” with his brother-in-law a house down at Mount Martha, not far from Braeside, and needed to send down some pretty tricky glue for some job, not the sort of thing you send through the mail. Well, I would be in the area.

And Penny has a sister in Eltham we have not visited for a few years so that was a must for an overnight. Then a few weeks before the event a cousin of Penny’s from Anglesea phoned and one thing led to another so there was another overnight to be had there.

And then a few days before departure another mate called to say he is buying a towbar for his sister’s Kia Sorrento for which they want a fortune but there is one at a wrecker in Melbourne at a good price!

So what do you do?

We left Brisbane Tuesday arriving at the Kia wrecker in Campbellfield on Thursday to be given a lesson in OHS by a couple of young guys sitting under the back end of a Kia, suspended in mid-air off a fork lift through the windscreen, with a phone in one hand and a rattle gun in the other!! Got the tow bar. Then it was over to Eltham for the night. Friday morning, we braved the Melbourne peak hour traffic and got down to Braeside to deposit the remains of the Cheetah, discuss that project, and ask Michael if he would mind holding this trick glue for a few days until it is picked up.

So, then it was down to Sorrento and across on the ferry to Queenscliff, because we have never done that before. Then down to Anglesea for a night of family history. So, on Saturday we then simply drove up the Hume Highway to get to Beechworth, looking for a well-earned rest.

John Barram

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Concours d’Elegance

Story by Craig Wilson, photos by Gloria Wade and Shane Murphy.

In keeping with the whole of the weekend events, the Concours was organized with precision. As we all arrived, models were grouped and lines of cars straightened.

It is great to see so many owners, many of whom had driven from far and wide across the country, present their cars in Concours mode. It is a credit to everyone that they are not only using their Lotus as a great sports car, but are making a big effort in preservation of models, new or older.

All models were judged on cleanliness, general condition of areas like exterior, paint, interior, engine bay, boot, suspension and running gear. Originality was another section that with many Lotus, new or old is the big divide in scores. As Clive put it, as soon as the judges see a Honda engine it’s down to 450 possible instead of 500 points. It is also a challenge with some of the older models to get the lost and hard to find parts.

So, Queensland scored well with John Barram taking out the class with his spotless and most original 7 and grand champion overall went to Andrew Bode with his immaculate New Europa. From a judge’s point of view, it was great to see Andrews’s car score so well amongst lots of newer cars and two other new Europas. The presentation and general condition was first class.

Congratulations to all the winners and we are now all looking forward to Lotus 2019 in Queensland.

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Beechworth District Historical Tour

By Suzanne de Kleyn

After waking up to glorious weather I was excited to get going on our bus trip and do some exploring. I was very keen to find out more about the things that were a blur as we zipped past them in the Lotus.

First off, a local guide got on the bus and took us around various points of interest in the town of Beechworth and gave us the rich history of the places around us. For a first-time visitor, not particularly knowledgeable about the goldrush part of our history it was very informative. I had no idea that the Beechworth Historial Precinct in walking distance from our hotel included the courthouse where Ned Kelly was on trial before being sent to Melbourne, the lock up he was held in and also the most well preserved law library in Australia.

After dropping off our Beechworth tour guide, we were off again. Through charming Chiltern and lovely countryside to Rutherglen where we stopped for coffee at a coffee van in a park and collected our next Rutherglen tour guide. By this stage, we were hanging out for a caffeine fix and appreciated the opportunity to get out and stretch our legs in a nice spot. Gloria Wade was thankfully snapping photos madly.

Then we were off again! Next stop was the family owned and operated Jones Winery. Another nice spot with a small gallery on site also and the group was able to learn more about the history of the vineyard, participate in a tasting and make some purchases if they wanted to. Despite a text from the track asking me if I was “stocking up on booze”, I refrained.

Then on the road again with more informative commentary by our local guide who took us to the water tower the town has made into a wine bottle to reflect all the wineries in the area and a State Gold Battery. The Battery was erected in 1908 to crush quartz recovered from quartz reefs in Rutherglen District to recover the gold. After watching a short video to show how it worked, we dropped tour guide no 2 off and then we headed to lunch.

By this stage, we were famished. Lunch was on the deck at the Pickled Sisters Cafe at the Cofield’s Winery. OMG! It was a feast I don’t think anyone was expecting. When we arrived, there was a selection of hot and cold canapés. This was followed by many main dishes for us to share at our table. Plates of steak, pork belly and salmon, bowls of various salads and roast potatoes, an assortment of pickles and relishes as well as baskets of fresh bread. Seconds and thirds were available for those who wanted it and could fit it in, but I was stuffed. I did give a few seconds thought to what Marto was eating at the track and surmised it was probably a pie. Oh well.?

Then after a lovely day, it was back on the bus so we could sink into a food coma and nap on the way back to Beechworth.

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Navigator’s Take on the Lotus 2017 Touring Event

By Sandy Smith

From the outset, Tony and I were looking forward to participating in the Touring Event (Rally) having recently organised a club rally to Binna Burra, we were keen to see how it was usually done.

Armed with the carefully prepared instructions included in the Lotus 2017 book issued on registration we set off. It was a casual arrangement with people leaving or not at their leisure. As we left Beechworth and headed back the way we came the night before from the Albury airport. I was feeling a little apprehensive when an orange Elise pulled over and started following us! – the Blind leading the Blind if you ask me.

The instructions provided were followed meticulously with warnings provided before each turn with regular reminders as needed re the speed limit. We left the orange Elise behind in the first little town Yackandandah and a couple of Lotus drivers passed us on the way up as we followed the winding road which gradually climbed through the green pastures of the highlands on the way to Mt Bright.

We stopped at the General Store come post office, community library for some refreshments heartened to see many Lotus drivers there already, most of whom must have taken a different route or left a lot earlier than we did. Lotus cars went in all directions after this. Some headed up to Mt Bright, others were off to Bright or Melbourne and a few of us followed the designated route down through Stanley.

Coming into Stanley the picturesque Autumn colours were well worth the drive.

The second leg of the journey through State Reserve and along the Great Alpine Road were highlights. I found the instructions easy enough to follow and we managed to complete the course without getting lost, having an argument or a speeding ticket!

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LOTD at Winton Raceway

By Martin O’Brien

The day started much like any other… well technically yes, as far as days go, but I was far more excited than most mornings. It was track day! Lotus 2017 Lotus Only Track Day (LOTD) no less! Blessed by fine weather, not only was it at a new track, which I love, but also a track day run by the team at SSC and Race Solutions – always a safe bet for an awesome event.

The car was prepped as much as it could be after driving down from Brisbane in “Granny Spec”, as the young folk like to call it – meaning standard geometry set up for the road. I did decide to whip out a couple of front camber shims each side the night before just to help reduce understeer a tad. No excuses. Run what you brung as they say.

With the usually, but not unnoticed, efficiency of the organisers the formalities were over in a flash, leaving plenty of time to indulge in a coffee or snack prior to qualifying. I mean have a natter to and catch up with old acquaintances.

Sessions are seen off in quick succession but not so hurried that there isn’t plenty of time for some off-track banter. The number of times the question “how was that?” posed, only to be answered “#%$&ing awesome!” was paled in count only by the smiles on dials, as it were.

Now folks, I readily confess to being a bit of a muppet when it comes to all this race stuff. It is of no consequence here at a LOTD. Everyone is nothing but enthusiastic and supportive of you joining in on the fun. Gentlemanly (term used loosely) advice, assistance and courtesy abound.

I enjoyed driving the Winton track too. It is tricky in parts, which is where I enjoy the challenge, but also has a few long straights to regain one’s faculties and take a breather. These were where I felt like I was in an episode of Star Trek, just when everyone else hit warp speed and you were stuck with Impulse drive. C’mon Scotty – surely, she canna take any more!

Qualifying, practice and races 1 and 2 all flew by in the blink of an eye. To most anyway – I came in a little later. Okay let’s call it as we see it – last! If I was ever to win the reverse grid handicap race format, here was my chance – race 3. The handicap, being calculated on previous race times, would stand me in advantage as I should theoretically get faster as the
day progressed, whereas the Winton regulars would be running consistent times out of the gate. Sandbagging aside.

In the excitement, I don’t quite remember all the handicaps except that the driver directly behind was Leigh at 22 seconds (not enough head start I thought), and the last out of the gate was Mark O’Conner at 88 seconds (nowhere near enough head start), with the rest of the field dispersed fairly equally within that range.

Racing! I got away clean and within a lap or two settled into the same view I had seen all day. Empty track. Only this time I wanted to keep it that way and keep my mirrors clear of traffic too. Lap after lap I was keeping it on the black stuff and trying to not do anything silly, or spectacular for that matter.

Not sure what lap we were on out of the allocated 9 laps when there he was, a small white dot in the distance. That bloody Mark O. I knew it wouldn’t be long before he was large, if not fleeting, image in all my mirrors. How bloody wide is that car?

Okay time to dump the sandbags!

Wait… I didn’t load any. Damn it! I will just have to pray to the podium gods to watch over me. I kept telling myself to just be consistent, don’t panic, and remember what Mark O told you. Hang on, he is the one rapidly approaching on you now, don’t listen to him. Ha-ha. Unbeknownst to me it was the last lap, and as we came to the esses I held slim hopes. Wait, what is that? The chequered flag. No surely not.

All the above aside folks, it was a great day at the track. Thanks Mark O, Mark A, Dave, Damo and Leigh (in no particular order) for your patience and a great day. Thanks to all those smiling faces. The Queensland contingent, having driven well all around, now driving (or trailering) home the same way they arrived. Always a success. To the many of us never having been to Winton before and setting PBs. Ha.

I, like many others, enjoy the off-track banter and watching the rest of the Lotus brethren pace the track just as much as being on it myself. It’s what makes this little community great. Shane, becoming addicted to the track and racking up the silverware.

If, as I believe life is measured by fond memories, I have just had more than my measure. I can’t thank the Lotus 2017 and LOTD organisers and many, many participants from all corners of our great land enough.

Until Lotus 2019 or the next LOTD, just drive.

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Breakfast at Ruffy’s Produce Store

By Simon Messenger. Photos by Cheetah Suchayanon, Jeanne & Peter Murray and Gloria Wade

The weather Gods looked kindly upon us on this day, unlike on the Friday and Tuesday at either end of the wonderful Lotus 2017 biennial the previous weekend (big thanks to the Committee).

Your scribe was lucky enough to be offered a ride in Peter McConnell’s Europa S in exchange for my first time EMR navigation duties, which was made easy by “the best instructions we have ever had”, or so said Lee Suryn at our destination in Ruffy (more on that later).

Some new members joined us for the first time at Eltham, one of the two meeting points. So, a big welcome goes out to Shane and Sue Bowden (BRG and Lotus Yellow stripe/wheels Caterham 7) and Nigel and Denise Robertson (Pearl White 1984 Lotus Excel).

We set out very close to our target departure time of 8.30am and headed north through Eltham with the leafy green Edendale Community Environment Farm on our right, and then onwards and northwards through Diamond Creek (looks like a good place for a tree change), along Ironbark Road and then up to the edge of Yan Yean Reservoir, although its crystal clear waters were not glimpsed by yours truly on account of one’s diligent attention to the “the best instructions we have ever had” and to the whistle of the turbo of the modern Europa.

At Whittlesea we almost convinced ourselves that we had taken a wrong turn, but a not so quick re-programming of the Tom Tom for a destination of Flowerdale proved that we were indeed on the same route as about 500 mad keen cyclists pedaling uphill on the long and winding road to nowhere. The left turn to the road to Broadford and Strath Creek was a welcome relief to dodging the two abreast lycra-clad ex-golfers. But why were the yellow and green Elan M100’s of Peter and Sandra Hill and John Harrison heading in the opposite direction? Was there a blocked road, or a problem with the “the best instructions we have ever had”? Surely not. So we pressed on and the colourfully named King Parrot Creek Road soon led us to the Goulburn Valley Highway whereupon a right turn saw us head south east towards Yea, until a sharp left turn onto the unclassified Ghin Ghin Road for the final 48km.

Now the fun started in earnest, as the latter road, and then the Highlands Road, have a 100km/h limit for much of the way with little or few safety barriers and directional arrows to guide the spirited Euro fighter pilot in the right direction. The familiar yellow of Peter Murray’s Elite came into view on Highlands Road, so we followed the man who knows the way blindfolded to the Ruffy Produce Store.

Upon arrival, most of the crew who started at the alternative start at Bayswater had already arrived and our Europa was parked in between the red Esprit of Marcus Sezonov and the green M100 of Ian Simmons and Sonia Goubran. The wayward M100 of Peter Hill arrived shortly after, but where was John Harrison? He had stopped along the way, but still arrived in plenty of time for coffee and brunch.

The store/café was already entertaining a small number of non-Lotus club members who probably wondered what was going on but soon engaged with our group. We sat down to await our pre-arranged bacon and eggs brunch with hot drink. Talk on table 7 soon turned to the “the best instructions we have ever had” and a compliment was duly paid by Lee Suryn to the author Peter Murray. It was also good to finally meet our youngest EMR participant, Henry Simonis, who had been enjoying the ride in the back of his parents’ black Evora S.

Unfortunately, as we were leaving the café for the drive home, an observant non-member alerted us to the fact that Peter Hill had sustained a puncture to his offside rear tyre. He was duly advised of the situation, which thankfully was easily remedied by deployment of the on-board skinny spare.

Then to my grateful surprise, Peter McConnell graciously offered me my first drive in a Europa! Having started the car and psyched myself up for it, we headed home, with me at the helm, after a very enjoyable EMR. However, the 60km limit through extensive roadworks on the road to Yea put the kybosh on any hijinx on the highway.

Editors’ Postscript:
As Clive Wade had left his Elise in Wangaratta after Lotus 2017 he joined Peter Murray in the Elite. In days of yore Clive used to gently chide Jeanne Murray for her regular use of her Lotus hot water bottle to keep warm during winter runs. Jeanne decided to stir the possum with Clive by presenting him with said water bottle as he was about to get into the Elite.

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Presentation Dinner

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HSCCQ / Interclub Challenge Motorkhana

By Dick Reynolds, photos by Shane Murphy.

If there’s one thing about Motorkhanas, it’s that you need a good memory. No point being quick if you can’t remember where you are going. The tests for this event, which took place on 9th April, looked easy but were in fact rather tricky.

Particularly Happy Birthday and Dragonfly. As usual the HSCCQ guys, who do these all the time, sailed along pushing the cars hard as. The rest of us had to be a lot more circumspect.

Having said that, between Shane, Phil and myself we only had three WD’s (Wrong Directions). Theory was to get one in the bank, as in take the first run easy so as not to WD, then go like hell in the second. (We only get two runs for each, fastest time counted.) The problem being, if you WD, your time is the slowest run by the slowest competitor, plus 5 seconds. Basically, it puts you out of the running.

A look at the run times will show Shane had little regard for the “bank” theory. Very courageous!

The other issue we Clubman / Elise people suffer, is: no meaningful handbrake. This can be got around by going a circuitous route around the flags, keeping the speed up. Again, the times show we proved OK at this.

Easily the quickest car was the Datsun 1600 of Ken and Pauline Graham. They comfortably won the event, and were nothing short of thrilling to watch. Likewise, the “Specials” of Noel Caplet and Keith Butcher. “Specials” being cars built specifically for Motorkhanas – lightweight and unregistered with trick hand brakes and slicks. Given that we came fifth, twelfth and fourteenth in the event, Lotus / Caterham cars have proved their worth once again. Having done a few of these events, I can safely say it was one of the best, and had a lot of very happy drivers at the conclusion.

As for the ICC component, Lotus probably haven’t reached the top – by a long shot, but we are certainly in there with a chance. HSCCQ will clean up, and we hope to have kept the Porsche people at bay.

Thank you to the HSCCQ for another beautifully run event. Particularly Scott Longton, Clerk of Course, Keith Butcher, Chief Facilitator (or something) and Mary Caplet and her protégé on the timing. Not forgetting the guys who set up the track, of course.

It would be nice to get a few more Lotus entrants along next time. Have a look at the videos when you can, and they may just pique your interest.

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Binna Burra Social Run

Organised by Tony & Sandy Smith, story by Russell Carter, photos by our intrepid Gloria Wade.

After the weather of a couple of weeks, rain, winds and floods and the postponement of Tony & Sandy’s run from the 2nd to the 9th April, we finally got things up and running. The meeting place was at McDonalds in Beenleigh at the respectable time of 10.00am. Tony had run the course on several occasions to make sure the roads were clear, after rock slides, land slips and fallen trees had caused some problems and all was OK.

People started arriving early and, after fuelling up with Big Macs and coffee etc., it was time to get started, with the destination being at Binna Burra Lodge Restaurant for lunch. With approximately 30 persons attending, a variety of cars arrived. There was a good showing of Lotus with several Elise’s, an Elan, Evora and Carlton. Several every day cars made up the balance.

The drive was straight forward to Binna Burra with no mishaps. On arrival, we parked and made our way to the outdoor area of the restaurant for hot nibbles, coffee and tea and to take in the most fantastic views of Australiana. Lunch was later served and enjoyed by all.

Congratulations are to be given to Tony and Sandy for the organisation that went into this drive. They are new members and entered into the occasion with gusto. The information given to Members leading up to the day of the run was great, keeping us all in the loop as to what was happening because of the floods etc. On the day information packs were handed out to all with maps, directions, and info on the Lodge and the Scenic Rim etc. There was also a Lotus cap… and just to keep us occupied an ‘Observation Questionnaire’ with prizes of chocolate Easter eggs with “REAL GOLD” trophy cups for those who correctly answered the questions, or not…

Our thanks for a great day and well done.
Russ Carter

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CAMS Club Challenge – Mt Cotton

By Shane Murphy, Photos by Shane Murphy, Vyvyan Black and Dick Reynolds.

In late 2016 CAMS announced the Club Challenge Australia, with an event to be held in each state. For many a reason, not enough entries were received so the Queensland event was cancelled.

Fast forward to 2017 and the event was back on as a one day team Hillclimb, with entries open to all CAMS affiliated Sporting Car Clubs. Of course, LCQ is a sporty kind of group so Dick Reynolds put his hand up to be team captain, rounded up the troops and put a team of five together, appropriately tagged as Lotus 1.

• Dick Reynolds – 1988 Caterham Seven – Clubman Sports Cars up to 2000cc
• Vyyvan Black – 1968 Lotus Elan Plus 2 – Group S
• Jon Young – 1988 Caterham Seven – Clubman Sports Cars up to 2,000cc
• Zaid Latif – 2005 Lotus Exige S2 – Production Sports Cars, 1601 to 2000cc
• Shane Murphy – 1968 Lotus Seven – Clubman Sports Cars up to 2,000cc

Our team line up, if not a mixture of the Good, Bad and Ugly, then fast and less fast, but a formidable team no less. The scoring for the event was measuring the delta between the class record and the elapsed times of the day, with substantial prize money available for first second and third places.

We knew we were in trouble when Dick, Jon and I, competing in the Clubman Sports Cars up to 2000cc were in effect competing against the class record set by Brian Pettit (who is a gun) at 44.18, statistically it would be very hard to get close to that time, thus our delta would be very high. Zaid too was up against it and even with a very hot lap of 48.68 ended up at a delta of 106% against the record of 46.91.

Vyvyan on his first crack at “The Cotton” set a personal best of 58.41, but was pegged against an existing class record of 48.54, don’t forget to ask Vyvyan about his tow point!

As the day progressed we tumbled down the leaderboard, however as usual with Lotus guys and girls we continued to have a ball, Zaid and Dick trading best times all day; at times Dick looked to have lost the will to live, disappearing for consolation time; Shane and Vyvyan set personal bests and Jon was smoking all day, setting some fast times as well.

As we approached the last few runs, Dick, ever anxious to best Zaid, resorted to fiddling with his tyre pressures looking for that one thousandth of a second. In the round up Dick set a 48.52 and Zaid a 48.68, very close indeed.

Gayle and Jen worked the timesheets and videography all day, produced cups of tea and slice when required and were stoic in their support for their respective menfolk.

Annoyingly on Vyvyan’s last run of the day, he had a gearbox gremlin and was stranded on the short run to corner one. Luckily a trailer was available and the team rallied to get Vyvyan’s now motionless Elan over to Greg Bray’s workshop ready for Greg’s return from his UK holiday and to get things sorted out.

Congratulations to the HRCCQ Team, the Five Shades of Grey Team and the SX3Qld Team who ran First, Second and Third respectively, a well-deserved reward for a big day’s driving.

Next year, if CAMS run the event again, we should lobby to have the scoring methodology altered to measure the time deltas run on the day. Now in that format we may be closer to the pointy end, which is where we should be!

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Lakeside DTC March 2017

Round 1 LCQ DTC Series – Lakeside International Raceway

Story by Steve Lennox, photos by Dick Reynolds and Shane Murphy.

So, the first DTC for 2017 has been run and what a success. There were 50 entries of which 22 were Lotus (if we include Caterham). The new timing gear performed faultlessly and my stints in the timing tent confirmed how well this system functions, with a couple of button pushes to stage and start each run. The times are automatically recorded then loaded straight onto Lotus Club website as live results for all to see. A lot of the participants complimented Daryl regarding the live results on the website.

This is a great club event where you can use your Lotus as intended in a safe environment. The track is configured to have nine very challenging corners and a large ‘roundabout’. This configuration really highlights a car’s capability. Some say that “it is all about throttle, brakes, steering and a balanced approach.” NONSENSE! My best times were when I drove it like it was stolen, or borrowed in the case of Liam.

I personally learned a lot about how tyre pressures can affect performance, having received advice to lower and raise the pressures. I can now say that the higher tyre pressure made a huge difference to grip and handling.

Fastest time of the day went to Ken Graham after an all-day battle with Pauline in the Datsun. Dick Reynolds was the fastest Lotus on the day. Dick’s baldy tyres (slicks) are paying dividends; so much so that Ken and Liam attempted to turn their tyres bald as well, unfortunately going a bit too far and ending up running on canvas.

Some of the highlights from the day;

Daryl Wilson spinning off twice
Mal Kelson not spinning off
James Driscoll spinning very close to the water
Martin O’Brien losing his roof mid run
Adam Kingston dirtied up his very well presented Elise for the first time
Euan McGarry’s first DTC; the Excel being driven hard
Con Torrisi breaking the rear suspension control arm and very lucky that it didn’t cause a major incident
Keith Wade breaking the gearbox and calling the President (and brother) Clive to tow him home
George Row improving with each event, we are expecting sub 60 next event George
Family affair; Ken and Liam Philp, Jason and Euan McGarry, Con and Paul Torrisi, Mike and James Driscoll, Ken, Pauline and Jeffrey Graham

A big thanks to Giles Cooper for running the timing for most of the day. I do feel that next DTC we might see less of Giles in the timing tent and more of him competing as he is really anticipating getting his recently acquired Europa out on the DTC track.

I do enjoy this club event as it is well run with a great bunch of people and some of the best sledging I have come across in a non-competitive event. See you all for the next one in June.

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