Lotus Club Queensland
Dedicated to the promotion and enhancement of the Lotus experience
Login
Register
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Membership
    • Member Login
  • Events
    • Calendar
  • Motorsport
    • Lakeside DTC Timed Laps
    • LAKESIDE DTC RESULTS
  • Magazine
  • For Sale
    • Merchandise
    • Classifieds
  • Posts
  • Galleries
  • Directory
    • Suppliers & Parts
    • Advertisers
  • Archives
bseries-banner

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?

Check out the fog
Thank god youre here
Waiting for go
Downforce One
A pretty pair
A bit of banter
Rob Stevens
Old girl among the young'uns
The pointy end
720kg
Joes car up close
Aussie Elises decal
Raw
Immaculate 69 GT Falcon
GT-Cortina-Mk2
GT-Cortina-Mk2 in dock
Highly tuned Mini
Beep Beep
Boy talk
Calling all cars

[Show slideshow]
1 2 ... 4 ►
More Duratec Madness HSCCQ Khanacross – May 2017

Related Posts

mp-banner

Events, Gallery 2022, Homepage, Racing

Morgan Park Sprints R4

gold-rush-banner

Events, Gallery 2022, Homepage, Racing

Gold Rush Hill Sprint – 2022

leyburn-banner

Events, Gallery 2022, Homepage, Racing

Leyburn 2022

Random images

IBT6_Lunch_at_Heritage_Winery concours-2 13-Nosey-Lotuses Steve-Lennoxs-Europa-1 Peter-Seears-1959-Lotus-7-S1-3 Jenny-Murphy IMG_9141 MG_6503 btiu-08 MG_9493 Shane with new front suspension 113_1366_IMG 118_1809_IMG IMG_8790 121_2144_IMG 121_2140_IMG IMG_7089 IMG_6778 IMG_6683 IMG_0435-Group-9.3-Winno-pedalling-his-S1-5 20220220_093649 Criss-Elise-at-lunch-in-Innisfail unnamed-6 IMG_3386 Yungaburra-2 ICC-Crowd-Scene Cam-Anderson-by-SDPICS Cass-Waibel-and-Andrew-Bode-with-Clive-Wade dashboard Telltale Berenice Stratton 1991 Mazda MX5 - 2 So-thats-how-its-done elan-mkII IMG_0097 Cooling-Off Sevens col-strolls-past-the-monaro-gts Quiet-reflections-on-the-lake Cane_field_run_2 IMG_6349 IMG_8125 MG_4687 0094 IMG_5118 122_2241_IMG Mar-main-86 image_218 Peter-and-Mike- Greg-and-John-deep-in-discussion 2006_08_27_Gympie_Skid_Pan0069 Morning_Tea_line_up P1060103 Cradle_Mountain_Tasmania IMG_0008 Mighty Bambino and friends P6220129 IMG_4901 image_159 IMG_7756 IMG_7754 IMG_4204 IMG_3720 15a DSC_1551 IMG_1300 095_95 Fazer_Nash_John_Lungren_s_7_7 P5250022 Scrutineering IMG_3316 P1050559 P1050430 Lotus Crew Meeting-at-Eaton-Hill-gw Jason-by-Clint-Janson 2000-Start-Line IMG_20210925_095727_1 Heading for Mt Alford 1_gw Planning the Course Heading for Mt Alford 4_gw Lindsays-Exige IMGP8221-the completed restoration IMG_8196 vyvs-plus2 P1020977 Shane and Dick IMG_0856 main-14 The Group Garry undulating flying-roo Steve-Lennox-Europa-S-1 scott-evora-2 the menu Shanes-Seven-2 Friendly rivalry BEST EDITED SHOT - LADIES group-shot main-116 Chris and Patty

Recent Articles

  • Morgan Park Sprints R4
  • Kev’s Big Day Out
  • Duratec Elise – better late than never
  • Gold Rush Hill Sprint – 2022
  • Marburg Pub Run – 4 Sept 2022
  • Unique +2 Road Trip to Brisbane
  • Leyburn 2022
  • August 2022 DTC

Latest Gallery Images

20220220_093834 20220220_093818 20220220_093827 20220220_093743 20220220_093812 20220220_093730

Search articles by category

Archived articles

Lotus Club Queensland
© Lotus Club Queensland   |   Site by Black Eye Studios