Morgan Park Sprints R4
Story and photos by Angus Mackie.
With the 2022 B Series super sprints drawing to a close, the time is due for some words from an observer. All though my attendance to the QLD Super sprints has been limited, I’ve got plenty of great comments to make about the sights, sounds and best bits from the series.
I live and breathe motorsport. For as long as I can remember I have attended NSW Super sprints with the Lotus Club (so far just to watch), but very few of the events I’ve gone to have been more than a one-day event. These are great if the focus is only upon the cars. This is the major reason why I enjoyed the B Series sprints so much, the fact that they run for a whole weekend, there is the driving through the day, and the car club meetups afterwards. There is the car half and the community half.
Talking about the car half, as the series progressed and the weather granted the opportunity, it was easy to see the insane performance of the lotus cars. The nimble and darty Lotus made “light” work of the challenge, excuse the pun. It was also easy to see the performance of the drivers, either PB’s would be broken, new bravery found, or perhaps an overestimation of the cars. Luckily to no accident that couldn’t be fixed with a little race tape.
The Rover and Toyota Elise’s looked like a hoot to drive, regardless of how aggressive or smooth they were being driven. Proving that N/a power is enough to have a lot of fun.
The Elise’s and Exige’s with non-standard motors, Hondas mostly, and a Ford Duratec Elise also showed their pace. No surprises that once again Geoff Noble in the supercharged Honda Elise was ahead. A testament to the strength of those Hondas, Geoff’s engine has been through 3 cars, 15 years, and 300+ horsepower and hasn’t complained.
The newer Lotus with their supercharged V6’s also proving that lotus never lost their Mojo when the V6 change was made, and wow do they sound amazing!
Another special mention is due for Andrew and Bride with their CBR1000 powered Monster, or as some have termed “The Phoenix.” The car had risen from the ashes, with an incredibly fast and meticulous rebuild. On top of this, I don’t believe to have seen a single tool touch that car. All weekend it screamed around the track without issue, both drivers getting faster and faster.
On to the community half, whether getting delivered food or going out for an evening, there was fun to be had. The environment was friendly and the bunch of us all seem to enjoy the time greatly, I know I certainly did. Occasional stabs at driving skill in conversation remained motivation for bravery at the track, or just for the comedic value. Regardless of the purpose the result was always positive.
Furthermore, prominent at the track is the interest each person has in other cars, admiration for modification or the lack thereof. After each run there is conversation about each car, how it felt, areas they are fast or could be faster, and occasionally methods of sabotage for the fastest.
I can’t wait for my turn to get on track and show them how it’s done. Thank you to all who made the event possible, and congratulations to all the lotus members and the many members outside of the club on a successful and enjoyable series. See you all and hopefully some new addition next year.
