Morgan Park Sprints Round 3

By Andrew Row.

Friday morning started with a drive up to Warwick in the rain, with the anticipation of it clearing in the afternoon for a crisp clear weekend of sprints. A few braved the damp track for Friday practice to bed and scrub things in, but most sat it out.

With 20 Lotus club members competing, and plenty of partners as well, the social evenings were quite the crowded affair. All still packed into Pit Stop Lodge for happy hour each afternoon. Friday night we all strolled down to the Stocky for a feed and a beer before being spoilt by Maree back at the lodge with ice creams for dessert. Maree pulled out all stops on Saturday night, preparing a full roast dinner for all. An amazing effort, thanks so much Maree.

Some good times were being set by many for the weekend with lots of PBs falling for the short track. Those trying the new A052s seemed quite impressed with their performance, perhaps even quicker than the Khumos. Plenty of competition between close rivals pairing off to outdo each other. Clive Wade keeping the edge over Joe Arico, John Flynn pipping Gideon Street – all with friendly banter to egg each other on. Good to see Evan Molloy enjoying his first Morgan Park Sprints, putting in some quick times in his S1 Exige.

The Lotus community is certainly one that lends a hand to all. Cris Johansen had a frightening ride after the brake pedal went to the floor at Gumtree. Spinning like a top through the mud and stopping inches from the tyre barrier. With Geoff having a spare brake hose to replace the offending item, a few hands had Cris was ready to for the next run.

For myself the Exige is getting a rest from track duties for a while whilst getting a new track car sorted. My partner Bridie Moran wanted to join the fun after watching for a few years, but didn’t want to be responsible for binning the Exige. So we bought a cheap project sportscar from Gumtree, and after a few months of hard yards its running, albeit with some gremlins to be sorted. Taking some getting my head around with a bike engine, sequential box, stops on a dime, and more corner speed than my brain is used to. Bridie got quite the baptism of fire with her first run around Morgan Park being on a damp track and ending with a sticky throttle. Fortunately she was grouped up with Mike Goodfellow who very graciously showed her the way all weekend, even how to overtake a few Sprites along the way. Never seen someone quite so excited when they got out at the end of their run. Think she may have inspired Kelly and Jenny to have a go as well, so hopefully a few more Lotus ladies out on track next season.

Weekend finished with 3 podium lockouts in the classes competed in by Lotus club members. Well done all. Can’t wait for the next round.