Lotus:08 Magazine Articles.

"MORGAN PARK CHRONICLES" - Queensland Super Sprint Series Round 2B 30 May – 01 June 2008 by Jason Patullo

The first round of the Super Sprint B series at Morgan Park was my first taste of the super sprint format and it was brilliant, the second round was even better.

Everyone was looking forward to Friday afternoon practice however there were some doubts in my mind about the weather, because in Brisbane it was miserable
and wet, but on arrival to Warwick, dry track and no rain. Fortunately it stayed like this the entire weekend of racing with the sun even poking its head through
the clouds on occasion.  We all put in a couple of runs before comparing our settings so we could get the most out of our lap.  A few clicks on the Nitrons and
some adjustment to the tyre pressure during practice made it a little easier on Saturday morning to go full tilt on the first run. 

Getting low on fuel during practice meant for one of us taking a trip to the local servo to fill up the jerry can and put a splash in the tank.  Now for the sake of the
story we will call this person JB.  JB left the track and pulled into the servo where he caught up with Clive Wade who was also filling up for the weekend. 
JB and Clive spoke for a few minutes, then JB jumped back in his car and took off for the track.  Ummm did you forget something JB? You need to pay for your
fuel before you leave the servo!  Lucky for JB, Clive paid for his fuel after he saw the service station attendant ready to ring the police and put out an APB on a yellow Elise.

Again this round another strong contingent of Lotus Club cars had entered the event.  A fair mix of S1’s and S2’s LCQ had a total of  11 cars competing in this round,
9 Elises  driven  by Geoff  Noble, Rob Stevens, John Bona, Jason Patullo, Garry Pitt, Giles Cooper, Clive Wade, John Flynn, John Barram, Greg Bray in his Europa and
one lonely Mx5 driven by Mick Cullum (soon to be a Lotus owner).  Absent for this round was Deon Attard who had an unfortunate mishap while competing in Targa
Tasmania last month and is up for a rather hefty repair bill to get the 240 Cup back on the track.  Good luck with everything Deon, glad to see you and your co-driver
are in better shape than your car, look forward to seeing you back on track at Warwick.  Also absent was Mike Goodfellow who was in the UK.

Round 2 Of the Super sprint B series was to be held on the 1200m short track configuration at Morgan Park raceway.  It is a very technical track suited to our cars,
because horse power, which most of us lack, is not the essential ingredient for a fast lap.  The first sprint on Saturday morning saw everybody post respectable times,
times that set individual benchmarks for the weekend.  Some of us were still trying to get the set up right for the track conditions, so there were many of us lying on
our back adjusting suspension settings and adjusting tyre pressures to make up for our own abilities.  Geoff Noble in his Honda Elise and Mick Cullum in his Nissan 200sx
powered Mx5 scrapped all weekend and on occasion Mick was within 2 seconds of Geoff but the Lotus won out in the end - all the more reason for you to get that Lotus, Mick. 

John Barram (Vice President) was having an excellent weekend and looking to post his fastest time on the last run of the weekend but our President had other ideas blocking
him while on the last lap.  After a high level meeting in the oval office the President and Vice President released a statement saying “it was a racing incident, we are still mates.”

John Bona and myself had some great scraps throughout the weekend with John winning out on all occasions except when he ran out of fuel - yes you have read it correctly
John ran out of fuel even after filling up the 20L jerry can the day before, and, oh did I mention he drove off from the servo without paying for it?  Despite one DNF John
finished third in class which was an excellent result, well done John.

Garry Pitt posted some very consistent lap times and he even surprised himself posting his best time on what was supposed to be the second last run of the day. 
I think that after some slick talking with the officials Garry was able to get the event cut short so his time stood as the second quickest in class for the weekend. 
Well done Garry excellent result.  Another brilliant first in class and out right winner for the weekend was our President Geoff Noble.  The combination of Geoff’s
driving ability and the Honda power plant makes for excellent sprinting and very entertaining viewing.

As the sprint series is held over Saturday and Sunday we all stay Saturday night and catch up at the local RSL for Dinner.  It was an excellent turnout for dinner
as many of the wives and kids came up from Brisbane for the weekend to watch their dad’s and husbands basically have a ball in their car.  My hat goes off to all
the wives and kids that made the trip especially my wife Melinda who is due to have our second child in 8 weeks and chased our son Oscar around the pits all weekend. 
Oscar thoroughly enjoyed waving to all the drivers as they lined up in the marshalling area and whenever given the chance wanted to sit in every car possible.

Back to dinner at the RSL.  JB who has become famous for not paying for his fuel on Friday (for the record he did reimburse Clive for the fuel) came to dinner with no
money as he left his wallet in his hotel room.  Fortunately for him one of his fellow club members came to his rescue again.  You would think that after the issue with
the fuel, both not paying for it and running out of it and dinner on Saturday night JB really did not want to give me anything else to write about in the article but……

After a great night at the RSL we were all up bright and early ready to hit the track.  Most of us checked out of the hotel nice and early so we could get a spot of breakfast
and a caffeine hit.  Well, JB checked out and yes, forgot to pay.

What a fantastic weekend of sprint racing, every one improved their times over the weekend and had an excellent time doing so.  The standout performance or should I
say performances should go to Garry Pitt who posted a brilliant time on Sunday and to JB who kept the weekend interesting off the track.  Many thanks to Giles and Janet
for making everyone feel welcome in their luxury home on wheels and also to John and Penny who always sets up an excellent LCQ temporary HQ for everyone to shelter
from the cold, and the get a nice hot beverage.    

Times

“Caning” it in the fields! – 25^th May 2008 - By Garry Pitt

A perfect winter’s morning greeted an enthusiastic bunch of Lotus owners for what has become an annual pilgrimage to the canefields south of Brisbane.
8.30am for a 9.00am start blew out to more like 9.30am as the various Lotus and their owners rolled in to BP Yatala. We had a strong showing with a
few Sevens (including Caterhams!), a couple of Elans, Wybe’s Elite, a smattering of Elise variants, as well as some other fine examples of the marque.

Russ Carter led the way in his Carlton and we were soon barreling down the back roads along his carefully surveyed route. Despite the directions Russ had
provided there were a few ‘navigation’ errors by those at the tail end - prior to leaving we had been told to be observant, but there was little time for that
with many twists and turns among the tall cane fields. Ripping along the narrow roads between the tall cane stalks is an great feeling, with no real need for
peripheral vision, you only need to focus straight down the road. With a mild case of tunnel vision it wouldn't be hard for the red mist to descend.
I couldn't help but think it would be an interesting stage to have in a tarmac rally (Although not for the spectator).

We drove into the Calypso Bay resort, it's a residential/golf resort sitting among the waterways just north of the Gold Coast and a very nice setting.
We visited Harrigan's Drift Inn to top up with coffee and we were basically turned away as "we are too busy”! We wont be returning there anytime soon!
However, the owner of the convenience store adjacent was more than happy to welcome us and soon had the coffee, tea and biscuits laid on! We will return!

After our refreshments we returned to our steeds ready for the next phase. Everybody started to leave, but where was Wybe? When he fired up the Elite a
loud rattle came from the top end so he shut it down and enlisted the diagnostic skills of Greg Bray. Various theories abounded, and it was decided that the
best thing to do was to trailer the car to Greg’s garage. You might remember Wybe's gorgeous Elite was featured on the font cover of last months magazine
after winning the "Shannon Choice" award at the Mcleans Bridge Classic, which just illustrates the highs and not quite so highs of Lotus Ownership.

The delay in proceedings was put to good use as Paul English from Lotus dealer Zupps, had brought an Exige S demonstrator. Patrick and Wade tested out
the launch and traction control in the carpark, purely as a technical exercise, right fellas? Much to the amusement of the resorts' "security" man who was
patrolling around looking for something to do on a Lazy Sunday morning.

With Wybe sorted, the group turned back on to the highway for a quick jaunt north to Russ & Leigh’s house for a barbecue. Their house is atop a hill on a
bit over eight acres with a hillclimb course for a driveway. Naturally, this was put to good use by some (all?) of the participants! Once the engines were turned
off, we adjourned to the deck for lunch and enjoyed the Carter’s hospitality. Russ provided us with a “shed tour” and showed off his toys before Derek & Wade
demolished the Triffle dessert! Our earlier powers of observation were put to the test with a written test provided, but with the highest score being 1 out of 5,
I think it’s safe to say we were having too much fun to take notice of the scenery!

After a great morning’s run and a fabulous lunch, I think we should pronounce this run a total success and hope for more like it!  Big thanks to the Carter’s for
making it happen!

*Footnote. Wybe’s Elite is now running as sweetly as ever. It seems that a nut and washer holding the aircleaner on to the manifold came loose and the engine
sucked the washer into the chamber. Greg Bray has completed the repairs and Wybe is now smiling again!

A Mother’s Day Present for an Elite! - MacLean's Bridge May 2008  (by Wybe Geertsma).

Winning the Shannon’s prize for the Best Sports Car with our (not mine, because all family members participated and suffered during the eight year restoration) Lotus
Elite Coventry Climax 1960 was a great feeling. Bear in mind that there were about 250 cars to choose from. It was a step higher than the 2001
“Most Desirable Post-war British Sports Car” prize, for our Lotus Elan DHC Series 3 1967.

The Elite’s chassis (it has no chassis) number is # 1449. It became the successor of # 1082, which was used as a demonstration car by the Lotus Factory.
This car with a Maximar body was destroyed in June 1960 in north Wales. Canadian journalist, Tom Davenport, died on impact when the car hit a bus head on,
while the driver, Ian McLeod, (Lotus Sales Manager) landed in hospital with severe injuries.

The Elite # 1449 has a Bristol body. Very few parts were used from # 1082. Maybe the gearbox but not the engine and definitely not the final drive as this
was reported lost beneath the waters of Llyn Peris. The throttle operated by arms and levers is a reminder of the destroyed car. All Bristol bodied series 2
cars have a throttle cable. Elite # 1449 has also been used as a demonstration car by Lotus. The UK Registration Book shows, after the accident, the change
of chassis number and colour: light green became moonstone grey. The original registration is in the name of Elite Cars, Delamare Road, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire,
and signed by Fred Bushell.

The restoration started in 1998 after the Elan had been finished. With two cars under restoration the Elite might have ended up with an Elan chassis and a
twin cam engine. But hasn’t that been done already by Mike Ostrov, living in the San Francisco Bay area, with one of his many Elite’s!

Mike Ostrov and Greg Paris are producing a regular Club Elite Newsletter. So far they have located 700 Elite’s. Not bad for a production of only # 1050
(between 1958 – 1963), and including Elite’s being sold through the back door.

One of the major problems that occurred after the restoration was fuel pump failure. The original AC mechanical fuel pump was replaced with a modern elec. pump.
The same type that performs so well in the Elan, but in the Elite it would not get enough fuel through to the second SU carby.  There followed :-replace pump;
pressurize fuel lines; pump below/on top of fuel tank; nothing would cure the problem. So back to the old mechanical fuel pump – (same as in the Hillman Imp,
which also has a Coventry Climax engine), and a new membrane, plus using parts from my Coventry Climax Fire Pumps, but the unreliability remained.

The last time I drove the Elite with this pump, the car came to a halt on the overpass of the Toowoomba bypass. Gary Saunderson rescued me with his trailer.
Thanks also to our mobiles. Back to the drawing board with another type of electric fuel pump. Tony Caldersmith sent me an email plus photo with how it is mounted
in his Elite. I copied it. Presto, good fuel pressure at all times. Perseverance that paid off.

The Transport Department would not allow me to use the Factory rego: 713 HJH because of an agreement with NSW. Some years ago a NSW Mitsubishi Sigma with
exactly this rego overtook me. Anyway the registration: OWG - 014 is fine. Yes it is Type 14, or 13 as Lotus skipped this number for obvious reasons.

Wybe L. Geertsma, (# 1449 ex # 1082)

Carving up Carnell Park Raceway - 17th and 18th May 2008 by Garry Saunderson

The track at Stanthorpe is about 1 km long and the main straight is a 200m drag strip. It cost $120 to enter and we got 6 x 4 lap races for that, good value,
at the Gatton sprints we paid $160 for 6 x 1 lap sprints.

First race on Saturday he only got one lap in and Allan came in with engine problems (loss of power and a loud noise). The rear extractor pipe came off the head
because the spring had lost its tension. So we shortened it and put the pipe back on, then there was all this avgas fuel dripping down onto the extractors from
the front 45mm Weber (could have been a real problem if the fuel ignited). We striped the Weber and found that the needle and seat was sticking open so we replaced it.
No more trouble with the engine for the rest of the weekend, it went like a rocket.

After the episode at the Gatton sprints with the rear spring leaves moving sideways and trying to punch a hole in the fuel tank I fitted some u bolt brackets onto the rear springs.
This was hopeless as it made the rear springs tighter and the car was over steering on all the corners so we took them off.

We reset the rear koni shockies and disconnected the sway bar and watts link on the back of the car to try it out. (refer photo, left to right is Allan Saunderson (driver),
Errol Stratford (adviser) and Peter Stavanovic (assistant spanner man). It went faster but was a bit untidy on some of the corners. We are going to try it for a while like
this just to see how it goes. We will take the sway bar and watts link bits with us next time we race and bolt them on if we need to.

He won his class pre 1972 Classic 1500cc to 2000cc. There were a couple of Fiats and a Datsun in his class. That’s it for now…

Saundo

HRCC No Frills Meeting on weekend of 3^rd and 4^th May 2008  (by Maggie Goodfellow, Photos by Colleen Conway).

The Historic Racing Car Club of Queensland holds two major race meetings a year, both now at the Morgan Park Raceway, Warwick.  Lotus Club Queensland is well
represented at most HRCC meetings and this was certainly the case at the weekend “No Frills” meeting of Saturday and Sunday 3/4 May (which luckily coincided with
the long weekend so most of us still had a free day on the Monday!)   “No Frills” really means 1) no awards, 2) no paying spectators; 3) No major advertising, however,
the competition is just as intense as the major “National” meet held in August.

This time around there were LCQ members competing in a number of categories:

1. Peter Boel, Lola Mk5A; Mike Goodfellow, Talisman; Alan Telfer (ex member), Lotus 20B together with Victorian entrant Kim Shearn, Lotus 18 in the Formula Junior racing.
2. Graham Vaughan, Lotus 11 replica in Group K,L and Invited cars racing
3. Brian Kuzman in father and LCQ member Tom Kuzman’s Mini in Historic Group N <2000cc
4. John Barram, Allan Conway and Doug Lucas (thanks to owner John Lungren) all in Lotus 7’s; Sean Conway, Elan; and Peter Vandemeer (ex member) in Porshe 914 all in Regularity Group 1

Missing participants who normally swell the LCQ ranks at these events were Peter and Anne Yeomans who for family reasons were not able to attend with their beautiful 11
and David Reid who despite car problems (therefore no Formula Junior car), came to cheer on the LCQ troops with Annie on the Sunday.

This is not just a race meeting, this is a real social event, and the LCQ organisation has now reached a certain degree of sophistication.  Dining and menus are arranged in
advanced by partners of said racers, resulting in a) no one having to do more than one meal per weekend and b) because everyone thinks that we might not quite have
enough to eat, inevitably heaps of food!

The 6m x 3m LCQ corporate Tent“ or “Lotus Hilton” as it has been named in the past is the focus point for socialising and, as a number of members now have similar car s
hade structures, the Lotus camp has turned into a veritable city of peaked structures all roped together to withstand the worst cyclone.  Together with car trailers used
as sleeping quarters by Boels and Conways, and camping stalwarts Barrams, Vaughans, younger Conways and Goodfellows, the prospect of an early to bed evening after
racing is not very likely.   The addition of the Conway’s wood fired brazier to warm the chill of the Warwick air and all is set for a fantastic weekend (not to mention the car racing).

Practice and racing on the Saturday set the tone for the weekend for Formula Junior (who were competing with Formula Vee’s in the same race) with Peter Boel and
Kim Shearn fighting it out for 3^rd or 4^th or 5^th – both really competitive.  Grahame Vaughan was consistently in 3^rd or 4^th place for the day in the Group K,L category and
both Doug Lucas (3^rd) John Barram (4^th) and Sean Conway (6^th) showed potential championship chances in the Regularity Group 1.

With the second half of the day’s action, Allan Conway achieved a 2^nd place in Run 1 of the Regularity Group 1 and Peter Vandemeer a first place in Run 2, with Doug Lucas
and Sean Conway also in the high placements. Unfortunately John Barram had to retire with engine problems after the first run. On the Sunday, Sean Conway blitzed the field
with a first in Run 3 and Doug Lucas did the same in Run 4 – so by the end of the weekend, Doug Lucas (in John Lungren’s beautiful 7) went away with a 2^nd place overall.

Graham Vaughan improved his placing to 2^nd in the first run on the Sunday, but had to retire hurt on the last run, but due to his consistency over the weekend ended up with
a 3^rd place in his category.

Brian Kuzman seemed to be having a ball over the weekend, hurtling around the track with the other minis and the odd Cortina.

The highlight of the weekend for the LCQ Formula Junior contingent was seeing Mike Goodfellow coming in first in the handicap race with Peter Boel furiously trying to overtake
him on the line, and visitor Kim Shearn coming in third!  Unfortunately, as soon as they had crossed the line there was an extremely nasty pile up of cars and Alan Telfer was lucky
to escape involvement and serious damage.  It was not funny to see beautiful early 60’s cars damaged but luckily no one was hurt and all drivers walked away from the scene.  
Peter Boel ended the weekend with 3^rd in the Formula Junior racing.

The No Frills meeting does not attract the high level of participants from interstate, but it is a great weekend, run with the usual professionalism of the HRCC. 
Morgan Park is a fantastic venue, with the full track 2klm being used for this event.   The Warwick Sporting Car Club is continually improving the facilities
(the best hot showers) – so come along to the main HRCC meeting on August 8^th, 9^th and 10^th and enjoy the racing.

Best race lap times for the weekend:
Kim Shearn              1:15:38

Peter Boel               1:15:61

Brian Kuzman           1:17:86

Mike Goodfellow       1:20:34

Graham Vaughan      1:21:31

Alan Telfer              1:24:85

Regularity fastest times (this does not mean the best!):

Doug Lucas/John L    1:19:17

John Barram             1:21:75

Sean Conway           1:23:18

Peter Vandemeer      1:27:48

Allan Conway           1:28:32

"On any Sunday" EMR – Sunday 13 April 2008.  (by Garry Pitt).

Just another lazy Sunday morning for most people, sleep in, late breakfast, slow and easy start to the “laziest” day of the week. 

Not so for the hardcore Lotus owner.  Sunday morning 6am is the best time to head for the hills! The time to be out, beating the slow drivers and
those fine Upstanding holders of the peace (and revenue collectors).
 

A fleet of cars charged out of Maccas at the Gap heading for the twisty stuff. Too many to count, around 14-15 I think, all Elises with the exception
of Chris’s Elan S2, which was gingerly driven up as it has already been committed to sale and awaiting pick up by the new owner.  Now you need
to be hardcore to get up for a 6am start, especially if you’ve driven up from the Gold Coast getting yourself our of bed at 4:somethingish just to drive
a car, Madness to some, really living to others!
 

Now these early morning blasts up the hill for the regulars keep the DT’s at bay between track days and sprint events, but this run saw a number of
newcomers joining in swelling the numbers. 
Even the elusive state hopping “LOONEY” was finally revealed.  Welcome to all the newbies, you all got away with not wearing your undies on the
outside for your first run (A mythical tradition).
 

As usual the run takes up through Mt Nebo, through Mt glorious and over the “back” of the hill, before turning around and retracing our steps
(read; tyre marks) back to Mt Glorious for a well earned breakfast. Where much car talk usually ensues!  For those not at our end of the table you
missed a number of entertaining stories from newbie Evan and his various run ins with the afore mentioned law.  I particularly enjoyed the
incident (the hash brown story) which led to one of his court appearances, something about doing 160 in a 60 zone, driving with his knees,
drinking a Coke with the other arm outstretch out the window “cooling down my Hash Brown” has us all in stitches.
 

fter a fine hot breakfast, the run down the mountain isn’t usually as free flowing as it is up, as the odd slow vehicle appears, and this was again the
case along with a number of bikers waving for us to slow down.  Suspecting the cops we dutifully slowed, but reason turned out to be a motor cyclist
who had failed to negotiate one of the corners and ended up in the scrub, we all hope he/she was OK.  Which goes to show that it is much harder to
cool your Hash Brown down while riding a bike.
 

MALBORINE DAY – 6^th April 2008 by Wade Greensill.

Wake up - 7.00am – definitely keeping the roof on (looks like it’s going to pour all day). 
“Hurry up kids – no need for breakfast, we’re going to Mal’s place”.  As per usual emergency rations are packed and we’re off. We arrived at
Mal’s secluded bush retreat or so it seemed after the barbeque had been fired up for some time and upon viewing the spread the emergency rations were discarded. 

Breakfast was great with sausages, hash browns, bacon, eggs (Mal’s own spin on keeping fried eggs in check) and all the accompanying juice, tea, coffee etc.
We had to have a tour of the shed before leaving which consists of an excellent two-level layout, Mal gaining access to the underneath of his near complete ‘Seven’
via a lift-out panel from the lower level. Time to leave.  And with that most clouds disappeared to reveal a perfect day calling for roofs off where possible. 

We had about 10 cars for our trip up the mountain including Europa S2, Seven, Carlton, New Europa S (welcome Chris), Esprit S4S, Volvo (Jacqui driving in her
usual average 22 litres per 100 klms style) and Holden ever present with Chris Beecham (the Seven was a little risky with the possible inclement weather) and
once again Derek  keeping us guessing in his V8 Commodore Ute.  Derek won’t make that mistake again.

Russ Carter had mapped out an excellent route from Mal’s to the Botanical Gardens at Tamborine, with many perfect Lotus roads along the way.  
Russ obviously put in a lot of time in selecting then driving the route and making directions, which always makes for a successful day. 
He also kept us guessing for our final destination, as we seemed to navigate every road in Mt. Tamborine at least once.

It was a ‘bring your own’ picnic lunch. As per usual Derek brought his own for everyone with chicken pasta salad which could have accompanied the fish and loaves. 
Mind you, caramel slice with ‘dolup’ cream was not bad either but only for those confident their arteries were clean to begin with.

A great place for a family picnic with many walking tracks, bridges over ponds and streams. 

Once again a brilliant social run forever to be known as ‘Malborine Day’.

My Lotus Experience.  (by Daryl Wilson).

My first Lotus was a Kyosho 1/18 Caterham Super 7 model that my eldest son Matthew bought for me more years ago than I care to remember – refer picture below.

  Being aware of my life long passion to own a Super 7; Matthew did his best to encourage me to take the leap and buy one.

  My quest to buy a Super 7 has been a long; some would say protracted or procrastinated exercise.
 

  My first involvement with Lotus Club Queensland was about 3 years ago when I rocked up to the monthly meeting at Chapman and
  Chapman Garage (alas no longer our meeting place) and was immediately made welcome and had a great time wandering around the
  club members Lotus of various types and the exotic machines Andrew Chapman and his crew were working on.
 

As a new member that night I was called on to introduce myself and asked what type of Lotus I owned. To which I answered I was a ”WANNABE”
I wanta get a Super 7, this brought murmurs of agreement from the 7 owners and enthusiasts present and a few not so enthusiastic comments from the other Lotus devotees.
 

Over the next couple of years there were a myriad of people offering advice on what I should and should not buy. The advice kept coming and one by one I considered Lotus Europa’s,
Excel’s, Esprit, Elan M100, Elan and Elan Plus 2 and in each case felt they did not fit the bill for me. Finally I got serious and test drove a Caterham Super 7 for a couple of hours and
was immediately hooked. Problem I am around 6 foot (in the old speak) and could not fit in the car, my knees were jammed up under the dash. I know there is not much room in a 7,
but this was ridiculous!
 

About this time I was lent a book called “The Magnificent 7” which details every Lotus and Caterham 7 build from 1957 until 2006.
I discover that around 1983 Caterham started building a car with a longer foot well and the car I had tested probably had the short foot well set up.
 

Having finally convinced myself the 7 was the car for me; I hit the internet and trawled all the car sale sites until I found a car in Sydney.
A couple of flights to Sydney to test drive the car and make sure I could fit in the car and the deal was done!

I am pleased to report after many years of delaying, making excuses and procrastinating, I finally bit the bullet and purchased a 1998 Caterham Super 7.
 

The car has a Rover K-Series 1600 motor with the Supersport conversion, 5 speed Ford Sierra gearbox and De Dion rear end, reportedly produces 140bhp
and 0 - 100kph in 5.9secs.

I am now having a lot of fun tinkering and tidying up the car and of course getting out for club runs and just driving it when the mood take me.

Time will tell whether the 7 is the car for me, but I am having fun, finally living my dream and really that’s what it is all about.
 

Long Live The SEVEN.

Queensland Super Sprint ‘B’ Series   Round 1 - Morgan Park 7th - 9^th March 2008.  (by John Flynn).

For the 2008 season the Queensland Lotus Club moved to the Queensland Super Sprint ‘B’ series to avoid clashes with many of the historic events.
With 140 cars registered for the series the big question was how many runs we would get for the weekend. The sprint format has changed this year
to allow 8 cars on the track for each run in an attempt to accommodate the additional entries. Previously we ran in groups of 6 on the track which
allowed drivers to start off in a staggered start, the new format required cars to go in pairs to avoid being caught on the grid by the first car.
This created a lot more excitement for the first few corners as drivers sorted out their position on the track.

We had a strong contingent of 11 lotus club cars enter the event, Mike Goodfellow’s Tallisman, Greg Bray’s Europa, eight Elise’s of Clive Wade, John Barram,
Giles Cooper back after missing last season, Rob Stevens, Garry Pitt, LCQ President Geoff Noble, John Flynn and two new competitors for this season Jason Patullo
and Deon Attard in beautifully presented Exige 240 Cup.

The official entry form noted that the track would not be open for practice on Friday afternoon as Choice Magazine had the track booked for the week to road test tyres.
After a few phone calls we convinced ourselves that the Choice testers would finish early on the Friday afternoon and we could sneak on to the track for a few
practice laps. Unfortunately we couldn’t, as a result we had two very disappointed drivers with brand new tyres who went off searching for a deserted industrial
estate to heat cycle their tyres.

Giles Cooper made a great arrival at the track on Friday afternoon with his Elise on a trailer behind his new Winnebago complete with fridge, microwave,
air conditioning, TV and stereo, no more roughing it in hotel rooms for Giles. The tradition of the team LCQ dining at the Warwick RSL on Friday nights may
be at an end after we all enjoyed a few beers and a BBQ in the comfort of the Giles’ mobile race headquarters. Might be a bit cold in winter!

Saturday was a beautiful morning and eight Elises were out in the first group out. Everyone enjoyed the drag race to the first corner.

Rob Stevens had new rear tyres on his Elise and was not one of the drivers who went for a spin around the industrial estate, on his second lap he had a big slide that he
almost corrected but unfortunately ended up sliding backwards across the grass and into a tyre wall. Rob was the third Elise driver in as many meetings to require duct
tap to hold his body work together. He was a little slower through that corner for the remainder of the weekend.  Rob managed to record the whole spin on his onboard
video camera, proving he did almost manage to save the slide.

Jason Patullo had been looking forward to his first sprint race at Morgan Park for months, unfortunately the weekend clashed with his grandmothers 80^th birthday,
he was determined to do both. Jason drove up early on the Friday for the practice session that was cancelled. He was out in group one on Saturday morning, he
then waited hoping to have his second run before he had to leave and drive back to Brisbane for the birthday party. Jason missed his second run but was back in
Warwick for dinner at the  RSL, you can’t question his commitment. On his first run on Sunday Jason was a little too keen to go faster and produced a spectacular
spin exiting turn two in view of all the spectators.

Clive Wade had invested in a set of Nitron suspension for his Elise to replace the 10 year old originals and was impressed with the handling improvements.
His comment was that he felt the car was much more controllable at the limits. Traditionally Clive would spin a couple of times each meeting but not this weekend,
he did manage to take a few seconds of his previous best time.

Garry Pitt was another who has made a few improvements to his Elise since last session and managed to reduce his best time by 5 seconds. The secret to Garry’s
improvement is that his car is now running all Geoff Noble’s old go fast engine bits he no longer needed since upgrading to the Honda engine. He also had slipped on
Nitron suspension and wider sticky tyres and new wheels.

John Barram who usually runs his Seven in the sprint series, has entered his S1 Elise for this year. His times improved by almost 10 seconds over the weekend
as he sorted the car out.

Deon Attard lives in Mackay in North Queensland and keeps his Exige in Brisbane and is planning to fly down for each round of the series. Apparently the roads
around Mackay are not much fun in the Exige. Deon managed his fastest run on his first session on the track. He spent the rest of the weekend coming to grips
with the track and the power of the supercharged Exige, he even managed a spin on the warm up lap. Deon was unable to find a hotel room in Warrick and was
luck enough to use Giles spare bed.

Greg Bray and John Flynn started their first run at the back of a group with six Alfas, by the finish they had managed to catch and pass 3 of the Alfas lots of fun
but slows your overall time.  On the first run on Sunday morning Greg and John were again catching an Alfa that managed to lose its sump plug and covered a quarter
of the track in oil. Greg hit the oil as he turned in to one of the faster corners on the track, his Europa was air born as he slid sideways over the concrete kerb and on
to the grass. Fortunately there was no serious damage.

Giles Cooper’s times steadily improved over the weekend, almost back to his fastest. Giles’ Elise is another car that has undergone extensive engine modifications
over the last 12 months so we can expect further improvements over the season. The big question is can he close the gap on Geoff?

LCQ’s new President Geoff Noble was as fast and clinical in his driving as ever. For the last run of the weekend Geoff started at the back of the grid with his video
camera on and managed to catch and pass 4 cars. On the video it was impressive how quickly the Honda-powered Elise could catch the Rover-powered cars.
Geoff managed some of his fastest individual lap times of the weekend during this session; he obviously enjoys having others to chase down!

The weigh bridge was open on the Sunday morning and every one stripped anything loose in an attempt to have the lightest car. The S1 Elises had a definite weight
advantage over the newer S2 cars but the Europa was still lighter as was the Tallisman. All of the non lotus competitors watching the weigh in were amazed how light
our cars were. Refer to the results for the actual weights.

Congratulation to Geoff Noble for first in class and first overall for the meeting, Clive Wade was second and Garry Pitt was third behind Geoff in the 1500 ~ 2000cc
sports cars. Deon Attard was third in sports cars over 3000cc and Greg Bray was first in the pre 1977 classic sports cars 1500~2000cc.

It was another great weekend of sprint racing, with great company and food. The new format worked well, however we only managed six runs over the weekend
due to numerous stoppages to clean oil off the track. Thanks must go to the Warrick Sporting Car Club for running the event, bring on round 2 in May.

LCQ Members Celebrate Formula Junior Anniversary  -  (NZ Jan/Feb 2008 & Aust Feb/Mar 2008).

(Written by Peter Boel,  Photos by Colleen Conway).

A number of Lotus Club Queensland members participated in the recent Formula Junior Tasman Series commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the formula.
Formula Junior features heavily in the early success of Lotus racing with the first Lotus rear engined open wheeler, the Lotus 18 in the hands of Alan Stacey,
making the type’s debut in a Formula Junior race at the 1959 Boxing Day Brands Hatch meeting. Later success in the Formula came in the form of
the Lotus 20, 22, and 27 with Lotus FJs dominating internationally and easily winning the British championships in 1960/61/62/63.

The 2008 Tasman Series included races in New Zealand at Pukekohe and Taupo followed in Australia by a meeting at Calder Raceway and the Phillip Island Historic meeting.
The FJ competitors from both sides of the Tasman were joined by seven from the UK and two from the US. LCQ members Alan Conway (Gemini Mk3A), David Reid (Cooper T59),
and Peter Boel (Lola MK 5A) made the trip for the New Zealand leg of the Series and Alan Telfer (Lotus 20B) joined them for the Australian races.

In all over 55 Formula Juniors competed in the series including 6 Lotus 18s, 2 Lotus 20s 2 Lotus 20/22s and 2 Lotus 22s. The race fields were divided into three groups
(front engined, drum braked rear engined, and disc braked rear engined) representing the changing technology in the formula from 1958 to its demise at the end of 1963.

Sadly a Lotus did not win the Series although Jonathan Williamson (Lotus 22) won several races and was always competitive at the front, and Roger Ealand (Lotus 18)
punched well above his weight in the older car taking several class wins and regularly pushing the pointy end of the field. The glory however went to Lola with Scot,
Clive Wilson winning his class in every race and the Series overall in his front engined Lola Mk2.

Of the LCQ participants David Reid was the standout performer with a race win at Calder Raceway and good performances at the pointy end of the races.
Yours truly dropped a valve in the first practice session at Pukekohe and spent most of the New Zealand leg playing engine builder (unsuccessfully!!)
After quickly putting a new engine together on return to Brisbane I kept out of trouble with only a few minor panics at the Australian events.
Alan Conway ran reliably in the middle of his Group until the end of both Taupo and PI events when engine gremlins put paid to his fun. Alan Telfer only
ran his lovely ex-Geoghegan Lotus in the PI meeting but looked to be enjoying himself judging by the grin on his face.

For me the standout memories of the Series is the sight of 40 odd open wheelers leaving the grid, the fierce but clean competition throughout the field,
the exceptional camaraderie of the group at all the meetings and the incredible hospitality of the Kiwis when we were in NZ. One of the silver linings to a broken
car in NZ was the ability to for once watch a FJ race. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen more competitive and enjoyable races. The competitiveness of the racing is
exemplified by the fact that in the twelve races there were five different outright and ten class winners. And in both New Zealand and Australia the Formula Junior
races were a ‘must see’ event for the crowd – they loved it.

The Tasman Series is just the inaugural part of a global series commemorating the 50 year anniversary of Formula Junior. The Series continues in Europe and
the US and finally next January to South Africa. A number of our group is already planning the trip to SA to be part of the Series climax.