Events

ICC Motorkhana – May 5, 2022

By Phil Hart.

The Inter Club Challenge on May 5 was a motorkhana held at Willowbank Raceway. A motorkhana is a timed event that involves navigating a set course of traffic cones in a particular order and direction all whilst staying in first gear. I studied the courses diligently on paper. I went to University. How hard can it be?

Well, I suppose you had to be there. Eight dizzying courses were set by the Holden Sporting Car Club. Two runs on each course were to be attempted with the best of the two runs to count towards the overall score. In the Lotus Club’s attempt to outscore Ferdinand Porsche’s mob this year, we had assembled a fine team (on paper). Dick Reynolds and Shane Murphy in their 7’s, Sam Murphy in his S2 Exige, Tony Galletly in his nimble MX5 as well as me in my Elise. I have to say that none of us would have excelled at university as we ALL made one “wrong direction” in at least one of the courses. Luckily, none of us made two errors back to back which would have ruined our day overall.

Now, I have done a motorkhana in the Elise on a previous occasion and found it to have a terrible turning circle as well as being a car that had horrible understeer….not the best vehicle choice for a motorkhana. My recipe for success this time was to remove the drop link from one side of the front sway bar. Brilliant idea!! Removing the front sway bar SHOULD (in theory) reduce understeer. The only problem with my brilliant idea is that it didn’t work. I must reluctantly admit that my brilliant ideas often end this way. I felt better however watching Sam understeer all day as well, in his S2 Exige.

At the end of the day, Dick and Shane shone in their brilliant little 7’s. Sam and I wallowed in understeer in our Exige/Elises. Now Tony in his MX5 is usually a front runner with a combination of a nimble car and a wealth of crafty experience in these events. I did not get to see his runs as he was separated from the rest of the Lotus lads and placed in the “fast” group. Looking at the end results however, he would have been at the pointy end of the field had he not had a bad run at just one of the eight courses.

Doesn’t matter really….the British beat the Germans in the end. Next time, if you want to join in the fun, come along, take a motion sickness pill, and get dizzy as well.

HSCCQ Khanacross – April 2022

LCQ @ HSCCQ Khanacross and Motorkhana

By Cris Johansen.

Until late last year, I’d no idea who the HSCCQ were or what a Khanacross was compared to a motorkhana, but when, after too long a gap in my participation in any motorsport events, I saw a link to the HSSCQ event at Willowbank, I thought I’d explore what was offered by both of these unknowns. The Holden Sporting Car Club of Queensland, whilst devoid of anything remotely related to General Motors, turned out to be a great bunch of guys and gals who ran an event worth doing again if you want a taste of entry level motorsport.

The khanacross event I entered last year was close to home, inexpensive and fun, so I decided to take my nice new Elise Cup 250 along to this particular event for what must be one of the most budget friendly motorsport events on the calendar.

Unless you have been before, finding the place is a bit of a challenge as the event is held in the most remote corner of the complex, nearby the end of the drag strip, and I think I discovered every gate and carpark in the complex before finding a diverse group of petrol heads – amongst them was none other than Dick Reynolds in his Caterham. Dick was as surprised to see an Elise there as I was to see another LCQ member, and we both set about enjoying a day in the sun with the occasional short burst of adrenalin.

The event has a longer ‘khanacross’ section plus a very compact motorkhana section and, once underway, the 35 or so entrants had as much time to test their skills and car as they could possibly want on a Sunday.
The machinery varied from the nice, shiny and new (my Elise) to the downright dangerous and unreliable motorkhana ‘special’ who’s wheels literally fell off on one run and had to be manhandled onto an equally dilapidated trailer.

My own efforts we limited to having fun and embarrassing myself trying to remember some of the motorkhana courses with names such as try angles, jellyfish, etc. It was the first time I had the challenge of driving around a variety of courses denoted by 6 ‘cones’ and was impressed by just how quick Dick can steer his Caterham around such a tight course.

By early afternoon, when Dick and I had worn ourselves out and decided that we’d not be going any faster by continuing. Dick had managed to clean up in the motorkhana with a well-deserved 1st place, and was only beaten into 2nd place by a 300hp Honda Civic for the Khanacross.

Do come along next time and share the fun.

Super Sprints B Series 2022

Morgan Park Super Sprints B Series 2022

By Mal Gray (MPSS Novice)

Maybe I should have taken more notice of the signs, but what the heck, how can a little bit of rain affect us at Warwick (on the other side of the Great Dividing Range)?

Matt whipping up some spray. Pic by Trapnell Creations

Trish and I had decided to make a long, long weekend of our first venture to Morgan Park for the QLD Super Sprints Series, so we set off early on Thursday and attempted to take the scenic route from the Sunshine Coast, via Kilcoy. Well… there was the first sign! The road was cut by flooding at Peachester, not very far from home. No probs, we’ll skirt that and head down the highway to Caboolture. There was a little rain along the way, but nothing significant. We even enjoyed a leisurely amble through the Lockyer Valley. The forecast still wasn’t too bad.

Being as keen as a bean, I arrived early at the track on Friday morning, was first to sign on and second car to be scrutineered. The rest of the crew (all experienced Morgan Parkers) casually wandered in and prepared for the afternoon practice session.

Garry chasing Clive. Pic by Trapnell Creations

Gideon Street, with eyes as big as saucers, was puffing on the vapor thing, like there was no tomorrow, after his rather exciting, rally-driving journey, in his brand new V6 Exige. In the pits, there were tales of rising flood waters between Brisbane and Warwick as the extreme weather situation was unfolding in Gympie. At this stage, the showers in Warwick were only light and patchy. The track was still pretty wet and slippery by my standards. My well-worn semi-slicks were not looking like the most appropriate choice of rubber. As a newbie, I decided that I would sit out practice, (especially after seeing seasoned campaigner, Barry Mather have a couple of intimate encounters of the wrong rubber kind). I was hoping for a bit of relief from the rain on Saturday.

Day 1

Wrong! During the night, the rain had set in and a few Lotus had left for home, before the morning briefing on Saturday. Everything was otherwise full steam ahead, so I slowly accepted that my first Morgan Park experience was going to be a supervised large-scale skid-pan session. I was more than a little apprehensive and quite unsure whether my windscreen would fog up in the rain. I have HARDLY EVER driven my Lotus in the rain, let alone at speed on a track!

Session 1:
Our dwindling “not the fastest Lotus” group was eventually called to the marshalling area. I was determined to line up at the rear of the grid, to minimise my interaction with the rest of the group. It was raining. Windscreen wipers were at full speed. Lucky I had wiped some Rainex on the glass, so that at least I could see what I didn’t want to hit!

I managed to complete the warm-up lap without incident. I almost completed the first lap of four, but accidentally followed Des Hill into the pits prematurely and scored a DNF. Oh well…, I’ll chalk that up to inexperience. Damn, there is a lot to think about when you are new to this competition aquaplaning!

Mal’s wet introduction to Morgan Park. Pic by Trapnell creations

There were still a couple of other sessions to come. The quick Lotus Group was battling it out at great speed with seemingly very little fuss. Geoff Noble was leading the way as usual.

Session 2:
By now, only the hard-core (and one newbie) were still in the game, so we were merged into the one group. Again, I opted for the rear of the grid, after the warm-up lap. On the first lap at turn 2, I had an excursion onto the grass. Thankfully, with no one behind me, I was able to double declutch into reverse, while I was still rolling backwards, to execute a perfect three-point turn back onto the black stuff and continue on my way.

A couple of laps later, a silver flash appeared in my rear vision mirror. Geoff, followed by Matt, flashed past in a cloud of spray and disappeared into the distance.

Session 3:
Still raining. All Lotus got around OK. It was a real challenge to find drier parts to drive on. There were quite a few streams of water across the track. Clive Wade managed to avoid a rampaging, self-destructing BMW M3, who attempted an inside pass, at a very wet corner. By the time I arrived at the scene under yellow flag, there were bits of front and rear aerodynamics sitting in the middle of the track, adding to the excitement. I did four laps for a change and gave myself a pat on the back.

Day 2

Session 4
Still raining more. Those who left early probably knew what they were missing. I had another spin, only just reaching the grass and able to recover. I improved my session time by 40 secs, so “Look out Geoff, I’m coming thru!”

Session 5
There was a break in proceedings whilst a driver’s meeting was held. The question was asked whether drivers wished to continue. Without any sign of a mass protest, laps resumed. My butterflies were trying frantically to escape.

By this time, Geoff and Matt were producing session times around 6:30. David, Clive and Garry were hovering around 7:00. I was back with the guard’s van at around 7:30 but having the time of my life. I also had my fastest lap for the weekend at 1:50.

Session 6
More of the same, but I finished a lap early again and scored a duck for the session.

Overall it was a terrific weekend, despite the weather. Due to road closures, we delayed our return by a day. Even then, we had to skirt well to the south of Brisbane, to avoid flooded roads in the western suburbs.

I can’t wait to return and hopefully run around in the dry. Maybe I need a pit crew with lap board!
Good luck with the repairs Baz.

Who said that towing cars backwards on trailers was a good idea?

Overall results can be found at:
2022 Qld Super Sprint Series B R1, Aus Timing, Australia – Official Event Results, MYLAPS Speedhive

Targa High Country 2022

Targa High Country – Tour February 2022

By Cris Johansen.

Having participated in my third TARGA now I can make a number of recommendations, the first is that everyone with a Lotus needs to enter at least one of these to experience driving in our cars on roads they were made for, at speeds that are only limited by the driver’s skill. The second recommendation is not to try and have repairs done on a Honda gearbox beforehand without lots of time to spare!

I’d initially entered the event in my S1 to take part in the TSD class, one that relies on the driver and navigator’s ability to consistently maintain the nominated time for each stage, however, a crack in the gearbox housing of my K20 Honda resulted in a search over all East Coast states for a replacement and ended up with Geoff Noble coming to the rescue with the necessary parts in his garage only 5km from my place. Another big thanks to Geoff!

By the time I managed to provide the parts it was clear that I was not going to get my S1 to Victoria in time, so I called Lotus Australia to enquire as to if I could have my long-awaited Cup 250 Final Edition delivered to Melbourne in lieu of Brisbane. Lotus Melbourne came to my aid and so I then had to call Targa HQ and ask them if I could make a late change from TSD to the Tour. Thanks to assistance on all fronts I flew to Melbourne and collected my new toy on the Thursday morning, picked up my brother/navigator Leigh, and took the Cup 250 on its maiden voyage through the Yarra Valley and up to Mansfield for documentation and scrutineering with the Lotus Australia / SSC team, who had taken over the bus depot for the afternoon.

Once the SSC team had finished, the car was fitted with the Rally Safe and covered with decals making it clear to everyone that the car is, in fact, a Lotus and that it is a participant in the THC.

The actual event started on Friday from the ski village at Mt Buller and, 21 competitive stages and ~1,000km later, finished with a sprint up the mountain once again. The Tour managed by SSC was divided into 3 categories, with Lotus drivers who wanted to drive as close to the 120kmh limit as possible at all times in one group, Lotus drivers who were content to simply enjoy the roads in a second and a mix of other marques in the third.

The roads are simply made for a Lotus, or as Mark O’Connor suggested, the Lotus is made for such roads. Regardless of which is correct, most of the participants had a great few days that they will remember for a long time. This event was my brother’s first entrée into motorsport and after holding his breath for most of the first stage down the mountain he decided that our cars could deal with the roads in ways that he had not previously thought possible and settled into enjoying the weekend.

In addition to the driving, the Tour provides a wonderful opportunity to meet others both inside and beyond the Lotus community as we shared 4 nights accommodation at the ski village and ate most meals together. We had the privilege of meeting quite a few new folk from across the county and the social side of the event is as much an enjoyable part of the great event as is the driving.

There were a couple of unfortunate incidents involving the Lotus group, the most entertaining being that the ‘fast’ group leader, Mark O’Connor, demonstrated the limit to his driving ability in front of the Mansfield onlookers by putting the Exige up on a kerb and being the butt of many comments for the rest of the event.

In summary, a fun event, well organised, in a part of the country that was a privilege to visit, great weather, great friends, loads of memories and great roads to wear out your Lotus on. My new Cup 250 is now run in!

Targa High Country 2022 and a record number of Lotus cars.

By Tony Seymour.

The weather really seems to set things up for Targa High country 2022. With a 2 day trip from Brissie towing the car in a borrowed Great Wall we arrived to stunning weather in Mansfield.

And just in case anyone’s thinking about it, don’t do it. In the Great Wall most things didn’t work, including the cruise control, the lane control and the dash functions like how many k’s you had left in the tank. Nonetheless we soldiered on and come to think of it cruise control wasn’t really needed cause flat out we could only do 115.

Back to the event, and Simply Sports Cars arrived on Wednesday along with 25 odd tour cars and another 11 competition cars. SSC were also running a General Tour and had around 100 people at the nightly dinners. With 15 SSC crew on hand the boys did a fantastic job of looking after us and at the same time exposed
the non-Lotus drivers to the Lotus lifestyle.

Friday Day 1 race day and wow, perfect weather! Made a change from the rain last year and the snow the year before that’s for sure. So with heart in mouth down the mountain we went, and a little tip for first timers. When doing a recce don’t look over the side. It’s a long way down and hitting a tree is probably your best option.

We then headed through Mansfield for another 6 stages before the final run up Mt Buller at days end. Day 1 was pretty good, the roads were reasonably smooth and fun to drive. All eyes were on the speed limited GT Sports Trophy class with 18 competitors and 7 Lotus.

At days end mere seconds separated the field with Lotus filling 7 of the top 8 positions, with a pesky WRX STI spoiling things otherwise. In GT Outright the 4 competitors were in positions 4/5/9/ and 14. A pretty good showing really as you’re up against some pretty expensive machinery and a lot of experience.

Day 2 brought the bumpy roads and save for the GT Sports Trophy guys the rest went backwards including one of the tour cars which actually did go backwards down the mountain. Fortunately those trees I mentioned did come into play and both were ok.

The day then culminated in the Mansfield Town Stage a favourite for Lotus and across all classes we filled 8 of the top 20 places.

Day 3 and with half the rally still to go it was on in GT Sports. Again the roads really suited Lotus and by days end the natural and proper order of things was restored. Lotus filled the first 7 positions! Surely a record at any Targa Event.

So here are the 7 competitors and the 7 placings. Congrats to Matt and Tim on their win and a special well done to Laura and Gavin on their first event in the Lotus.

Position	Team	Vehicle
1st	Gibbens/Jurd	Exige 410
2nd	Sher/Murphy	Exige S
3rd	Bryden/Noble	Exige 410
4th	Duursma/Wodhams	Exige 430
5th	Rogers/Rodgers	Exige 410
6th	Taylor/Taylor	Exige 350
7th	Trude/Morrison	Exige 410

In Gt Outright Vanderpoel/Hilton had tyre trouble on Day 2 and another mechanical on Day 3 ultimately putting them out and allowing ourselves and the Cuthberts to tie in 5th place. And another special well done to the Ringuet’s on their first time in the open class. It is a little daunting and easing into it is the only way to go. Believe me I found out the hard way.

Position	Team	Vehicle
1st	Morton/Nicoli	GT2RS
2nd	Kennard/Glenney	GTR
3rd	Quinn/Catford	GTR
4th	Newman/Kudra	GT3RS
5th	Seymour/Seymour	Exige S
6th	Cuthbert/Cuthbert	Exige S
13th	Ringuet/Ringuet	Exige 350

So in summary a fantastic event well supported by SSC and a very enthusiastic tour class. And my advice remains the same. Just do it.

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DTC at Lakeside – February 2022

By Dick Reynolds.

The latest round of DTC was held on Sunday, and what a great event it proved to be.

An almost full complement of places with everything from a Porsche Panamera to a Mazda 2, plus all the usual suspects of course. The track still has all the tyre bundles, which we just managed to avoid, and there were a few puddles which likewise, managed to avoid.

Gideon arrived with the new green rocket and we ran the short track first.

Straight away the times were in the mid 40s, with Byron Maxwell “quick as” as usual. Mal Gray, Phil Hart, Michael Blessas and Jason McGarry stand out fasties. The Clubmans having a close fought field day, with a bit more parity about!

The Porsche fraternity much in evidence with some lovely cars.

As expected the Lotus crowd provided the most top runners, with Graham Sorensen (Cooper Special) and Jeffrey Graham (MX5) providing a bit of variety. The first Porsche in, the GT3 of James Slatter. Then a few Clubmans, the Panamera, MR2, Scirocco, I30N and all. Results below.

A quick bite to eat and it’s on with the long track.

The usual suspects lurk about the front runners, but a few higher powered cars do a tad better due to more straights on this track.

Paul Stokell wisely suggested we reverse the roundabout for the afternoon. A great idea which resulted in some outrageously fun fast stuff.

Gideon definitely got his straps on with the longer track, but sadly suffered a complete reversing light failure mid event. Seemed to recover enough to humiliate our author by the end.

Byron once again triumphed, but interestingly was hounded by Jason in the Exige. Michael, Mal and Graham also went well, but must mention that renowned golfer, Phil Hart, who performed exceptionally with a still unsorted suspension upgrade to deal with.

Day completed, with no incidents to speak of, plenty of quick driving and a lot of friendly banter as usual. Nice to have a few people drop in on us, Gideon’s mum and friend, George Row, sans a car and Daryl Wilson, our erstwhile treasurer. Some others also, who I missed, but thanks for dropping in.

And yes, broke the car again! Ignition wires fell off the back of the ignition switch! Go figure! Thank you Phil and Jon for your assistance.

As always, thank you Gideon, Paul and Jonno Reynolds from Lakeside for your help. Wouldn’t happen without their efforts. Also, a special mention of Oscar Stokell, who helped all day.

See you at the next one.

Results

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LCQ 2021 Christmas Dinner

By Clive Wade.

First off, and this is the acid test for the avid reader; is this just a copy of my 2020 Christmas Dinner diatribe? Or, have I, after having succumbed to the magazine editor’s threats for a second year, merely succumbed to plagiarism? I guess you will have to read both.

It is interesting the Club has, a number of times, favoured tried and true venues. During my period of presidential immunity my committee found LCQ partying at the Toowong Bowls Club (3 years). Then we moved to Royal Qld Yacht Squadron (2 years I think). And now, under the stewardship of President Steve’s committee, this is the third time at the Greek Club. And I must say, full accolades to the current committee for finding, thank you Mary-Anne (Mrs Steve), what has to be the perfect venue.

The fixed menu was never ending, varied, and delicious. The vegetarians well catered for, albeit forced to keep their somewhat abnormal habits restricted to one table. 🙂 I am not aware of any ill reports in regard to their menu, so I can only conclude they too enjoyed an equally varied menu as the commoner’s menu. 🙂

Putting the food and venue aside, the real success of the evening could be measured by the chatter level. Judging by Gloria’s and my experience the chatter was never ending. From the moment we, as early arrivals, arrived at the door it started. I think it took 20 minutes to get inside, at least another 20 to get a drink as distractions continually kept me “almost at the bar”, rather than “at the bar”, and so the night continued similarly until we departed with one of the last groups standing… quite late.

Judging by the noise level, our experience was merely a reflection of everybody elses. The end of the dining didn’t discourage either, the whole room was awash with meandering folk drawn into chatter which, again in my experience, wasn’t planned for, it just happened. Three times I attempted to cross the room to join some of the “Morgan Parkers”. I never got there. And this is the success of both the evening and LCQ; everyone gets along with each other. For me it has been that way ever since joining in April 2003. It has to be the reason the club just keeps growing… I think at the last meeting the total membership stood at 270ish members. LCQ is doing something right.

And so, a great big thank you to the organisers. An exceptionally enjoyable evening.

A Merry Christmas to everybody, and may your next year be Covid free, care free, happy and healthy.

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Noosa Hillclimb Summer 2021

By Dick Reynolds.

The second Noosa Hillclimb for 2021 started with scrutineering on Friday 26th November at the track, just out of Tewantin on the old Gyndier Road.

Jason McGarry, a major sponsor of the event with Eureka Landscapes kindly set up a great area for the LCQ people.
With little of the usual scrutineering or entry hassles, due to the new Racers process, most were happy to present at the Meet and Greet at The Boiling Pot Brewery, Noosaville. It was a bit noisy for Phil and Gail Hart, who decamped to a quieter venue, but the rest of us settled in for some tasty “din dins”, a few drinks and re-runs of old Noosa Hillclimb videos.

Race day presented with some clear weather, surprising given the forecast, and a rather clean, grippy track. Likewise the runs started on time, after a lengthy Drivers Briefing, and the times began to tumble. A few teething problems with the very clever transponder system meant I, of all people, had no times for the first two runs, obviously not an issue as times are not important to me. This all sorted very quickly by the Noosa Beach Classic Car Club crew meant the games had begun.

LCQ were represented by:

Shane Murphy, Lotus 7
Jason McGarry, Caterham 7
Jon Young, Caterham 7
Dick Reynolds, Caterham 7
Phil Hart, Porsche GT3
Darryl Copithorne, Lotus Elise
David Yule, Lotus Elise

With Pat Richards offering moral support.

Along with the above crew, the usual gaggle of competitors were there to hound us:

Robin Manning, Mini
Ryan Campbell, Westfield
Randall Spice, Westfield
Stuart Baird, Loocost
Tim Atkinson, Caterham
Michael Atkinson, Audi R8
Randall Spice, Westfield

You may observe there be a lot of Clubman cars, in fact, never seen so many. Made for some terrific racing. Surprisingly there were few incidents, and only a couple of technical issues. You will just have to come to the next LCQ meeting to get all the real nitty gritty.

Results (Fastest time) for us
Jason McGarry	61.28	13th outright
Dick Reynolds	61.76	15th
Phil Hart	62.39	20th
Shane Murphy	65.55	40th
David Yule	66.09	49th
John Young	66.26	50th
Darryl Copithorne	69.80	77th

Thank you to Noosa Beach Classic Car Club and Racers for the event. And thank you all the competitors for another great hillclimb. Also, a special mention to Jen Murphy, Gail Hart, Robyn and Pat Richards, Curtis McGarry and Max for their moral and dietary support during the event.

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Two Lookouts Tour

By Alex Molocznyk.

Following the brutal Queensland winter and the Covid lockdown incarcerations, the first run of Spring was eagerly anticipated. Peter and Leanne Drane with the advantage of local knowledge put together a great route through the back roads of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.

The September spring morning start at Landsborough was overcast with a threat of rain that fortunately did not eventuate. Some of the early arrivers had a reasonably priced, generously sized breakfast and coffee at The Steaming Cup while waiting for the start. With the formalities of the briefing every person attending received a surprise goodie bag filled for the trip with sweets, munchies and a large tube of Soodox Vytal Hand Sanitiser.

A good turn up of twelve cars were split into two groups and a short distance after the start a navigational incident had Greg and Chris’s Elan heading along a wrong road and separating from the their group. By the time they realised their situation they decided to go directly to the morning tea stop. Unfortunately they missed some of the best roads and panoramas of the day. The roads around Mount Mellum and Bald Knob were stages of the Suncoast Rally a number of years ago and were still just as enjoyable at legal road speeds.

Overcast skies dulled the otherwise spectacular Sunshine Coast views all the way to the first regroup stop at the first lookout that was a photo shoot at Howells Knob Lookout. The route continued along Lotus friendly roads descending to Mooloolah Valley for a morning tea stop at Cafe Mooloolah where reasonably priced enormously sized morning teas were enjoyed in the spring sunshine.

Three cars left the run for the second half of the drive to the second lookout and then lunch so the two groups combined into one. The route went to Mooloolah Valley then along the highway to Noosaville (the land of a thousand roundabouts) and onto a regroup at Point Arkwright Lookout for a view of the magnificent seascape extending from the north to the south of the Sunshine Coast. The sea was windblown and choppy with not much happening, but as we were leaving a sea eagle swooped in and hovered over us showing off a sizeable bream that it had caught.

Then it was a short motorway trip to the finish for lunch in Palmview at the quirky Banana Bender Pub. The Queensland themed pub reserved parking at the front and a separate balcony room for the Lotus Club. It has an extensive menu based on locally sourced ingredients and the generously sized meals went down well with everybody.

Those returning to Brisbane encountered a tediously slow end-of-holiday weekend traffic crawl. However it did not detract from the enjoyment of the rest of the day. Peter and Leanne put together a successful run that should have been named the two lookouts gourmet tour.

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Qld Super Sprints Round 4

Morgan Park Queensland Super Sprint Series Round 4

By Joe Arico.

For the final time in 2021 the Super Sprint gang descended on Warwick for what was another great weekend. Always as much fun off the track as it is on, it was an absolute blast with a truly great bunch of people. Very much my happy place! My entry for 2022 is well and truly in!

We had a few no shows this round for various reasons, but most of the usual suspects were there. Not surprisingly Lotus did very well, with Elises and Exiges dominating the podium.

Big congratulations to George Row for achieving a points tally that put him in 3rd overall for the year – consistency pays off!

The award for sheer tenacity goes to Andrew Row and Bride Moran. I lost count of the number of issues they ran into with their Dominator race car over the weekend, but they never gave up and kept the car going.

Bride is now known as speedy. She was so pleased with her PB in run 5, but then proceeded to better it by some 4 seconds on her last run! Well done Bride. And well done Andrew for showing some genuine ingenuity to keep the car going. I’m not sure I could have done the same.

There was only minor drama over the weekend – a Subaru decided to destroy its turbo on Sunday morning and dumped oil over the back of the circuit on the racing line. It was the run before all the Lotus went out so thanks for that Mr. WRX. We all came through unscathed though so that’s the main thing.

Garry had what we thought was a CV joint issue but to his delight it ended up being a loose wheel spacer which was easily fixed.

On a personal note I had a trouble free weekend and managed a PB, so very happy with that.

Results

Position	Name	Fastest Time	Total Time
Sports Cars 3001cc and over:
1	Geoff Noble	1:16.829	5:11.750
2	Matt Plowman	1:22.209	5:32.491
3	Tony Seymour	1:24.277	5:41.178
Sports Cars 1601 – 2000cc
Position	Name	Fastest Time	Total Time
1	Garry Pitt	1:22.735	5:35.778
2	Barry Mather	1:25.159	5:44.588
3	Joe Arico	1:27.200	5:53.724
Super Modified 0 – 2000cc
Position	Name	Fastest Time	Total Time
1	Andrew Row	1:30.629	6:09.945
2	Bride Moran	1:36.559	6:33.615
Overall Outright Position (out of 85 cars)
Position	Name	Fastest Time	Total Time
1	Geoff Noble	1:16.829	5:11.750
4	Matt Plowman	1:22.209	5:32.491
5	Garry Pitt	1:22.735	5:35.778
6	Tony Seymour	1:24.277	5:41.178
9	Barry Mather	1:25.159	5:44.588
10	Martin O’Brien	1:25.081	5:46.204
11	Darryl Ringuet	1:25.979	5:49.863
13	Joe Arico	1:27.200	5:53.724
19	Cris Johansen	1:28.730	6:02.855
22	Des Hill	1:29.338	6:05.145
28	Andrew Row	1:30.629	6:09.945
39	George Row	1:34.485	6:26.888
46	Bride Moran	1:36.559	6:33.615
56	Mike Goodfellow	1:40.678	6:47.937

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All British Day 2021

By Daryl Wilson. Photos by Craig Wilson and Cris Johansen.

All British Day Brisbane this year was on Sunday 19 September and it was a beautiful Sunny Spring Queensland day. As there were few Queensland Covid-19 restrictions there was the usual large turnout of all makes and models of British cars and a large crowd enjoying the cars and the beautiful sunny weather.

We had a good turnout of 32 Lotus and Caterham cars/models and it was very pleasing to see many newer members displaying their cars. We also had several ex-members who brought their cars along to display and it was good to catch up and renew old acquaintances.

All British Day is traditionally also the LCQ Concourse, so special thanks to our judges, Glen Battersill, Greg Bray and Alex Molocznyk for a job well done. The judge’s task was not made easy as all the cars were extremely well presented and it would have been very difficult to decide the winners in each category.

Congratulations to the all the LCQ Concourse winners; especially Overall Winner Greg Bray for his beautiful 1967 Lotus Elan, which is a much used and much loved car that Greg brought with him from the UK when Greg and Chris migrated in August 1996.

LCQ Concourse Winners by Category

LCQ Category	Owner	Vehicle
1950 – 1962	Tony Galletly	1963 Lotus Eleven
1963 – 1974	Craig Wilson	1964 Lotus Elan
1975 – 1995	Russ Carter	1991 Lotus Carlton
1996 – 2011	Mark Wolton	2006 Lotus Elise
2011 – To Date	Mike Knowles	2010 Lotus Evora
Lotus/Caterham 7	Peter McEwan	1994 Caterham Super 7
Overall Winner	Greg Bray	1967 Lotus Elan

As well as the LCQ Concourse winners we also had two (2) LCQ members who won their classes in the All British Day Winners Circle on the day.

All British Day Winners Circle

Category	Owner	Vehicle
Best Classic Vehicle Post 1980	Russell Carter	1991 Lotus Carlton
Best Sports Car	George Row	1956 Lotus Eleven

It was particularly pleasing to see Leigh and Russell Carter win the ABD Best Classic Vehicle award for their often under-appreciated 1991 Lotus Carlton. This car had awesome performance for its time and was the blueprint for every über-sedan built ever since.

George Row’s Lotus Eleven has been meticulously restored and a credit to George and anyone who helped him with the restoration work.

Our cars attracted a lot of interest over the day and thank you to everyone who took the time to prepare their cars and display them on the day; you did yourselves and the Club proud!

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GT Outright Targa Great Barrier Reef

By Tony and Sandra Seymour

In the GTO class we returned to the event with one objective in mind and that was to FINISH.

We were both a little surprised to find our shady parking spot on the Palmerstone stage wasn’t there anymore, and in fact Targa had made this a restricted time zone (as if we weren’t going to go slow there anyway).

Day 1 and as per last year we were in 3rd place with dry conditions and smooth stages suiting the Lotus. By way of example we finished 3rd down Gillies range five seconds behind the Nissan GTR which topped out at 236kmh and I don’t think we reached 180kmh.

On a side note I do feel I need to mention that a Lotus won the first stage by a whopping 1 min 30 sec with Cris Johansen in TSD taking the honours. Very funny at the time with the first stage being a practice stage and penalties applied for going under 3min 30 sec. Cris took the maximum penalty but what the hell he said “still got my name out front and Lotus atop the timesheets!”

Things improved for Cris and John on Day 2 and 3 and were it not for Day 1 they would’ve finished on the podium. Day 2 in GTO saw us go backwards quickly finishing the day in 7th place. After a good first stage on Kuranda Range we moved to the tablelands and with rain and very bumpy roads we were never going to do well.

Day 3 was more of the same and although we pushed a little harder with more rain and bumpy roads you really can’t compete with the 4WD cars in those conditions. We did however manage to sneak into 4th outright and were also the first 2WD car home so that’s a win I reckon.

But more importantly we arrived home with all equipment and attachments in one piece and had a fantastic time with the other Lotus crews and Chris and the gang from Automotion and can’t wait for next year.

Outright Results
1. Anear/Sarandis Subaru STI
2. Quinn/Foster Nissan GTR
3. Van Der Brug/Rankine Subaru STI
4. Seymour/Seymour Lotus Exige

By Jason McGarry

Welcome to tropical Far North Queensland, after leaving Brisbane and making fun of the Seymour’s and their punctured tyre on the Tourag, Euan and I suffered the same fate just south of Rockhampton with a batten screw going through our tyre as well, there is some tale about throwing rocks in glass houses!

The remainder of the journey from Rocky to Cairns was extremely slow with roadworks and rain and bloody more rain as we got closer to Cairns.

With all the pre-event compliance completed and a couple recce runs done it was time for Euan and I to chill out and work out how we were going to share roles. We both agreed that given that we had 2 stages of going up Gillies Range this would be a good test on who was the better navigator! Given Euan ended 40secs quicker than me I must be a better navigator.

We had entered GT Sports Trophy class and there was only 12 entries due to lockdowns in NSW and Victoria, the selection of cars were the new Toyota Yaris’s and Supra, GT3 Porsche, Nissan 350Z, EVO, Mini, Megane, Jaguar, Focus and our course our 350s Exige. From the outset any AWD was going to have a distinct advantage over the rest of the group given the muddy, wet and rainy conditions.

We ended up being 7th on Day 1, 6th on Day 2 and we finished 6th at the end of the rally which we were both extremely happy and proud given the wet conditions. Euan drove the wheels off the Exige in the wet and was the reason we finished in 6th as I spent most of the time hanging on to my lunch box! I had never really experienced motion sickness before and when it is being caused by your son racing your car in the wet it is 100 times worse!

We had no mechanical issues during the event and Chris and Callum from Automation looked after us extremely well providing the comfort in knowing we had back up if we needed it! (Callum that engine warning light has come back on in the Ram!)

Euan and I now looking forward to getting organised for Tassie in 2022 and I am finding motion sickness tablets! BTW navigating is 100 times harder than steering! Big thank you to the Seymours for looking after Euan and I. (GT Sports 1st Supra, 2nd 350Z and 3rd Megane).

By Cris Johansen

It’s now 20 years since I became a Lotus owner and over that period I’ve made good use of my Series 1 Elise with it being used as a daily driver, wedding car, sprint participant and touring car.

Whilst I did participate in a TARGA Tour event in our Evora a few years back last month’s TARGA GBR was the first time I’ve had the privilege of competing in a real tarmac rally – and I loved it!

Initially my brother was entered as navigator but, given he is in Melbourne and because he’s not an NRL player, he was unable to make it to Cairns, so a late change was necessary. John, a long time friend and resident in Cairns agreed to take his life into his hands and take up the challenge of a first time TSD navigator.

By Drew Dundas

Armed with our experience gained from Targa GBR 2020, yours truly, my navigator (Mick) and the Elise, embarked on our TARGA GBR 2021 campaign.

New rubber, new digital speedo and a revised race strategy, saw us line up for scrutineering along with the other 14 TSD drivers. It pays to be thorough when preparing for these events as the scrutineering process leaves no compliance issue unturned. We received our ‘Ready to Race’ sticker and had only had one more sleep until race day.

TARGA regards the TGBR event as a team occasion and our 2021 campaign would not have been as much fun or possible without the rest of the team. Our team included the service crew and local sponsors.

Our service crew included sprint car drivers from Walsh Racing, Michael and Brian, who skipped their driving duties for the weekend, to refuel and service the Lotus each day and ensure our daily progress was posted for all to see. The crew met us for our daily early morning and pre-race team meeting at our local sponsor, Cruze coffee (cruzecoffee.com.au), who ensured we were fuelled up with the best caffeine for the day ahead. Excitement was evident with all of the crew anticipating days driving ahead and event in general.

Time Speed Distance (TSD)

The TSD category has a posted average speed to be achieved over a set distance. Penalty points are awarded to a competitor if they drive the stage either too quickly or slowly. Just like golf, lowest score wins.

Day One:

Day one saw our new race strategy backfire spectacularly with a 136 point penalty for the first stage of Green Hill.

We were running 13th and needed to rethink things. The conversation on the transport stage to the Gillies Range went something like this.

Navigator to Driver: “When I say ‘Slow Up’, that means less accelerator and more brake.”

Driver to Navigator: “Oh – Roger that.”

The Gillies was a wet stage and saw the Lotus soak up the 200 plus bends and come in a face-saving 6th for the stage. We really needed to do better than this though before the end of the day. Malanda saw us with only two penalty points and equal 3rd for the stage. Little Mulgrave 5th and equal 3rd for Lake Morris. If we continued this trend we might very well manage to work our way up the rankings.

Day Two:

Day two saw the team assemble for more coffee and team strategy which included some really bad dad jokes from the service crew before heading up the Kuranda range. This is a fast flowing stage which saw the Lotus avoid some oil on the road and arrive at the end of the stage in 4th.

The TSD category is small enough that a sense of camaraderie and friendship forms amongst the crews to the extent where help is offered when needed and the welfare of crew are checked on. It was with concern we pulled up behind a well know Lotus driver form the SE corner of the state and pointed out to him that his tail lights were no longer in horizontal alignment and we were a little concerned that if they continued dropping any further, they may be mistaken for mudflap reflectors. This was met with an appropriate response and I’m pleased to say that the driver, navigator and car continued the day and completed TARGA. It was noted, Cairns suffered a shortage of tape after the repairs had been made on Saturday. Well done fellas.

The wet stages continued throughout the Saturday and saw some cautious use of the throttle on most stages with a timber bridge on one corner catching a few out on the day.

Day Three:

Day three saw the Gillies range being run for the 3rd time this weekend and a couple of new stages as well. The course had us in Innisfail for lunch and the local community came out in droves to support the event and look at the cars. The proposed stage around Innisfail was instead run as a cavalcade and what a spectacular route. I’m sure most drivers are salivating at the thought of an Innisfail street stage in 2022.

The presentation and staging of cars were held in downtown Cairns and saw all cars parked at Fogarty Park where it seemed most of Cairns came out to have one last look.

We managed to crawl our way from 13th up to 6th over the course of the weekend. The weekend from our perspective was a success. Thanks again to Mick for his good nav work (notwithstanding the driver’s interpretation of ‘slow down’), the service crew and sponsors for being there throughout the event.

Looking forward to TARGA GBR 2022.

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Leyburn Sprints 2021

By Jason McGarry. Photos by Trapnell Creations.

Leyburn Sprints would have to be up there as one of favourite events of the year, it is great to go out into the rural areas and provide entertainment and some well needed money into the community. Last year was cancelled due to Covid and this year had to be pushed back because of the lockdown. Numbers were down because of the border closures, but they still managed to have 162 competitors which resulted in 9 runs over the weekend which was great as a driver.

The Caterham R300 was in Supersports Cars Logbooked class and unfortunately I was the only entrant, so yes I came 1st and last in my class, but I did manage to take another .3secs off my previous best and finished 12th outright. With 7 open wheelers in front of me I was extremely pleased with the result. Next year it would be great to get more of the club down there and compete as it is a great event and offers a different experience.

One of the great pleasures is being able to give people access to the car especially the kids (older kids struggle to get in) and allowing them to have a sit behind the steering wheel, play with the buttons and see their eyes light up with joy, especially in these crazy times. We all have a role to play in trying to encourage younger people into our sport, there is nothing better in being beaten by your kids in your car!

1st Warwick Hutchinson in a OMS
2nd Brett Bull in a Van Dieman
3rd Steven Woodbridge in a Dallara