Events

Lunch at the Heart of Europe, Ormiston

By Anne Blackwood.

Queensland winters, to this newcomer, take a bit of getting used to when my old digs were experiencing highs of 14 degrees. But, you know what? Somehow I’ve easily come to love them … and the summers which I find much more liveable too.

A short stop at Sirromet Winery in Mt. Cotton for the gathering of the clan in perfect weather. This was my first visit to Sirromet Winery and what a fab destination it is too. Definitely one to return with my family and the Gang of Three (son James’ and his wife Bec’s three kids.)

I really enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with friends old and new and glow a bit in the Lotus aura. (I know that sounds wanky but we Lotus-ites really do enjoy a special place in the world.)

After a short morning tea we headed off to Ormiston and “Heart of Europe” (predominantly) German cafe/restaurant. I really like the idea of supporting smaller suburban eateries for club runs as it is easy to head to the big and brassy. The service was a bit underwhelming but then again to have 30 odd people arrive simultaneously would be fairly daunting. Perhaps pre-ordering in future may be a solution. Their schnitties – which are visible from space – were devoured enthusiastically. I opted for the delicious Cabbage Rolls mit Sauerkraut.

Now for my news. No, I’m not pregnant. HELL, NO! But, after leaving Bellingen the other day at the end – for me – of GT21 and seeing that gorgeous line-up of Lotus got the imagination fired up. Time for another Lotus. Yes, folks I was number 25, in Brisbane, of a list of people to pay a token deposit to be placed on the list for an Emira. I am going for Hethel Yellow, black top, black leather, black wheels, red callipers, auto, V6. I loved my V6 auto Evora and feel this will be a good fit for me and me for it. I’m sure the AMG Benz (unleaded 98) motor is a screamer but I am hesitant about the quality of Australian fuels to keep it happy. I have had two European diesels and they both had major engine failure.

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2021 Gold Rush Hill Sprint, Toyota Celica GT4 and Classic Lotus

By Ian Loxton.

A few paragraphs from a country based (Bungundarra, via Yeppoon) Lotus Club Queensland member on recent activities.

I have been very enthused to compete in the Gold Rush Hill Sprint conducted near Mt Morgan, Central Queensland each July since 2018 i.e. apart from 2020 when it was cancelled. I was successful in gaining a 2021 entry. For 2021, the hillclimb course had been extended to 3 km in length making it the longest ‘hillclimb’ event climb in Queensland. As an occasional hillclimb competitor at Mt Stuart, Townsville and Noosa, the Gold Rush Hill Sprint had attracted my interest. In addition, at 3 km long the course had some similarities to short Targa Rally Special stages. I was a former Targa Australia Rally entrant earning 3 finisher medallions (2 from Targa High Country and 1 from Targa Great Barrier Reef) and one DNF from the 2019 Targa Great Barrier Reef following a catastrophic turbocharger failure in the GT4.

+2 arrives in Bungundarra following its recovery in 2015

As Jason McGarry stated in his very interesting September LCQ article about the 2021 Gold Rush Hill Sprint there were 3 club members from SE Queensland competing, while I was competing in my Toyota Celica GT4 tarmac rally car. The course was excellent, very smooth tarmac pavement and reminiscent of parts of some Targa Rally Special Stages. The first kilometre was very fast, even with the two round hay bale chicanes. I enthuse about long hillclimbs including Targa stages which have included such famous climbs as the Mt Buller stage in Targa High Country, the Gilles, and Kuranda Ranges in Targa Great Barrier Reef. If I was to name a favourite ‘climb’ it is the 18km long Mt Buller stage in Targa High Country. I am looking forward to entering the 2022 Gold Rush Hill Sprint and support Jason’s comment to encourage other club members to compete.

You might be wondering why someone with a Toyota Celica GT4 tarmac rally car is writing a note in the Lotus Club Queensland magazine. Well, I also own a 1969 Lotus Elan +2 undergoing a slow (very slow I should emphasise) full restoration. I purchased the car in 2015 (it had been parked up since 1982 under a house in Brisbane) and have been slowly working on the project particularly over the last 3 years or so; with the excellent advice of several classic Lotus owners and club members guiding me over the phone and by email including many photos. I gratefully acknowledge the support of these club members who have assisted me with modification drawings, guidance on parts suppliers and specialist fibreglass advice.

+2 body restoration progress in August 2021

The chassis/subframe has been restored, most mechanicals fully overhauled and rebuilt, but the body is taking the most effort. I have been working on the body for most of 2021 and still haven’t completed the full paint removal task. Completion of the paint removal is on the horizon for the end of 2021, then the fibreglass repairs commence. Unfortunately, there are many body repairs required – because of previous owners’ ‘driving’ styles and the reworking of prior repairs (e.g. layup repairs over paint, road grime etc). I have included some photos of the +2 and club members with classic Lotus will be only too familiar with such restoration images and I am sure would quote, ‘been there, done that’.

Gold Rush Hill Sprint

By Jason McGarry.

Gold Rush Hill Sprint is one of the longest in Australia. It is situated on the eastern side of Mt Morgan in Central Qld about 30mins west of Rockhampton.

The public road is 3km long with 26 corners and 160m rise in elevation making it a truly unique stretch of bitumen. There were 170 entrants with over 500 people staying in the region and spending many thousands of dollars which is very welcomed, in fact we were able to get the local Newsagent/Coffee Shop to open early each morning to provide the necessary caffeine to get the day started. (Shout out to Wattle Bee Newsxpress) I am pretty sure there were only 3 Lotus Club Qld members running, Peter Quinn in his Elise, Euan McGarry in Caterham R300 and yours truly in Exige 350. There was another Lotus Evora driven by Grant Pratt in the event as well.

Although timing was causing was the normal problems first up, which reduced the number of runs achieved on the first day, the organisers really turned it around on Sunday so we ended with the planned 6 runs. Peter and myself were putting together some conservative solid runs on the first day and Euan was in in the same space as us. But Sunday morning Euan found his right foot (he hadn’t driven the Caterham for over 9 months) and achieved some great pace with him taking multiple seconds off each run, as a dad it was great see. After watching some of the video footage he is such a smooth driver compared to his dad.

In the end the 3 of us completed the weekend with no injuries except for my ego, Euan finished 4th in his class with a 1m 54.525s (21 entries, 23rd outright), Peter finished 5th in his class 2m 6.852s (19 enteries 63rd outright) and I finished 5th in class 2m 1.933s (25 enteries 104 outright).

The overall winner was Dylan Cothill in a Nissan R35 GTR with 1m 45.523s. This is a great event and I strongly encourage entering.

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Rd 4 Mount Cotton 2021

By Jon Young.

The entry numbers for the 4th round of the hillclimb season at Mount Cotton were somewhat subdued with 56 drivers appearing on the timing record. Of the usual LCQ suspects that normally get to this venue, numbers were much depleted, but Jason and I managed to run, even if we could only manage the Sunday.

What a great day though, plenty of sun, but a chilly breeze, which meant I had to take refuge in Jason’s well appointed trailer. Even better was that the consequence of the reduced field meant we managed to get seven runs in a relatively short day.

The runs came round very quickly and the track was great, as evidenced by the performance of the open wheelers. I recall that for a long time any sub 40 second run was applauded as if three wise men had trotted into the paddock.

Not now though. At this event, the slowest of the four Formula Libre drivers recorded a 37.57. The quickest (Dean Amos) put in a very impressive 36.17. It should be well noted that the record for this class, and I think for the hill, is 36.16, and that is by the same driver only last April.

Back to our reality… Jason put in a very tidy time of 46.08, rising above Ainsley Fitzgerald in an Arrow Clubman by a healthy 0.69 seconds. For some bizarre reason, I was also running in this class, hopelessly under-powered compared to the other two rocket ships, and undoubtably outclassed in driving skills. Which is why I won’t mention my sedentary meandering through the countryside other than to confirm I did not undertake any agricultural activity.

I’m not sure how we achieved it, but we (our class) were running very consistent times, which prompted the quote of the day from Jason’s son/pit crew “You two should have been doing regularity”.

It’s always good at Mount Cotton – great track, wonderfully maintained by MGCC, and of course run very smoothly, even when the occasional car ends up in the nuts.

Shame we didn’t have a better showing from the Club. It would have been good to get the practice in for the next hillclimb there, which is the next event in the Interclub Challenge.

Practice or not, come 4 September, we need to get a few more drivers to boost our ICC points, so make a point of entering, or failing that getting to Mt Cotton with your support.

Gold Coast Day Run

By Des Hill.

Another great Lotus drive on the weekend organized by Colin McKay, with a nice leisurely start from the Bearded Dragon Hotel in Tamborine Village at 8:30am.

Not a bad turnout, ten or so cars, a few joined us along the way. Starting with a run up the north side of Tamborine we had a few cars held up behind some slower traffic but Colin grouped us all together before the drop down to Guanaba. Mystery road was a nice steep road straight down, a good test for some of the cars to see if the brakes still worked.

A few twists and turns later and we were in Maudsland heading on our way to Binna Burra for morning tea where a few near misses of some very slow cyclists meant we all made it through Beechmont without any new bonnet mascots.

Once everyone had their fill of cakes and coffee it was then onto the lunch destination near Mudgeeraba. Dropping back down the mountain we could pop around the corner to the lunch spot or take the long winding road back up over Springbrook. Well when you have a Lotus you always take the winding roads, so once we got around the back of Hinze Dam it was time for the ascent up the back of Springbrook.

We managed to get a nice BMW to lead us back down the mountain. Even though it was only a 3 Series it looked more like a mini bus or oversized SUV in front of Colin’s Elan.

Polly’s Country Kitchen, what a great picturesque destination for a delicious lunch. What a great way to spend a Sunday morning, Drive, eat, drive, eat, followed by another drive home. Well done Colin.

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DTC August 2021

By Andrew Row.

The August DTC is the LCQ round of the Inter Club Challenge, so a good mix of cars and clubs in attendance. Perfect winters day, blue sky, the slightest breeze and 25 degrees. And a good turnout of 37 cars making for a good competition without too much time between runs.

Personally didn’t get off to the best start. Something to do with the well known five P’s. New clutch for the bike engined race car. Of course at the last minute and only tested the night before, as all seemed well and house renovations were taking precedence. Turns out the new clutch required more lift to release than the previous. The mornings runs were mostly lost to some spanner time. The resident wise guys offering plenty of useful advice. “Be much more comfortable doing that in the garage at home”. “I see you do your car renovating at the track”. Let’s say my spirits lifted a lot with a fun afternoon on the long track. Bike engine cars are fully in the Lotus spirit, light, fast, and lots of trouble.

Big thanks to Gideon for running a well organised event. Sadly spending the day on the timing desk as his Exige has been traded on a newer, faster toy. He was quick before, so going to do well in the new 420.

Nice to have a visit from Daryl, Mal and Steve. Although not driving, providing the moral support to the rest of us. Making sure LCQ put on a good show against the other clubs at our home event.

Evan Molloy set the times to chase as usual on both the short and long track. Might have even been a lap record on the long track. The Graham’s were ever competitive, with Ken taking the honours on both circuits this round. The Datsun is great to watch being peddled hard so hard. Mal Gray certainly got the coconuts award through turn 1, proving Rover power is plenty if you just don’t brake.

Haven’t added up the ICC points, but plenty of LCQ members at the top of the table, so should have done quite nicely.

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The Grand Tour 2021

After months of preparation on the little old red car we were on another exciting Ken and Margie adventure of fantastic scenery, Lotus driving roads, great restaurants and the obligatory patisserie or country bakery. We had it all in this GT21 which promised to be the biggest yet with 4 days and a bigger group of friends and cars. Covid19 was not going to stop us.

As we drove through the Nimboida Valley and Dorigo Areas, we remarked how many unlucky Australians will never experience what we have this weekend. We have such amazing rural areas and some brilliant back roads like the Waterfall Way from Bellingen through Ebor and on to Armidale. This is one of the most amazing Lotus roads to just sit back and enjoy the Lotus dynamics and the scenery.

It is also great to see that most of the old architecture of these old towns is being preserved as many towns become trendy hubs again like Bellingen.

We finished the run, on Monday morning with a very icy -3 deg C in Armidale which tested a few Odyssey batteries but thanks to a local tradie with his jumper pack, we were on our way for a quick run to the border with Q passes in hand to beat the pending lockdown.

The accommodation was spot on, the food and menu pre-ordering went well and the organisation by Ken, Margie, Carol, Daryl and Steve was amazing.

We enjoyed another fabulous Grand Tour weekend with great friends, lots of new experiences, Ken’s geography lessons and so much more. The Elan got us home and after such a major rebuild went very well despite a few interesting problems that were fixed with the support of clear heads of Colin and Greg. Bring on next year. – Carolyn & Craig Wilson

“365, 364, 363 …… Is next year a leap year? No. 362, 361… days to the next one. I had a fabulous time and feel my motorsport mojo has been relit but I gotta get me another Lotus.

I’ve heard about the “GTs” for years and have now experienced one first hand. What a hoot. Fabulous roads, company, venues and Australia at its best.

Following in ACBC’S footsteps I fashioned my own nine of clubs to help form a flush in the poker run. (BTW I had to check the difference between “spades” and “clubs” as I am not a card player.) My ACBC version enabled me to pick up a $50 gift card.

To quote ACBC “Rules are for the interpretation by wise men and obedience by fools”.

Thank you again and please put me down for next year.” – Anne Blackwood

After many months planning by a dedicated LCQ group the Grand Tour got off to a rocky start on Friday 25 June due to the Covid outbreaks in Sydney, which caused the withdrawal of the CLA members who had planned to join us. Their problem was coming from a Sydney Covid hotspot they could not risk cross infecting us Queenslanders as we would then have to do 14 day quarantine when we returned to Queensland, NOT GOOD! Probably just as well after the flogging NSW gave us in the State of Origin!

Special thanks must go to Ken and Margie Philp who did a mountain of work investigating and planning the four (4) day route, so we had interesting Lotus friendly roads to travel on without damaging our stressing our cars. Ken and Margie also located and negotiated with the various motels and restaurants, so everything was within walking distance and we had a variety of excellent food and watering holes at the end of each day.

It was also an LCQ team effort with President Steve working closely with us all to make sure he kept us all on track. Steve especially worked closely with Ken and Margie to draft and format the Route instructions which we had printed as a booklet similar to the Lotus Notes magazine. The route instruction booklet was very well received by everyone and I suspect will be kept as a souvenir of a great weekend.

Secretary Carol took responsibility to manage all the email traffic to entrants and especially collating the pre ordered meals at each restaurant which I suspect was a huge juggling act which Carol managed to handle extremely well.

As for me I just followed the money and made sure everyone paid on time and paid the motels and restaurants to make sure we locked in the dates.

Overnight Friday Day 1 was Grafton where we had pre dinner drinks at the pub overlooking the river, then dinner at the Grafton Hotel. As Saturday Day 2 loomed we checked for Queensland Covid updates and no change, so we headed out for Coffs Harbour via Dorigo for lunch and an excellent dinner of local produce at the Mermaid Beach House at Coffs Harbour that night.

Regrettably the Sydney Covid situation got worse/uncertain by the Sunday morning Day 3, so many members decided to cut and run after breakfast at Coffs Harbour Surf Club and head back to Brisbane in case our esteemed Premier Anastasia decided to shut the border and we all had to do 14 days quarantine!

The rest of us decided to risk it and soldiered on to Armidale for our last overnight stop. The days schedule was modified a little, but we still managed to see and do everything on our route instructions and finished the tour in a great motel, with drinks in a brewery pub and dinner in a nice Italian restaurant right next door to our motel.

Day four was Armidale at leisure back to Brisbane and still no word from Anastasia on Covid or border changes! We had all been advised to apply for our Border passes, so after trying to clear the ice from our car window at minus “C” temperature, we headed home via the New England Highway.

Thanks to everyone who came along for your participation and friendly company on a great weekend. – Daryl Wilson

Have driven these Northern NSW and New England roads many times before, and never tire of them. The GT21 committee chose the best of them, and suspect that there would be no complaints from the many club members participating in GT21.

A few of the many highlights for us:

Driving The Waterfall Way from Bellingen to Ebor

Visiting the Wollomombi Falls

Being passed by a V8 Esprit at full song with 17 year old Aston Greensil at the wheel with his dad, Wade, waving Aston’s P plate out of the window. Pure magic.

GT21 was also a chance to meet up with other club members unmet in recent times due to obvious reasons.

Robyn and I would like to thank Ken, Steve, Daryl and Carol for a great GT21. – Colin & Robyn McKay

As always with the Grand Tour we select a local regional charity to support. This year it was BackTrack Youth Works based in Armidale.

As the President I made sure we ran a successful Protection and Extortion Racket to collect $1,500 for the charity. Thanks to all on the tour for participating and having fun with the fund raising. – Steve Lennox

Steve, Mary Anne, Moira, Daryl, Margie and Ken

Thanks to Ken, Carol, Steve and all involved for arranging and organising such a fantastic GT21. So many great roads and amazing scenery it’s hard to choose just one, however a few memorable moments come to mind – turning the corner we noticed a troop of kangaroo in the field about 30 meters from the road bouncing along in the same direction as we drove, not as majestic as a leopard or lion but still a reminder of how fortunate we are to live in this beautiful country.

The other must be the Mermaid restaurant, really enjoyed all the fresh ingredients and clever use of ‘in season’ produce, highlight for me was the heaters, great company and the lamb! Looking forward to next time. – Sam & Justin Goosen

A couple of old sailing mates. We have spent years scrambling around on trailer sailors, beach cats and a large cruising cat. So Bruce came along to be what sailors call “the guesser! He did a sterling job!

We had a great time. These Lotus rallies are a lot of fun, no wind changes, dragging anchors, flapping sails, bar crossings and big waves to worry about!

Thinking about Tour Tasmania 2022 if its on.

Have introduced him to Alex one of our Targa navigators. – Tony Smith & Bruce Randall

Dad and I had been looking forward to the Grand Tour for some time. Only problem was which car to take as I had an exemption for the Elan but not the Esprit and we knew which would be better for the long journey. Thankfully my exemption for the Esprit came through with a week to spare. (Third world problem I know)

We were in group 2 and spent most of our time behind Steve in what appeared to be the very softly sprung Europa S. (we would grimace approaching bumps that seemed to bounce the Europa’s rear wheels off the road only to hardly feel them at all). We had thought about the faster group but Steve seemed to push ahead pretty hard with Greg and Colin in their amazing Elans keeping up often with a bit of a gap to the rest.

We had a great weekend of driving, eating, talking, and sightseeing. Plus got some great photo memories even managing to clean the car in Coffs Harbour for some seaside shots. Only a couple of hiccups along the way. Mostly on the trip home when we found out the Esprit’s heater is less than adequate (read non-existant) leaving Armidale in minus 4 degrees and that Ballandean is a lovely spot but you do not need a forced 4 hour stop over to find out (bloody immobilizer).

“Ruby” (yes I have named her) decided to miraculously start an hour before the RACQ truck turned up so we bolted for home arriving home after dark.

Thanks to Ken and the team and we are looking forward to next year and special thanks to Eddie for letting me have a drive of the Europa S2 (and letting dad see if he could still squeeze into it – which I can report he can JUST) – Aston Greensill

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.

Top Ten Lotus Times
Geoff Noble	Supercharged Honda S2 Elise	01:02.3
John Barram	Cheetah	01:05.9
Garry Pitt	Honda S2 Elise	01:06.1
Matt Plowman	Scura Exige	01:07.0
Tony Seymour	V6 Exige	01:07.5
Martin O’Brien	S3 Elise	01:07.5
Evan Molloy	Honda S1 Exige	01:07.6
Barry Mather	Honda S1 Elise	01:07.7
Clive Wade	Honda S1 Elise	01:08.7
Joe Arico	Duratec S2 Elise	01:09.1

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Noosa Winter Hillclimb June 2021

By Shane Murphy, pics by Shane Murphy and Dick Reynolds.

The Sunshine Coast weather typically presents a challenge to organisers and competitors at the Winter Hillclimb, the BOM website must have been given a hammering in the days leading up to this year’s event.

This year no surprises as rain fell on Friday and Saturday, interrupting the program but not enough to scare the competitors away.

A big shout out to the Noosa Beach Classic Car Club for the event organisation, no doubt that Covid regulations seeded a level of management complexity, but the club met the challenge very effectively.

Friday is typically set up, registration and scrutineering day, we were presented with a manicured pit area, special call out to Peter Quinn, Jason and Curtis McGarry and team Eureka Landscapes for a great job getting the park ready.

The Friday night reception at The Boiling Pot Brewery was a big hoot, the group comradery set us up for a very special weekend. Some reports (unconfirmed) were circulating that on Friday night, after the reception shindig, that there was a toga party and massage therapy session going down in one of the Big 4 cabins, no names no pack drill.

Our group, one of the biggest club cohorts, with a few ring-ins made for a solid team, across a range of classes.

Clubman Cars (0 to 1600 cc)
• Shane Murphy – Lotus 7
• Jon Young – Caterham 7

Clubman Cars (1601 to 2000cc)
• Jason McGarry – Caterham 7
• Dick Reynolds – Caterham 7

Sports Cars -Two Seater – (0 to 2000cc)
• Peter Quinn – Lotus Elise
• Pat Richards – Lotus Elise

Sports Cars -Two Seater – (2001 to 3000cc)
• David Yule – Lotus Elise S

Standard Production Cars (> 2001 cc)
• John (Ross) Johnson – Toyota 86 Coupe

Regularity Cars – Open Class
• Max Stephenson – Aston Martin Le Mans

Classic Cars 1950 to 1969 – Open Class
• Robin Manning – Morris Mini

We missed Zaid and Gayle, word on the street is that when Zaid gets his Exige back on the track, it will be weapon, watch out Jason.

The pre-event preparations were intense.

Dick with his newly re-re-re-built Kent engine and A050 tyres rattled into pits, all ears to any “shaking can of spoons” type noises.

Pat was determined to get the weight of his Elise down and spent the best part of a day wrangling the passenger door glass into the correct space, Peter offered to knock out the heavy lump of glass, the offer was of course kindly rejected. Robyn off loaded her left-hand golf clubs as a further effort to manage the Elise’s weight and competitiveness.

Robin Manning managed to get his new brake kit installed on Saturday morning, brakes are so overrated, but Robin did manage to keep his Mini on four wheels all weekend.

As predicted, the Saturday competition kicked off in drizzly weather, just wet enough to get your attention, Sunday was predicted to be dry so all was not lost. Jason did admit that on those early Saturday runs, he was a little scarred!

Luckily for us, Flick Coffee was on hand to keep our focus and heart rates in the correct operating range.

A couple of celebrity entrants mixed up the field, Roland Dane in a Subaru, Fabian Coulthard in a fire eating Porsche GT3 and Broc Feeney in an Audi.

David Yule was a first-time runner in his Elise, another convert I expect.

The Saturday program was challenged by an intermittent timing system glitch and the odd shower of rain.

Jon was running on medium compound rubber, and in order to be competitive adopted a new technique, appropriately labelled the (“T and T”) methodology, of course, what happens on camp stays on camp, however one of the T’s is Tantric. Let your imagination run wild.

The weekend was not without the usual mechanical gremlins, Jon split the bum in his race suit after a particularly hair- raising run which included a frightening high-speed excursion over the infield at corner 4 and a short airborne flight back onto the track, Jon managed to repair his suit with zip ties and race tape, no vehicle damage done

I had intermittent oil pressure issues all weekend, a post-race investigation determined that my Big End and Main Bearings were toast.

And of course, do not mention Voodoo.

Did I mention that I set a PB!

Best times for a successful weekend.

Driver	Car	Time	Place
Shane Murphy	Lotus 7	66.4982	first in class
Jon Young	Caterham 7	68.8824
Jason McGarry	Caterham 7	61.1864	first in class
Dick Reynolds	Caterham 7	63.3585	second in class
Peter Quinn	Lotus Elise	67.6426
Pat Richards	Lotus Elise	65.6503
David Yule	Lotus Elise S	67.7786
John (Ross) Johnson	Toyota 86 Coupe	73.7903
Max Stephenson	Aston Martin Le Mans	94.1005	first in class
Robin Manning	Morris Mini	69.1907	third in class

Next event is shaping up to be a three-day event in early October (Spring Hillclimb), if you are looking for a challenging event with a great social vide, head to the next Noosa event.

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Historic Grafton Hill 2021

By Tony Galletly, Photos by Todd Wedd.

On the weekend while some members were at the Noosa Hillclimb and others on a Grand Tour of northern NSW, Grafton Sporting Car Club had invited pre-75 cars to their first Historic Hillclimb.

This is a well-established hillclimb just a few miles north of Grafton and combines a very steep and tight first section to a flatter but in sections even tighter in two top loops. It had been over 30 years since we last visited the hillclimb in an Elan and it had changed and improved dramatically since the 1980s, with safer run-off areas.

The entries for the event were strong with 50 received and the featured marque was Nota (an Australian designed and manufactured range of sports and racing cars, built in Sydney). While most were clubman type cars, three were F3 cars, including Geoff Fry who came up from Bathurst with his rare and immaculate F3. Others might remember the distinctive Nota Fang! The Nota owners had 13 cars there on the day.

Sadly, of the 5 Lotus entered (3 were Lotus 7s), only my Eleven arrived which was mainly due to the uncertain border closures expected. The Lotus 12 Sabakat was also entered, but the owner Mike Gosbell ran a 1932 Russell Morris racing car which looked a treat.

During Friday practice and Saturday morning, the track was damp with slow times posted, but that progressed over the weekend.

In my 1945-60 Racing and Sports car class, there was a wide range of cars, including the Ausper FJ, Dick Willis’s very quick Nota Major, the big horsepower Robinson Jaguar special, the interesting Alexander Turner sports.

The Eleven doesn’t have the greatest turning circle for the tight corners, but handled the course well, posting a respectable time, improving over 10 secs over the weekend – daring to push through the tight corners.

At the pointy end of the field, the Norton brothers with their GRD F3 cars (originally built by ex-Lotus designers) showed the way.

It was a very pleasant relaxed event with everyone having over 8 runs. Really well organised and we look forward to going again. Just 4 hours south of Brisbane on the new highway! And yes, just like the Grand Tourers, we made it back over the border without any troubles. Any takers for next year?

Monaco GP on Sydney Harbour

By Jason McGarry.

After seeing an email advertisement from Lotus Australia relating to experiencing the Monaco GP on Sydney Harbour organised with Ultimate Driving Tours, I thought what a great short break where I could mix driving and pleasure without the stress of competing.

So Deb and I packed lightly and headed off in the Exige to Sydney, yes we drove it to Sydney and not on a trailer! After softening the suspension before I left I was quite amazed how comfortable the drive was except we should have put ear plugs in! The coast road is excellent now from Brisbane to Sydney but need to watch the speed.

So we left Brisbane on Friday morning and headed down the M1 with a planned stop for lunch at “The Farm” at Byron Bay, and then on to Taree as a sleepover. We had to be in Sydney by lunchtime as we had bought tickets to see the musical Hamilton (which btw is excellent). Dinner that night was at my favourite restaurant in Australia “Mr Wongs”, which was excellent as always.

Sunday morning we left from the Crown Hotel lobby where my Exige was surrounded by Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, Rolls Royce and Audis. We were given a closed channel radio, some final instructions and told to “warm” the engines up for the guests of the hotel before getting on our way. After leaving the Sydney CBD we headed north to our first stop at Estuary Waterfront Restaurant where I had a discussion with a local policeman about where I parked illegally – my way out of the situation was that I told him I was from Queensland. I also said hello to a MG Car Club group that was on an EMR that morning as well.

From there we headed towards Mooney Mooney, where I got to watch the rear of Lambos and Ferraris as they weaved through the narrow country roads. The scenery was awesome and the roads were great for the Exige where it could stretch its legs at times. From there we travelled to our lunch spot at Bells at Killcare. At this point we were able to have a chat to the other tourers, most of whom had been on tours with Ultimate Driving Tours driving Supercars in Europe on route to events like Monaco F1.

After a delicious lunch it was time to head back into Sydney to prepare for our boat departure from the wharf at Crown Towers at 4.30 pm where we were entertained whilst enjoying the sunset on Sydney Harbour. The experience on the boat was in line with the experience that Ultimate Driving Tours offer in Monaco. With a live covers band, excellent food and the alcohol flowing it was a great build up to watch the race on the screen. An hour before the race Mark Webber called in to share his feeling on how the race was going to unfold and gave an account of the atmosphere on the track, which was a great surprise.

We returned back to the wharf around 2:00 am, by 10:00 am we were on the road heading back to Brisbane in the Exige. If you ever have the opportunity to book a tour with Ultimate Driving Tours either in Australia or overseas I would totally recommend it. They understand how to tailor a package together where there is something for the car enthusiast and their partner.

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Mac’s Bridge at Belmont

Mac’s Bridge at Belmont – Sunday 23rd May 2021

By Daryl Wilson, photos by Russell Carter.

MacLean’s Bridge Sports and Classic Car Festival was held this year on Sunday 23rd May 2021 at Queensland Rifle Association Belmont Range, 1485 Old Cleveland Road, Belmont Qld. It was interesting driving in to find the Lotus mob to the sounds of rifle shots going off in the background!

This event was also Round 3 of the 2021 Interclub Challenge, but I must confess I do not know if we were in the judging and got any ICC points for the Lotus Club Queensland.

We had a turnout of 13 cars including Paul Littler’s very tidy 1964 Elfin Monocoque built in South Australia by Garrie Cooper – see details below.

In 1963, Garrie Cooper began work on a revolutionary monocoque design of a car intended to dominate the newly created Australian 1½ Litre capacity class. Lotus Cars had already built the Formula 1 monocoque under the direction of Colin Chapman but the idea was still in its infancy so Cooper had only vague ideas of the design. The monocoque build removed the need for the traditional “Superleggera” tube frame chassis and harnessed a very light sheet steel frame to which aluminum panels were riveted for a very stiff structure. The finished structure weighed approximately 80kg less than the tube framed Elfin Catalina it replaced. Uniquely, the hollow section of the body was sealed off to serve as the petrol tank. The Elfin Mono eventually made its debut at the August 1964 Melbourne Racing Car show and orders quickly followed.

There was a mix of Lotus and Caterham cars ie, my 1998 Caterham Super 7, past member Derek Dean’s 1975 7Cars Super 7, past member Jeff Rouse Yellow Lotus Elise, Alan Kenn 1989 Lotus Excel SE, Wade and Aston Greensill, 2003 Lotus Esprit V8, birthday boy Colin McKay, 1968 Lotus Elan S4. Peter & Leanne Drane had another early morning trip down from the Sunshine Coast in their 1997 Lotus Elise S1 and possible new member Leo Laspina in his 2019 Lotus Elise 220 Sport.

Plus not to be outdone Russell and Leigh Carter brought the family fleet of cars, their new acquisition a very nice 1997 Lotus Elan M100 Limited Edition, 1977 Lotus Esprit S1, and 1992 Lotus Carlton. Some people have too many toys, who said I was jealous!

During the morning lots of people viewed the cars including a Triumph Club judge who was particularly interested in Colin McKay’s Lotus Elan. A quick phone call and Colin came back and talked to the judge about how he acquired the car, how he restored the car and its on-going history. Long story short, later that morning Colin was informed that he was the Winner of the Pre 1970 Sports Car Award. Excellent result as Colin always presents the car beautifully and uses the car on a regular basis, so it is not just a show piece.

On a side note there was mention that Aston Greensill (Wade’s long time co-pilot) got his driver’s licence last week, congratulations Aston. He may also soon be the proud owner of a 1994 Lotus Elan M100 SE, thanks to dad.

During the day several Lotus members wandered by for a look and a chat, Des Hill, Andrew Olsen, George Row, Will Piddington, Mark Forrester-Jones and Victoria Johnson to mention a few. Seems they left their cars in the car park and hoofed it in…

A couple of other Caterham owners came over and introduced themselves, one being Peter McEwan. Peter has a Caterham with a 1.4 litre Rover K-Series that he originally bought in Australia. He then shipped the Caterham to Canada where he lived for many years. He is now back living on the Sunshine Coast. Unfortunately his Caterham is not running at the moment. Hopefully Peter will get the Caterham running soon and we may see him at a monthly meeting or on an early morning run.

Tim Binns also stopped by for a chat; he has bought a 2005 Caterham Roadsport SV, 6 speed, Rover K-Series 1800 vvc engine. Hopefully he will bring the car along to a Lotus meeting soon.

I heard over the PA as I was driving out that there were around 400 cars exhibited on the day, so very successful event again with a large crowd of spectators enjoying a lovely sunny Queensland winter day looking at the cars, life is good!