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Fourth Quarter 2001 Workshop Crazy For the first time in ages we have not run a car during the last three months of the year. Therefore everyone has been getting used to a relatively routine stint in the workshop. This has been a great opportunity to press on with our two big restoration projects. The 1982 Austrian GP winning type 91 chassis 8 has been waiting for five years to be put back together. Nick Yallop has had the opportunity to rebuild the car to exactly the correct specification for the Austrian race. Lee Nicholls has been helping him throughout. With reference to the original parts lists, drawings and Engineers’ records we can be very accurate although we have decided to reinstall dial gauges for water and oil. The original race specification warning lights only are not really suitable for running today. Nick, Lee and Kevin are concentrating on having 91/8 restored ready in good time for the start of the TGP season in April. Ralph Hudston has made great progress with the type 97T/2 in which Ayrton won his first GP. It has been necessary to acquire some parts for the car and this has been somewhat time consuming, as Martin Roy will testify. More often than not, when a replacement part is required, we have an original spare on the shelf. When not, we really notice the time and cost. As with all our restoration work, the car is being prepared to an exacting standard of originality. The restoration of 97T/2 has been a lot more involved than anticipated. Ralph has done a great job in the workshop while Martin has handled the logistics. The recreation of the second type 94T (chassis 2 belonging to Classic Team Lotus) is now all but finished. Kevin Smith has had to battle to find enough original parts to complete the car. This first Ducaurouge Lotus really is a beautiful. Seeing one in the flesh again brings back memories of what an exciting and important time in Team Lotus history that the 94T represents. We have welcomed quite a few Group Lotus visitors to our workshops including Roger Becker who was hosting a nostalgic visit by Mr Sam Shimada who is now the President of the Fuji Motor Speedway. Mr Shimada was very interested to see Junro Nishida’s type 77 chassis 1 in which Mario Andretti famously won the 1976 Japanese GP at Fuji in the pouring rain. It would be great to have a TGP race at Fuji so that 77/1 can revisit this exciting circuit. Visiting journalists have included Sid Ogura from the Japanese ‘F1 Modeling’ publication. Sid is an acquaintance of Peter Wright’s and we were pleased to help him with a feature on the Team Lotus type 88. It is an excellent magazine packed full of superb pictures. Sid is planning to feature the type 72 in 2002. We were interested to hear from Junro about the recent Historic Automobile Festival at the Motegi circuit in Japan. Junro flew the Team Lotus flag with his type 78. Furthermore he literally flew the Classic Team Lotus flag in accordance with the new agreement with Nishida Sports Cars to promote Classic Team Lotus in Japan. The calendar for 2002 is beginning to take shape. The first TGP meeting will be at Jarama in Spain on 14th April. We have applied for entries for a lot of cars to participate in the 3rd GP de Monaco Historique on 19th May (the weekend before the GP). It looks like being a busy weekend and a great event. Team Lotus cars are expected to be a special feature at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 12th to 14th. A new historic event is being planned for Hockenheim in June and it should include a TGP race and other categories in which we will run cars for customers. Sadly the International Historic Festival held previously at Silverstone is being relocated to Oulton Park. The Revival Meeting at the Goodwood Motor Circuit is on 8th September. Good news is that the VSCC is celebrating 50 years of Lotus Engineering at Silverstone on 21st September; definitely one for the diary. Finally (for now) we hear that real progress is being made on the project to have a TGP race in Japan at the end of the season. That would be the perfect finale to what looks like being a very special year for Classic Team Lotus and its customers. We look forward to continuing to keep you updated on a quarterly basis. Third Quarter 2001 Flat Out All The Way Mid summer is a busy time for Classic Team Lotus. The Thoroughbred Grand Prix (TGP) events continue along with the special meetings such as Goodwood and the Silverstone Historic Festival. We anticipated being particularly busy this year so we decided reluctantly that we could not attend the Festival of Speed. By all accounts it was a great event, albeit somewhat short of Lotus racing cars. The weekend after was the British Grand Prix at which the TGP series was the support race (immediately after the main event). We were somewhat nervous about the potential for operational chaos. However, thanks to good work by On Event Management and TGP Limited, everything worked very smoothly. Thanks also to Lotus Motorsport for lending their pit cart and trolley. A somewhat poignant study of Junro on the grid with Ralph Hudston and Kozo Fujiwara in attendance Classic ran Junro Nishida’s type 77 and Dan Collins’ type 91. Unfortunately Junro’s zero miles engine failed in Saturday evening qualifying, leaving the mechanics with a very lengthy engine change to the different specification spare and leaving Junro at the back of the grid. Dan qualified well down due to a spin in the wet/dry conditions. The only way is up! 41 properly prepared and authentic F1 cars lined up for the start (a world record!) only 30 minutes after the GP. We enjoyed seeing so many ex-Team Lotus personnel in the F1 garages, and they enjoyed seeing such a great grid. Dan made exciting progress from 30th to 17th in the opening laps before he was tripped up lapping a slower car. Junro enjoyed a trouble free race from 41st to finish 22nd overall. Tens of thousands of spectators witnessed a thrilling battle for victory which went eventually to Bob Berridge, TGP Chairman. It was nice to see Steve Hitchins make the podium with his type 88B. A symbolic result at the site of the 88B’s last stand in 1981. Dan’s slot on the largest ever F1 grid Classic had to have a quick turn around on Dan’s car to be ready for the TGP race at Brands Hatch the next weekend. The event was a Ferrari celebration but Team Lotus F1 cars were at the forefront. Dan qualified 16th out of 34 and followed this up with a stirring race performance. He charged up to 8th before dropping a couple of places on an exciting last lap which proved almost too much for his many supporters, cheering him home. The amazing Old Timer Festival at Nurburgring in August was next. The somewhat quaint title belies the fantastic selection of fairly modern racing cars battling it out at the biggest historic motorsport event in continental Europe. Junro did really well in qualifying to be 9th. Dan had a difficult time and qualified in 14th spot. Unfortunately Dan had one of those racing weekends that are best forgotten. It ended up with a spin into the tyre wall in the Sunday morning warm-up, with a lot of damage. Junro raced to 8th place (2nd in class) in Classic’s last TGP race of the season. In the Formula Junior race Dr Murakami enjoyed two very exciting races in Classic’s type 18. The on board video footage makes nerve wracking viewing! Team talk at Nurburgring Workshop projects have continued in between the racing. Eddie Dennis completed the renovation of 72D/5. We did a shakedown at Hethel before testing at Silverstone with Sean Walker, driver for the Historic Festival. Sean was Classic’s first driver in the early nineties when he was a frequent winner in TGP. His father, Ian Walker, is a contemporary of Colin Chapman. As a sixties privateer Ian played a big part in Team Lotus history. The test went well and we prepared for the Silverstone Historic Festival over the August Bank Holiday. Malcolm Ricketts raced the type 32B (Jim Clark’s 1965 Tasman car) in the very competitive pre ’65 category. A change to 15 inch wobbly webs enabled us to run a tyre size correct to period. A corresponding change to the Crown Wheel and Pinion (not as straight forward as one might think) enabled Malcolm to be significantly quicker. Sadly, after an excellent qualifying, Malcolm had an engine problem in the race. Sean did really well in the type 72 (6th on the grid) which looked fantastic on track in the sunshine. Hazel Chapman attended the event and she enjoyed a lively conversation with Jackie Stewart who clearly remembered what a challenge it had been to beat the type 72 in its day. When the lights went green for the pre ’78 race, Sean found the clutch to be wanting and was slow away. This was a blessing in disguise as it meant he did not get involved in the three car pile up before the first corner. Suddenly it had become 1973 all over again and confusion ensued. Sean took the restart but the worsening clutch lead to retirement. Very disappointing! Hazel Chapman and some of her family with 72D/5 in the pits Back at base we were pleased to take the type 49B chassis R10 over to the factory for a visit by Damon Hill. This is the chassis in which Graham Hill won his fifth Monaco GP. We hope that Damon might have the chance to drive it before too long. In the workshop we have been busy with a number of projects. The rebuild of 91/8 continues, with a view to finding a driver who wants to race it with Classic in TGP next season. We have started restoring 97T/2, which is Ayrton Senna’s 1985 Portuguese GP winning chassis. Sadly the rear uprights have failed crack test, so if anyone knows the whereabouts of a pair, please get in touch! Finally the recreation of 94T/2 using a replacement tub is complete. It really is a beautiful car (Gerard Ducaurouge design) that will look great in our customer’s exceptional collection. The last event of the summer proved to be the Goodwood Revival meeting. We ran the 32B for Malcolm and the type 18 for Junro (in place of Murakami-san just this once). In addition to preparing the cars, due consideration had to be given to the 1950s dress code which is encouraged. Clive Chapman travelled down in his father’s 1965 Ford Galaxie (a present from Ford in appreciation of winning the 1965 Indy 500) as only pre 1966 cars are allowed inside the circuit. It was a great weekend, probably the best yet. A big crowd saw lots of exciting racing and the ambience of the paddock was exceptional. Junro woke everyone up by putting the 18 on the front row (first four were Lotus). In the end he was a bit disappointed to finish fourth and miss out on the podium that would have meant a Lotus 1-2-3. The wonderfully evocative scene at the start of Malcolm’s race made the weekend worthwhile, with an exceptional grid of pre ’66 cars lined up 3-2-3 in the fabulously true to period Goodwood setting. It was an entertaining race and Malcolm drove well to finish 5th. Now the season is done the racing cars will be receiving their winter overhauls alongside the other workshop projects underway. We look forward to telling you how we get on. 2001 Second Quarter Review 1st April to 30th June The Season Gets Underway The Thoroughbred Grand Prix Championship for 3 litre F1 cars kicked off at Barcelona in April followed by rounds at Donington, Monza and Most. Classic Team Lotus has run Junro Nishida in his 1976 Andretti Lotus type 77 and Dan Collins in his 1982 Mansell Lotus type 91. Dan has impressed the Team and his fellow competitors by his excellent start in F1 racing. His 10th Place at Most was just reward. Junro drove a blinder at Monza where he came second in class. If there had been a speed trap we suspect it would have recorded the fastest ever speed for a type 77. Dan Collins at Donington in his type 91 on the occasion of his first Formula One Race. The TGP teams tested at Silverstone at the end of June in preparation for the British GP support race in which 41 historic F1 cars are entered. It should be a great show. Certainly it will provide much closer racing and more (some?!) overtaking than Bernie’s lot. We all enjoyed the special moment of witnessing Colin Chapman’s 1960 Team Lotus type 18 running again. Presumably the only Lotus he ever purchased (around 1970) it had languished derelict since then. Ralph Hudston completed the exhaustive restoration of this very original car. The shakedown laps at the Hethel circuit were quite emotional. The car’s Patron, Dr Keiichi Murakami, suffered some teething problems at Monza and Most but things will be sorted in time for the Oldtimer Festival at Nurburgring in August. Dr Keiichi Murakami waits in the Monza pits to debut the Classic Team Lotus type 18 Formula Junior. Another important restoration landmark has been the debut race for our Team Lotus type 58. It is 33 years since Colin Chapman witnessed Graham Hill’s first and only drive of this beautiful car at the Hethel test track. Patrons Malcolm Ricketts and Don Hands shared a double header at Silverstone in May with both drivers and the car acquitting themselves very well. Classic Team Lotus has been pleased to welcome numerous visitors from Group Lotus. A particular pleasure was meeting Sukainah Osman and Su-San Ong from Proton on a fact-finding visit. Rest assured they now know more than they did about Team Lotus. On the licensing front we are excited to have made an agreement with Carousel 1, an American company, for the manufacture of a 1/20th scale model of the 1965 Indianapolis winning Team Lotus type 38. We will let everyone know as soon as it is released. We are continuing to support the Lotus Challenge game by Virgin Interactive as it nears readiness for launch. It is fun to have the opportunity to help computer journalists learn some Team Lotus history. A big development on the computer front has been the launch of the Classic Team Lotus website, created with help from local company 101 Media Ltd. We are determined to keep the site up to date on a quarterly basis so that visitors can know what we have been up to. The Shop should present an excellent selection of exciting goodies relating to Team Lotus history. 50 years of Snetterton were celebrated in July and the organisers asked if Classic Team Lotus would participate. We were keen to support celebrating the venue for so much Team Lotus history and were happy to display our types 32B, 49B and 79. The highlight of the weekend was Martin Donnelly doing some hot laps in the 79. Going racing will keep us busy for the rest of the summer up to the wonderful Goodwood Revival meeting in September. Back at base we will be renovating our Team Lotus type 91 chassis 8 (the 1982 Austrian GP winner) in the hope of finding a Patron for this special car. The 1980s F1 gearbox project should (must) result in a ready supply of new and improved gearcases for various Lotus F1 owners. We will look forward to telling you all about it. 2001 First Quarter Review Preparations for the 2001 season have kept us fairly busy. Installing Junro’s new engine into 77-1 has been a major plumbing exercise. Ralph did an excellent job to have the car ready for the Silverstone test. The job list on Dan’s car grew to 110 items! Dan was keen to attend to all aspects of the car so that it would be a sound foundation for his first foray into Formula One. Nick prepared the transporter for its first outing of the year and we set off for Silverstone with 77-1 and 91-10 for Junro and Dan to drive on 6th March. The weather was kind, although it was as cold as expected (it had been snowing three days earlier). Junro completed 43 laps and expressed himself as 100% happy with the car. We tried a low downforce set up which he liked and which we felt would be good for Monza. Dan acclimatised himself very well to F1 on a Grand Prix circuit. The car ran without any problems except for the gearbox. During the rebuild it was discovered that the gearbox was significantly damaged. It was sent back to the original foundry for repair but evidently it was beyond recovery. Therefore Dan was unable to run in the afternoon, much to everyone’s disappointment. The new gearcases being manufactured for Classic Team Lotus were not going to be done in time for Dan to have one at Donington. Therefore we decided to lend Dan our gearbox out of 91/8. In addition to preparing 77-1, Ralph has been very busy restoring 18 FJ 723. Martin has spent a lot of time sourcing parts and Nick had to do a big job on restoring the bodywork. We have been careful to keep the car as original as possible without compromising the integrity of the mechanical preparation. Unfortunately the original engine has proved to be beyond recovery and a new unit has been supplied from Stuart Rolt Racing Engines. Malcolm Ricketts has decided to try running the 32B with rear tyres much closer to the original diameter. The original tyre size is not available and we have had to change from 13 inch to 15 inch diameter rear wheels (It would be great to get hold of an original pair of Dunlop 550L 13s to use with the original rims for display purposes). The test was somewhat inconclusive due to conditions. Furthermore we tested with the existing crown wheel and pinion which we knew already would need changing. The 32B test was at Snetterton on 29th March. On the same day Malcolm and Don Hands gave the type 58 a run. Everything went okay and, in particular, the cooling seemed adequate.