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Classic Team Lotus Fourth Quarter 2006
Endless Summer
For Classic Team Lotus the 2006 motor racing season just kept going, via Valencia in November all the way to Australia in December.
It used to be that the season started in April and finished in September, creating a relatively peaceful six months back at base without the inevitable disruption arising from going racing. By and large Formula One used to follow such a regular format, but this is a distant memory amidst rumours of a 25 race Grand Prix calendar almost year round. Perhaps Bernie has been inspired by historic motorsport….For Classic Team Lotus the 2006 season started in March and ran all the way through to December with a 19 event calendar; not bad for an eight man team.
The Championship deciding round of the TGP Series was at the very spectator friendly Valencia circuit, the venue for the final weekend of the Formula BMW World Series. This compact circuit, popular with F1 teams for winter testing, fills the space of about 20 football pitches and is surrounded by grandstands; from every vantage point the whole of the track can be seen. There should be a law that all new circuits are like this! Even the pit wall gives a good view. (This is nice for the teams who normally get to see only a flash of the cars once a lap.) Unusually there is no security fence on the relatively low pit wall. The pit straight is slightly downhill, long and is preceded by a quite fast entry corner. Alex Zanardi did some flat out demo laps in the 2007 BMW F1; standing within a metre of a 200 mph plus F1 car is pretty impressive.
Dan Collins in his 91/10 was partnered by team mate Katsuaki Kubota in the Classic Team Lotus type 91 chassis 8, his type 78 rendered u/s after the Donington incident. Qualifying ran exceptionally smoothly with Dan winding up 6th and Kubota 4th on the grid. Sunday morning warm up saw both cars circulating together, their JPS liveries glowing in the early morning sun. Suddenly things went haywire when Kubota’s engine blew just as he came past the pits. A foreshortened interval before the race meant there was less than two hours before the race start and….Kubota had no spare. Ever the team player, Dan Collins did not hesitate in offering to lend Kubota his spare engine, so the lads set to attempting what even they thought was fairly unlikely.
By coincidence the very moment of Kubota’s engine failure was captured from the pit wall
A Herculean effort, supplemented by help from other teams and engine builders, saw the car ready and waiting to go as the race started. Dan made a good start to hold his 5th place as Kubota shot from the pit lane to join battle. Dan made it up to 4th but then was stuck behind Steve Hartley as Kubota worked his way up to Dan by the 12th lap. Dan let him through to see if he could solve the Hartley problem, but to no avail. 4th and 5th was a great result for the team and a splendid way to end the season.
Raring to go; in under two hours, complete with fresh engine, Kubota waits for the green light
A true team effort; Chris, Lewis, Lee, Nick, Kevin and Nick draw breath after the race
Immediately after Valencia Clive, Chris and Bob set off to Australia for the Tasman Revival meeting in Sydney. Dan Collins (49B/R10), Malcolm Ricketts (32B) and Denis Welch (type 58) had accepted the invitation of the Australian Historic Motorsport Club to participate in their largest ever gathering of historic Tasman racing cars. For Clive in particular the journey was an opportunity to visit the family of the late John Dawson Damer and see where John lived and kept his exceptional collection of significant Team Lotus cars. Clive and Bob stayed at the family farm as guests of John’s daughter, Adelicia. Steve Fryer is the mechanic that worked with John and now maintains the collection in the original farm buildings. Their hospitality was wonderful.
Evidence, in case any is needed for the expenses claim
Upon arrival at the circuit it was clear that Eastern Creek, Sydney would be a great venue. Sadly it became apparent that this would not be matched by the ability of the organizers to arrange delivery of the cars in time for the event. In the circumstances Dan, Malcolm and Denis displayed admirable restraint. In the paddock Bob was pleased to meet up with Leo Wybrott, Ray Parsons and Jim Smith; all Antipodean contemporaries of Bob’s from Team Lotus in the 60s. The Dawson Damer family gave Clive the great honour of inviting him to do some demo laps in the Jim Clark 1963 Championship winning type 25 chassis R4 from the collection. The endless Summer continued with the temperature hitting 40 degrees on the Friday.
Bob Dance, Leo Wybrott, Jim Smith and Ray Parsons enjoying a ‘mardle’
Clive receiving advice from Dan Collins and Bob Dance prior to his run in the 25
Adelicia Dawson Damer impressed everyone with her commitment to the family’s collection. The pinnacle of her efforts is learning to race in her father’s original Lotus, the Elite.
On the Monday the Dawson Damers hosted a Club Lotus Australia day at the Farm. Bob was guest of honour and regaled the assembled enthusiasts with tales of Team Lotus past. The workshop on the other side of the World, containing types 16, 18, 25, 49, 63 and 79, was an extraordinary setting. (Steve Fryer is well on the way to completing the restoration of the type 63). A traditional autocross in the fields, referred to as ‘buckets’, was great fun. The field then became a cricket pitch for an England versus Australia contest. Fortunately there were enough Aussies on our side to enable the Poms to win. A great day, and finally the season was over.
The ‘buckets’ and cricket venue with the house in the background
It seemed as though Malcolm Ricketts and cricket (in any case the ball) are strangers
Bob Dance, with help from Warren King, demonstrated a natural talent for scoring…in England’s favour
Team Lotus is honoured at the 10th Historic Automobile Festival Japan as the star attraction featuring the reunion of Satoru Nakajima with his 1989 Team Lotus F1 car
Lotus is ‘Big in Japan’; extraordinarily so. After the UK and USA it is the third biggest market. Enthusiasm for the Elise and Exige is matched by a strong following for Classic Lotus road cars. In particular the original Europa is a cult car, largely as a result of a famous comic book hero who roars around in one. Considering that most of Team Lotus motor racing success occurred before F1 gained much of a following in Japan, it is interesting to witness the popularity of the marque in such a different culture, so far from home.
Neko Publishing plays an important part in fuelling this popularity. From an energetic publishing group, encompassing dozens of titles, it is Car magazine that features a healthy enthusiasm for the Lotus marque on a regular basis. Recently the President and Founder, Kenji Sasamoto, took things to the highest level by initiating the acquisition of a pair of 1989 Team Lotus type 101 F1 cars as raced by Nelson Piquet and Satoru Nakajima. Classic Team Lotus undertook to help run the cars for Sasamoto san and his friend Itaru Ishida. The stakes were raised when the Historic Festival was announced as the debut appearance; then raised again when Satoru Nakajima and Japanese F3 hero Masahiko Kageyama were announced as special guest drivers: not exactly low key.
CTL Team Manager Chris Dinnage gave both cars a final systems check on the Hethel test track before loading into a sea freight container with myriad spares for the six week sailing to the Far East. Chris and Clive Chapman flew out to arrive on the Thursday morning before the weekend event, traveling straight to the circuit to get started immediately. They were pleased to see Lotus and Nakajima dominating the event programme although the running schedule was food for thought; four drivers in 10 sessions over 3 days: suddenly Chris felt very alone.
Twin Ring Motegi viewed from the splendid circuit hotel
Three hours North of Tokyo the Twin Ring Motegi circuit is a Honda facility featuring a 4km road circuit and a huge oval course; all very impressive. Events include Moto GP and IRL plus it is the home of the Honda Collection Hall.
Happily the cars were sitting pretty in the pit garage and in attendance were Sasamoto san’s mechanics ably led, as it turned out, by Omi san, with who a good working relationship was established by the end of the weekend. Firing them up was a special moment for everyone and things were looking good for Friday. Kageyama san gave both cars their first few laps. Then a special moment as Sasamoto took to the track. After a couple of cautious laps suddenly all hell let loose when the car appeared on the circuit monitor, apparently on fire. A circuit marshall appeared and emptied an extinguisher down the airbox; timely but misguided as it was powder. Doom and gloom descended. Immediately Chris started considering the recovery strategy; Clive wondered if there was any chance the ground might open up. It transpired the engine had stalled, backfired up the trumpets thereby igniting the fuel breather pipe. So, it looked a lot worse than it was; thankfully Chris fired her up again a couple of hours later.
Sasamoto san and Kageyama discuss the performance of the type 101 under the ever watchful eye of the enthusiastic Japanese media.
In the evening Satoru Nakajima arrived for his seat fit. Omi san and his cohorts set to on the fourth bespoke seat of the weekend. Boy! They are experts with two pack foam. Clive was pleased to see Satoru again after 17 years. He looked fit and well. Currently he stars in a national advertising campaign for Zurich Insurance, so his face is everywhere. Clive was able to find a quiet time for a good chat; it was nice to be able to explain to Satoru about Classic Team Lotus.
Nakajima san getting reacquainted with the cockpit of the type 101; not many drivers of the period would still be able to fit such a cramped tub…
With shakedown runs completed and night time fast approaching the drivers and cars lined up for a promotional shot; Kageyama, CKC, Ishida & Sasamoto
‘Supercar’ Saturday came; and so did thousands of spectators. Ishida san enjoyed a good run in the morning in front of a daunting crowd. During the ‘Attraction Demonstration’ driver briefing it dawned on Chris and Clive that a very complicated and hugely optimistic programme had been dreamed up by someone who knew little about the reliability of F1 cars ……. and racing drivers.
Long standing Classic customer Junro Nishida in his type 77 along with Yoshio Fukuda in his type 72 kicked things off with some pretty high speed laps. Then Kageyama san went out to join them before coming in to hook up with Satoru for a couple of formation laps, followed by Satoru out on his own.
Of course, it all went like clockwork. The 101s looked great, in line astern. Satoru’s solo laps were an emotional moment. Interviewed immediately afterwards Satoru made a splendid speech that included lots of nice references to Team Lotus. In particular he explained how he made the Tamiya model kits as a child so Lotus has always had a place in his heart. All this took place in a packed pit lane and with five Lotus F1 cars in the foreground; fantastic!
The formal dinner on Saturday evening was a splendid affair. Sasamoto san made a kind gesture of announcing Clive as guest of honour. This pleasant surprise was soon tempered by the realization that a speech was expected. Fortunately the delay for translation creates more time for thought so Clive was able to remember all the people he wanted to thank, of which there were many. Nakajima san was very entertaining; sadly no bread rolls were to hand so Chris and Clive were unable to salute Satoru in keeping with Team Lotus tradition.
‘Classic Car’ Sunday dawned bright and clear; the forecast rain never materialized. The crowd was even bigger and the proportion of Lotus fans was up also. Chris had done a lot of work to the cars to address a number of niggles. To his delight the drivers elected not to do the morning session so it was a quiet run up to the repeat of the ‘Attraction Demonstration’. (It is worth noting the Drivers’ Briefing was at 7.30am on both days; just as well they don’t try that in Europe.) It seemed the odds of everything working again were remote at best. Happily all went well; the huge crowd loved it. Later on, to round things off, Sasamoto san gave 101/2 a final run. He rather took Chris and Clive by surprise with some increasingly fast laps. On return to the pits, smoke was pouring off the discs as the brake cooling ducts had been blanked off. (In protest, after 17 years, one of the bonded front brake ducts fell off.) Sasamoto was delighted with his run; a special moment for the man behind the whole weekend.
Clive & Chris with the Motegi team with translator Makiko as driver
Chris and Clive were relieved that the cars had run well, especially for the most important ‘Attraction Demonstrations’ when the media focus fell on to Nakajima san and ‘his’ Lotus. Classic customer Katsu Kubota treated Chris and Clive to a wonderful meal with friends in Tokyo on the Sunday evening; a lovely way to end a challenging weekend; a weekend that confirmed and enhanced the popularity of the marque in Japan.
There! Job done! (All his own work…..NOT!)
Classic Team Lotus Third Quarter 2006
Three Mansells in One Day
Classic Team Lotus made a big impression at the Goodwood Festival of Speed where we ran Bruno Senna and not one, not two, but three Mansells.
Bruno attracted constant attention from the media and fans alike (which he dealt with impeccably); clearly Bruno generates a great deal of goodwill which was lovely to see; the spirit of Ayrton was ever present. For Chris Dinnage and Bob Dance, as Ayrton’s original Team Lotus mechanics, it was very special to run Bruno in 97T/2; and he did a great job. The car ran well and it was nice to watch a couple of (gently) tyre smoking starts.
Clive Chapman and his sisters, Jane and Sarah, were delighted to see Nigel and Roseanne Mansell and to meet their sons Leo and Greg. This led to a highlight of the Festival when Clive suggested that Leo and Greg might like to have a go in the type 79. The idea originated from the fact that in October 1979 Nigel had enjoyed his first taste of F1 and Lotus with a test in the type 79 at Paul Ricard in the South of France. Leo and Greg were both up for it so away they went. It was only when Clive was chatting to Leo at the startline that he realised Leo had neither driven an F1 car nor been up the hill before.
The Race Engineer’s Testing Practice Log in the Team Lotus archives record that 27 years earlier Nigel had a spin on his first lap…..Happily both Greg and Leo avoided such excitement and made it to the top without any drama. Unfortunately on the second day, as he upped the tempo, Nigel was caught out by a lack of grip at the Molecombe corner and gave the bales a gentle nudge. Inevitably this generated a lot of predictable banter and the media had a field day. Clive observed "Yes, the car ran without wings at Goodwood but we wanted to show the car true to period and, frankly, at the Festival the wings are extremely vulnerable both in the Paddock and on the hill." Damage was minimal and the team had no problem preparing the car for owner Dan Collins to race at Spa the next weekend.
Bruno Senna attracted a startling amount of attention
Nigel Mansell in the type 91/10 of CTL customer Dan Collins
Leo Mansell was first to follow father’s footsteps
Greg Mansell did the honours on Saturday in front of the usual massive Festival crowd
Formula One: The Great Design Race; an exhibition at The Design Museum in London
Earlier this year Clive Chapman was excited to be contacted by The Design Museum. Formula One: The Great Design Race is a new exhibition that analyses what the global phenomenon of Formula One is all about. Happily, despite the financial monster that F1 has become, the organisers concluded that its heart still beats to the rhythms of innovation and team endeavour. Therefore they decided it was important to feature a Team Lotus F1 car designed by Colin Chapman and his men.
The Design Museum is recognised worldwide as an important arbiter of what is great and good. Benefactor Sir Terence Conran is the leading British designer whose influence spreads around the globe into every sphere of design.
Even Bernie Ecclestone took note of the significance of an F1 related exhibition at such a prestigious venue and he gave Carte Blanche to the organisers without regard for his normally sacrosanct commercial imperative.
Classic Team Lotus agreed to lend its 1978 World Championship winning type 79 for the duration of the three month exhibition. It has taken pride of place in the centre of the show, looking fantastic with its famous black and gold livery spotlighted against a black floor and walls. Furthermore the cinema feature includes an edited version of the wonderful film 'If You’re Not Winning You’re Not Trying', recently re released by Classic.
As a whole ‘The Great Design Race’ is well worth a visit. The presentation is excellent, exciting, stylish and the content has attracted the support of F1 Constructors and engine manufacturers so that visitors gain a fascinating insight behind the scenes, revealing the fabulous world of F1 technology. Most importantly for Lotus enthusiasts the massive legacy of Team Lotus in terms of success and innovation is recognised and celebrated.
Formula One: The Great Design Race is at The Design Museum (near Tower Bridge) until the end of October. Visit www.designmuseum.org for further details
The type 79 on centre stage in the Design Museum.
On the racing front the team has been as busy as ever.
The weekend after the Festival saw us at Spa TGP with Dan Collins and Magny Cours GP Masters (supporting the French GP) with Chris Locke. Unfortunately at La Source hairpin Dan ran into the back of a Williams as it slowed prematurely to maximize exit speed for a banzai qualifying lap. It was a nasty moment that caused quite a bit of damage. At least Nick Yallop and Chris Dinnage could fix it for the race but Dan’s pace suffered as a result although he still managed to finish 7th. Rex Hart, an original mechanic on 77/3, was drafted in to help Kevin Smith run Chris Locke’s lovely car at the French GP. Chris qualified well and was looking set for a strong result until a spin led to retirement. Chris observed that a number of spectators told him the historic F1 was a lot more entertaining than the modern stuff. Rex’s son Lee is a McLaren F1 mechanic and with his help we were able to spring an unauthorized escape from the Paddock on the Saturday evening after the race; "Sorry, Bernie!".
In its (intended to become) customary ‘last weekend in July’ the Silverstone Classic attracted a huge entry, although no TGP, sadly. Chris Locke was back again from the States to race both 77/3 and his type 27 in the FJ race; Dan raced his type 21 and Classic’s 18; Malcolm Ricketts was in the 32B. With so many cars to go wrong the team was delighted to see all of them make it to the finish; a clean sweep. Clive Chapman was pleased to make the presentation of the Colin Chapman Trophy for the FJ race, especially as it was a 1-2-3 Lotus result (after a particularly exciting race).
TGP raced at Silverstone two weeks later as support for the modern GP Masters event. After Spa we had changed the very bent engine mounts on Dan’s car; probably the cause of the poor handling. Also a new gearbox rear cover was fitted as the original was damaged when Dan had ‘landed’ at Spa. We had installed a new short stroke DFV in Kubota san’s type 78 so were looking forward to seeing how he got on. Unfortunately the new rear cover caused a gear selection problem. Subsequently Dan suffered fuel pressure problems on his fresh engine. Kubota was happy with his new engine and got on with learning his way around the daunting Silverstone track. They wound up 7th and 11th on the grid. Sunday dawned wet and windy and the cars went to the grid on wets. After the formation lap a lot of drivers changed to slicks although Dan and Kubota san stayed put. Slicks turned out to be the way to go. As a result our boys had a frustrating race on the wrong tyres.
The Goodwood Revival was enlivened for us by a last minute arrangement with Paul Whight (he of Cadena Motorsport fame) to have David Leslie (he of touring cars fame, and much else besides) to drive the type 30 of Junro Nishida that is for sale. Cadena Works driver Gavin Kershaw gave the car some spectacular shakedown laps at Hethel and the car was readied. Bob Dance, in the company of Ian Bennett (work experience), and Chris Dinnage set off with the 30, the 21 (Dan) and the 32B (Malcolm). As usual at the circuit they met up with ‘Uncle’ Henry Potter although this year Paul Stevens was unable to attend. Clive Chapman, with sons Arthur and Magnus, drove down in the venerable 1965 Ford Galaxie. The weekend was remarkably straightforward. David Leslie did really well to finish 5th in the 30, setting second fastest lap in the process. The pre ’66 grid looked fabulous, with Malcolm in 5th and Dan in 9th places. Both drivers enjoyed a good race, albeit on a damp track. The revival as a whole was a splendid weekend, despite the poor weather; the Ray Hanna tribute was very moving; very British. No less than eight Spitfires were flying. Great stuff!
Donington TGP was part of the well established See Red VSCC meeting, this year celebrating 100 years of Grand Prix. Kubota san caught everyone’s attention with a very strong 4th fastest qualifying time. Dan was a bit frustrated to be in 8th. Chris Locke did well to be 15th for his first TGP race and first visit to Donington. Saturday had been enlivened by an engine change for Dan between the morning and afternoon sessions. The Classic mechanics did well to have it all done in four hours. That evening Clive Chapman attended the Lotus Club International dinner at which Peter Warr was the guest speaker. It was a great speech about Peter’s life in F1, during which he worked with 15 World Champions. Peter could not resist observing that ‘in my day engine changes took one and a half hours’; yeah, right. In the race all hell broke loose on the first lap. All our drivers made good starts but then Dan spun to the back of the field and Kubota san was clobbered by a car coming into the chicane. Kubota was launched high into the air; sickeningly the landing caused a lot of damage, including twisting the tub. At least Kubota san was alright and he was admirably stoical about it afterwards. Meanwhile Dan embarked on a stirring drive back through the field that netted him a hard earned 6th place. Chris Locke was going well until about half way when a misfire developed and got worse to the point where he had to come in. The Classic mechanics changed the spark box and tightened the battery connections which fixed it for a couple of laps at the end.
This season has an extended tail with Spa Masters and Dijon TGP plus a visit to Motegi for Clive and Chris in October; then Valencia TGP in November and Sydney in December for the Tasman Revival meeting, with the types 32B, 49B and 58. Even so we are looking forward to winter restorations and the type 64 in particular, as the Barber Museum has now confirmed its requirement for Classic to do the honours.
A lovely shot of Malcolm in the 32B at the Silverstone Classic
At times the Silverstone TGP meeting was rather too wet
Classic Team Lotus at the Goodwood Revival on the Sunday (a day of rest for us, as all our customers raced on the Saturday)
Classic Team Lotus present in force at Donington. See Red? We think not!
Classic Team Lotus Second Quarter 2006
Plenty to keep us occupied
We kicked off the second quarter with something a bit different; the installation of a type 99T showcar on the wall of the Hethel Engineering Centre. Around a replica tub Steve Tate created the car using all original bodywork, gearbox, suspension etc. The result looks great and in situ makes a spectacular impression on visitors to this very impressive new facility. In fact the showcar looks so good we are making a second to sell.
99T showcar on the wall of the Hethel Engineering Centre
In the meantime we welcomed home the 1976 type 77 chassis number 3. American owner Chris Locke is based in San Francisco and owns a type 23B and type 27 also. The car looked lovely; it seemed a shame to have to strip it down for component condition testing, new fuel cell installation etc. However it was not long until Monaco so we set to it.
The Jim Clark Revival Meeting at Hockenheim enjoyed a successful weekend all round. The entry was impressive, the crowd significantly bigger and, to top it all, a sizeable Club Lotus presence. For the first TGP and Formula Junior races of the season we ran Dan Collins in his 91/10 and Dr Keiichi Murakami in our 72D/5 and 18-FJ-723. Dan qualified well enough in 7th but the race was something of a disappointment and he came home 10th. Murakami was delighted to bring home the 72 in 13th place; excellent preparation for Monaco.
Malcolm Ricketts enjoyed a particularly competitive weekend at Brands Hatch in the HGPCA Pre 66 race. On the Grand Prix circuit he put the type 32B on pole; the first since 1965 (for the car, that is). Malcolm led for much of the race and was almost disappointed to be beaten into second place; at least it was Michael Schryver in his type 18.
As ever there have been one or two hiccups with the racing calendar. An apparently bizarre legal situation in Monza has led to a severe limit on noise such that the circuit can no longer accommodate its historic festival. Shame! Hence TGP had to find an alternative which, thanks to Joaquin Folch, turned out to be a support race for the Spanish Grand Prix. The 25 car grid put on a great show to entertain the massive Catalunyan crowd. Katsu Kubota caught everyone’s attention by qualifying fourth, immediately ahead of teammate Dan Collins. Kubota san made a good start and was right in amongst the action but then spun early on. Then his engine failed on the fourth lap; a great shame. Dan enjoyed a happier race, running strongly throughout and finishing fourth; still waiting for that first podium. For Barca the CTL crew was supplemented by Nick Adams of Lotus Engineering (a 23B racer) and Lee Clark of Barber Museum fame, with the team for The Double Header.
Double headers are always challenging; Barcelona followed by Monaco with five different cars is our hardest ever. The logistical challenge was met head-on by Claire Finlay, the CTL Office Administrator, and everything went smoothly. At the last minute the team was joined by author/journalist/Team Lotus friend John Tipler, on assignment for Octane magazine to lift the lid on the inner workings of a historic motor racing team. New customer Chris Locke did really well in 77/3. Progressively he went quicker and quicker to qualify 14th and then follow up with a great drive in the race to finish 10th; all without a single ‘moment’ (well, nothing he told us about, anyway). Malcolm Ricketts (type 21; on loan from Dan Collins) and Katsu Kubota (type 49) went very well to win their respective classes. Keiichi Murakami raced 72/5 and the 18; sadly he failed to finish although he drove extremely well. Bob Dance and Eddie Dennis were on the crew for Monaco and we were pleased that Hazel Chapman and Pam Rudd attended as guests of the Automobile Club De Monaco. Between them their husbands’ cars won the race eight times from 1961 to 1970; not a bad record.
Katsu Kubota on the grid in 49B/R10, Graham Hill’s winning car from 1968 and 1969
Into June and Malcolm Ricketts continued his good form with a stirring drive in the HGPCA race at Oulton Park, this time back in the 32B. The first three cars enjoyed a terrific dice and it took a gearbox problem towards the end to allow Rod Jolley to pip Malcolm for first. In the same race Dan Collins enjoyed his first race in the type 21, winning his class after an eventful and competitive showing.
In place of the planned Jarama TGP race the Championship visited Misano, Italy for the first time. We ran Dan alone who coped well with extreme heat to finish fifth after which he was keen to make the most of the circuit swimming pool; it sounds weird but is entirely in keeping with the ambience of the circuit and the region.
As ever a lot of time has been spent on non racing matters. We staged a very enjoyable reunion of the 1969 type 64 Indy team crew, to discuss the Barber Museum chassis that is under consideration for restoring to running condition. We have enjoyed many visits from Lotus Cars with customers, dealers and press. They all appear to love seeing the cars in the original workshops with the original mechanics; in any case they keep coming back for more.
Showcar activity has been especially busy. In the last week of June we have done a two day demo event at Bruntingthorpe, sent four cars to Vitoria, northern Spain for two months and one of our type 79s to the Design Museum for their exhibition ‘Formula One-The Great Design Race’ that runs until November. Bruntingthorpe went down really well. Chris Dinnage did demo runs in the type 72 and 79; along with the CTL transporter and awning and various display items a great deal of interest was created.
At the end of the quarter we are busy getting ready for the Goodwood Festival of Speed. We are running Bruno Senna in 97T/2, Nigel Mansell in 91/10 and Mika Hakkinen in 79/3 with Dan Collins as understudy as necessary. Last week Martin Donnelly was kind enough to give the 97T its shakedown on the Hethel test track so it is all systems go.
Classic Team Lotus First Quarter 2006
Classic Team Lotus has been busy throughout the winter close season and has expanded in readiness for running more customers at the prestige historic motor racing events throughout Europe in 2006.
Classic Team Lotus has been extremely busy in the workshops making the most of the winter lull in competition events. The close season enables us to give customers’ racing cars a thorough strip down and overhaul. Furthermore we can make good progress with restorations without the distraction of going racing. In particular we have completed the type 102D chassis 1 for The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum. (Subject to installation of the running Ford HB engine that is being rebuilt).
The International Historic Motorsport Show at Stoneleigh provided the ideal occasion to show it off. This important chassis is the sixteenth F1 Lotus to be brought back to life in the historic Team Lotus workshops at Hethel. Mika Häkkinen and Johnny Herbert raced the 102D in the first four Grand Prix of 1992, achieving two extremely valuable top six points finishes. Chassis 1 was Johnny’s car in which he came sixth in South Africa.
102D/1 and the Classic Team Lotus stand attracted a lot of favourable attention at what is the premier Historic show in the UK. Hundreds of exhibitors and tens of thousands of visitors are testament to the great popularity of historics that has fostered a significant and thriving industry sector.
In January Classic Team Lotus had enjoyed top billing at the Motor Show Festival in Zaragoza, Spain. Organiser Jesús Pozo is a big Lotus fan and for the indoor F1 demo only some Lotus F1 cars would do. (Interestingly Jesús is the man behind the irresistable Macarena dance sensation; but we do not hold that against him). Nick Yallop and Lee Nicol attended the cars with young Spanish hotshot Ander Vilariño evidently delighted to be doing the honours behind the wheel. The show attracted 112,000 visitors and the F1 Lotus demo played well to the enthusiastic crowd.
On the competitions side Classic Team Lotus is looking forward to a busy 2006 season, supporting customers from all over the world. It will be involved principally with the Thoroughbred Grand Prix, Grand Prix Masters, F1 Pre ‘66 and Formula Junior categories. Dan Collins has gone particularly well in winter testing as he prepares for his sixth season of TGP with 91/10. Keichii Murakami (type 72/5 Patron) and Katsuaki Kubota (78/4) will take turns at being Dan’s team mate except at Monaco where they will be in pride of place in 72/5 and 49B/R10 respectively. Also at Monaco we will run American Chris Locke in his type 77 which he is sending over the pond for the great adventure. Furthermore Dan Collins received an entry for his type 21 and in a spirit of extreme generosity he has invited Classic Team Lotus team mate Malcolm Ricketts to deputise as he has a prior engagement. The Goodwood Festival will provide a further highlight. In particular the running of Ayrton Senna’s 1985 Estoril winning Lotus Renault 97T with a very special driver will be a magic moment.
The 2006 Calendar has been through it customary convulsions. Hopefully the current Issue VI will prove to be definitive. Sadly the traditional Monza meeting has fallen victim to an apparently bizarre local court hearing; happily TGP will be a support race at the Spanish Grand Prix instead. Sadly TGP is no longer on the bill at the Silverstone Classic; happily TGP will be a support race at the Mansell/Fittipaldi Grand Prix Masters race at Silverstone two weeks later. The historic Grand Prix Masters (cars, not drivers) calendar is looking good especially with races at the fabulous Pau, a support race at the French Grand Prix and a slot at the Silverstone Classic.
With so much going on it is good news that Classic Team Lotus has been joined by Claire Finlay as Office Administrator and Roger Yallop as Workshop administrator. Therefore the 2006 team photo shows how we have grown as Classic Team Lotus goes from strength to strength.
A couple of years ago we started the season with a ‘fly away’ race supporting the Bahrain Grand Prix. Packing containers and preparing cars for airfreight were powerful reminders of the Team Lotus days. This year we are off to the Paul Ricard circuit in the South of France for a TGP test. Once again this evokes memories of the F1 days. Ricard used to be the venue of choice for nearly all winter testing. The Mistral straight seemed endless as the cars floated along in the heat haze before entering the blindingly fast Courbe De Signes right hander. (All this is captured splendidly by the ‘If you’re not winning’ DVD). For some years the circuit has been owned by Bernie Ecclestone and developed extensively. Dan Collins and Katsuaki Kubota will be testing with their fellow competitors. It will be interesting to see how much has changed and how much spirit remains.
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