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Fourth Quarter Review 2007
A Nice Way To End The Season
With our racing finished at Dijon we were quite happy with a relatively relaxed fourth quarter, especially when remembering last year with Motegi, Valencia and Sydney.
Our good friend Jesus Pozo was charged by Martini to create a Montjuic Revival event on the magnificent Grand Prix circuit within the city of Barcelona. The car that had to be there was the type 72 chassis 5 that won the race in 1972 and the driver, of course, had to be Emerson Fittipaldi. Somehow Jesus got it all arranged along with a mouthwatering line-up of supporting cars that included our type 49B, with Dan Collins at the wheel, and last year’s Ferrari F1. It turned out to be the most wonderful occasion, with 250,000 enthusiastic locals lining the whole circuit. Emerson was his charming self throughout. On the grid on Sunday it all got quite emotional. Fantastic!
Emerson and Rosanna with Emerson Junior in Dad's 1972 Championship winning type 72
The setting for the event was breathtaking, as was the line-up of cars that had been created
The workshop made a superhuman effort to complete on time the repair of Katsu Kubota’s type 78 that was so badly damaged at Donington in 2006. Katsu had agreed that we should take the opportunity to put the car back to its correct period Works spec. The result is looking beautiful; a great credit to the original design and the hard work of the Classic Team Lotus mechanics.
78/4 back to its correct spec and perfect condition after a great job by the Classic Team Lotus crew, pictured with the car immediately after completion
The crowning glory for October was a very special event at University College London. Colin Chapman read his Civil Engineering degree there and the Provost thought it would be nice to commemorate this with a display of Lotus road and race cars, a gathering of Lotus, Motorsport and Motor Industry figures and a rather splendid reception and dinner. Classic Team Lotus, with the exceedingly generous help of Paul Whight, who made available the Cadena Sport transporter, and team member Tim Richies, managed to transport nine cars into central London; no mean feat, well done Lewis Cullington! The event was a great success and a real honour for the Chapman family. Group Lotus enabled the whole thing to happen by sponsoring the dinner, so it was entirely appropriate that Mike Kimberley should be the key speaker. He made an excellent speech to an impressive guest list, including two British World Champions, John Surtees and Damon Hill, and Stirling Moss. All in all a great tribute to Colin Chapman, 25 years on from his untimely death.
The display of cars in the quadrangle of University College London was of a scale and stature in keeping with the setting and the status of a splendid event that was a great tribute to the memory of Colin Chapman
Hazel Chapman and family were delighted by the honour bestowed on Colin Chapman by UCL; Hazel sat next to Sir Stirling Moss at the dinner, which clearly she enjoyed
All of a sudden November was enlivened by a snap test with Katsu Kubota in Barcelona. Erstwhile Classic Team Lotus Patron Abba Kogan had offered Katsu the chance to test his Williams with a view to racing it at Monaco. Katsu took the opportunity to make a back to back comparison between his type 88B/2 and our 91/8. Irritatingly the weather was not great, so the comparison was somewhat inconclusive. Even so, it was good to see Katsu back on track and Chris Dinnage and Kevin Smith enjoyed the chance to run both cars; thanks to Abba!
Relatively speaking November and December have proved to be home based focused, enabling us to make good progress in the workshops and allowing the mechanics to catch up on holidays. The engine for the type 64 has arrived (huge!) so we expect to have this fascinating Indy Lotus running once more before too long. Progress on the Dawson Damer type 25 has been most encouraging; Bob Dance is taking every care to ensure that it is being reassembled exactly as it was in period. We are embarking on an exciting programme to establish a practical support service for Renault Turbo engines.
Third Quarter Review 2007
The End is in Sight
The second half of the season has been fairly busy, without being crazy; most importantly it is the second half, as opposed to last year when it turned out to be the middle third.
The Silverstone Classic was an enormous meeting, once again. This year we ran three pre ’65 cars, all in the same race, so this helped to make a relatively straightforward weekend for Classic Team Lotus. Malcolm Ricketts (type 32B) came 12th in race 1, Dan Collins (type 21) came 6th in race 1 but retired from race 2, while Chris Dinnage (having fun in Dan’s LDS) came 15th in race 1 and 10th in race 2. We held a watching brief on Paul Whight’s Lotus 30 which was run by Team Cadena, Paul’s outfit. Senior Lotus Cars test driver Gavan Kershaw did the honours and brought the car home a very creditable 3rd place in class in her first race, an hour long endurance style run in the almost dark.
Gavan Kershaw lights it up in the gloom of a wet Saturday evening at the Silverstone Classic
The blind leading the blind? Malcolm Ricketts telling Bob Dance how to drive a Segway, acting as if he had a clue; motor racing is dangerous!
Hazel Chapman attended Silverstone on the Sunday, fresh (?) after an excellent dinner the night before, organised by Club Elite, to celebrate 50 years of the fabulous Lotus Elite. The Club had organized a parade of around 100 cars on the Silverstone circuit. The sun shone on a beautiful morning as the cars lined up with Hazel and Peter Kirwan Taylor sharing memories; a very special moment.
Peter Kirwan Taylor and Hazel Chapman at the head of the magnificent line-up of Lotus Elites
Dan Collins flew the flag alone at the Historic F1 Championship rounds at Hungary (F1 Grand Prix support race) and Spa. Racing the Classic Team Lotus type 88B chassis 1 for the first time, Dan managed creditable 6th and 7th place finishes in this most extraordinary car that he is enjoying learning about.
A Herculean effort by Eddie Dennis and the team had our type 72 chassis 5 repaired and ready in time for the American Lotus Owners Gathering (LOG) 27, held this year in Snowmass, next door to Aspen, Colorado. Emerson Fittipaldi was Guest of Honour and demonstrated the car to an appreciative 400 plus audience. We reckon this is the first time a 72 has been in the States since 1975; certainly a 72 has never run at such altitude before. Bob Dance attended the car; together with Richard Parramint and Nick Adams (of Lotus Cars) the marque was well represented.
Richard Parramint brought back this extraordinary image of 72/5 in a Colorado parking lot, alongside a concourse winning Lotus Europa Special Edition
Amazingly, having run in Snowmass on the Monday, 72/5 made it back to the UK in time for it to be run at the Goodwood Revival on the Friday, as part of the Tribute to Cosworth parade in which the type 49B also took part. Clive Chapman was bowled over by being introduced to Lynn St James; on the spur of the moment (and as a pretty flash chat up line, so he reckoned) Clive invited Lynn to drive the 49B on the Saturday; after a slightly awkward moment explaining to Dan Collins that he had been usurped, Lynn did the honours and was pleased to have driven her favourite F1 car (so she said…to Clive). Like Silverstone, The Revival was a Pre ’65 Fest for the team; Dan qualified in a strong 6th place, with Chris Locke (deputising for Malcolm Ricketts) in the 32B and John Elliott in the LDS not far behind, enjoying a very special rent-a-drive at the World’s premier historic Motorsport event. The lads were extremely busy fixing the cars in time for the race on Sunday. Happily they took to the grid in good shape and enjoyed good races.
At the invitation of Renault UK we ran 97T/2 at their World Series round at Donington. Martin Donnelly did the honours and the car ran well, without missing a beat; just like it should be.
The Stig, suited, booted and…anonymous; ready to have a go in 72/5
The Lotus Seven Club organized a brilliant event at the local Royal Norfolk Showground to celebrate 50 Years of production of the Seven. Hazel Chapman was invited to attend and she enjoyed reviewing the presentation of one car from each year of production. On seeing the more than 500 Sevens lined up she was moved to comment ‘You know, I think Colin would have been impressed by this.’; rare praise indeed.
Team Manager Chris Dinnage spent a couple of days in Southern Spain with the BBC Top Gear crew, running the type 72 for The Stig. The idea was to compare the 400bhp plus production cars available from Mercedes, BMW and Audi and then contrast them with a 450bhp F1 car from the Seventies. Discretion prevents us from revealing the outcome; suffice to say that Chris returned with a smile (and so he should after a couple of lazy days in the sun; it’s O.K., he never reads this).
Martin Donnelly at speed in Ayrton’s first Grand Prix winning Lotus type 97T; lovely!
Next up was the last round of the HF1 Championship at Dijon. Dan definitely made progress, aided by some set-up changes, in the type 88B, going particularly well in the race to finish 7th, not far behind the leading group.
On the same day back in Blighty we displayed six cars at the Lotus Open Day, held to celebrate 40 years of production at Hethel. It was a lovely day. Lotus Cars put on a great show with lots of stands, funfair etc.; high speed runs around the test track were especially popular. Hazel Chapman and family arrived in the 1965 Ford Galaxie that Colin Chapman like to use for the blasts up to Hethel for site visits, if flying was not practical.
Hazel Chapman with the Galaxie that she remembers racing down Bond Street against an F1 driver’s girlfriend
In the workshop we are making good progress on the type 64 which is ready and waiting for the engine that is about to arrive from the States. We are trying to have Katsu Kubota’s type 78 chassis 4 repaired in time for flying out to Japan for a demo at Motegi in October.
Classic Team Lotus Second Quarter 2007
Jim Clark Revival Meeting
Hockenheim is a famous motor racing circuit with a significant history; 2007 marks its 75th anniversary. However, for Lotus it is the circuit that claimed the greatest of them all; Jim Clark. In April 1968, driving a type 48 in a Formula 2 race, Clark’s car left the circuit on the straight, hit a tree and the world was stunned by the loss of the double F1 Champion and winner of the 1965 Indy 500.
In 2005 the Hockenheim circuit decided to instigate a new historic motorsport meeting and wanted to call it the Jim Clark Revival. To the great credit of the organizers they contacted Jim Clark’s sisters to get their blessing and then arranged for all three to attend the inaugural meeting. Most importantly the weekend included a rededication of the Jim Clark Memorial that attracts many visitors and all Team Lotus personnel, whenever at the circuit.
Classic Team Lotus and long standing Lotus man Warren King attending the Jim Clark Memorial
Happily the Jim Clark Revival is going from strength to strength, with massive grids and increasingly full grandstands. The organizers are to be congratulated on the way they have managed to create such a positive, active memorial to Jimmy.
This year Classic Team Lotus ran Dan Collins and Katsu Kubota in both the Historic F1 and Formula Junior races. The theoretically straightforward Formula Junior races were anything but; the challenge of running two F1 cars pushed the team even harder than normal. Dan needed an engine change on the Friday evening so the mechanics had a very late night. Meanwhile Clive Chapman attended a sumptuous dinner to celebrate the circuit’s 75th and was somewhat embarrassed to find the lads still hard at it when he made it back to the pits. Frustratingly Kubota’s car suffered a split fuel diaphragm just before Saturday morning qualifying and despite a great effort he missed the session. Dan wound up a disappointed 13th and Kubota was 7th; not bad for his first visit to Hockenheim.
Thumbs up from Katsu, pictured with his type 88B before the race
A big crowd on Sunday was treated to a great race consisting of some very important F1 cars being driven extremely fast and close. Kubota made a good start and ran strongly throughout to finish 5th. Similarly Dan drove an excellent race and was pleased to finish 7th. After two such challenging days it was good for the team that both drivers did so well.
Lotus Thierry Verhiest
Thierry Verhiest is a Lotus dealer based in Ostende who just happens to sell more Lotus cars in Europe than anyone else. He is a huge Lotus enthusiast who, together with his charming wife Natalie, runs an excellent dealership providing customer service second to none. Thierry is a good friend of Classic Team Lotus and often pops in with some of his customers. This year Thierry took his enthusiasm to new limits by acquiring a Lotus type 99T showcar for display on the wall of his splendid showroom.
The 99T showcar makes a dramatic impact, directly above the customer bar…!
Thierry threw a party for all his customers in May to which Clive Chapman was pleased to be invited to unveil the stunning installation. Clive drove out in a Lotus Europa fresh off the production line; ably driven by Lotus Dealer Liaison Lucy Mendham, the car did not miss a beat. There was an excellent turnout (and a lively party) with the 99T creating a special impact. The car can be seen from the motorway running past the showroom; Thierry feels sure the display will draw in more potential customers.
Grand Prix Live
An exclusively Formula One themed event was staged at Donington for the first time, with Historic F1 being the main event on track. The highlight of the weekend was the appearance of Mario Andretti, the American Stirling Moss, who was World Champion with Team Lotus in 1978. Mario demonstrated Alfa, Ferrari and Lotus F1 cars on track. The Lotus was the actual type 49 (chassis 5 at that time) which he put on pole position for the 1968 U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. It was Mario’s first F1 race at a circuit which, surprisingly, he had never driven before. Recently this performance topped a poll in Autosport as being the greatest ever F1 debut. Bob Dance remembers how at one point Mario drawled laconically to Colin Chapman ‘Just tell me when you want me to put it on pole, Colin’. Sure enough, when Chapman gave his ‘novice’ driver the nod, Mario delivered. Bob recalls “The Old Man was really excited about this and commented ‘It’s just like it was with Jimmy’.”
Nearly 40 years on, Mario was delighted to find Bob Dance attending the type 49 once again and he set off to do five demo laps. Unexpectedly Mario was caught out by the cold tyres on lap 1 and dramatically left the track in a high speed and lurid spin. Fortunately he did not hit anything, rejoined the circuit and calmly (?) carried on with the demo. If it had not been for the big screens then the team in the pits would have been none the wiser.
Clive and Mario pleased to see the 49 in one piece after the exciting demo….
GP Live provided a double header race weekend for Dan and Katsu. The 26 car field boasted another impressive line up of great F1 cars. Katsu and the team were delighted when he stuck his 88B on the front row. Dan had a problem with his new tyres but, even so, he managed to line up 11th. Race 1 was enlivened by light rain half way through which caught out Dan and Katsu, who had ended up running in close company. Dan made it back on track to finish 7th. Katsu made a much better start in Race 2 and led for the first half of the race. Sadly on, lap 10, his engine blew and that was that. Happily Dan drove a good race and wound up 5th; another good performance at a favourite circuit. Dan followed this up with two second places in his 1961 U.S. GP winning type 21 in the Pre 65 F1 race. A busy weekend…
Flat out through the Craner Curves for Katsu and Dan in race 1
Goodwood Festival of Speed
The theme for this year’s event was ‘Spark of genius, pushing the boundaries’ which was right up our street. Clearly Lord March felt the same and invited Classic Team Lotus to participate at the Festival with its type 49, 79 and 88 F1 cars. Also the team intended to help the Dawson-Damer family to run its type 25, fresh from a Hethel shakedown after being shipped over from Australia. Unfortunately this famous car was damaged in transit such that it could not run after all. Generously Malcolm Ricketts offered as an alternative the type 32B, of which he is Patron. The 32B was restored by John Dawson-Damer in the first place, so it was nice to see the Dawson-Damer’s driver, John Smith, doing the honours up the hill.
Both Emerson Fittipaldi and Damon Hill drove the 49 at different times during the weekend. Emerson raced his first three Grand Prix in 49B/R10 (neé R5) and Damon’s father, Graham, drove the same chassis in three consecutive Monaco Grand Prix, winning in 1968 and 1969. Emerson was on great form, as ever. Damon appeared to enjoy himself, although his run in the wet was hampered somewhat by a lack of goggles for his open face helmet…….
John Smith did a great job in the 32B, clinching fastest time in class, albeit without pushing that hard.
Classic Team Lotus was pleased to invite Paul Whight, owner of the recently restored type 30/S2/08, to drive the type 79 (untimed). Despite an extensive motor sport career, including being the principle driving force behind the Cadena GT3 Exige race programme, it transpired this was the first time that Paul had driven an open wheeler. The car ran well throughout the weekend and Paul enjoyed himself; in particular he liked the handling and said he would love to have a go on a circuit; something to aim for there then.
Clive was extremely grateful to Katsu Kubota for making available his type 88B/2 to be driven by Dan Collins. Given the theme, the type 88B had to be there, and in the absence of 88B/1 (still being rebuilt) it was very kind of Katsu to make such a generous gesture. Dan drove sensibly but even so, given Dan’s experience of the hill combined with the performance of the 88B, Dan set Fastest Time of the Day on Friday and almost repeated the feat on Sunday; a great performance.
The team celebrating Fastest Time of the day on Friday, champagne courtesy Dan Collins, renowned ‘ hill’ specialist at the Festival
Once again thanks to Lord March for his fantastic event. It is wonderful that the Lotus marque is able to maintain so high profile a role at such a prestigious event.
Brands Hatch HF1
The 6th round of the Historic F1 Championship was the main event of the HSCC historic meeting at Brands Hatch.
Dan Collins (91/10) and Katsu Kubota (88B/2) were pleased to get the chance to race their 80s F1 cars around one of the most demanding and exciting circuits of the period.
The weather played quite a part in the weekend. Most crucially the final qualifying session was on a drying track. Unfortunately Dan, who had been P4 in the morning, watched the last few, quick laps from the Druids run off; this resulted in a somewhat lowly P11 on the grid. Katsu was P2 right up until the end when his last lap was not as expected and he slipped to P7, although still close to the pole position time.
Dan at speed in 91/10, image courtesy CTL supporter Max Kingsley Jones
(Very) fortunately it was a dry race on Sunday afternoon, although the generally dreadful weather kept the spectators away. They missed a really excellent race with good dicing throughout the field. Kubota had to push hard the whole way to secure a strong 5th place. Dan got fairly close to his team mate before his tyres went off and he had to settle for 6th. 20 laps around Brands is a good test for man and machine; both came through with flying colours.
Type 18 FJ 746
Sarah and John Hutchison, proud owners of 18 FJ 746, were delighted to come to the workshops for the shakedown of their car on the Hethel test track, fresh from its restoration by Classic Team Lotus, featuring Lee Nicol in particular.
The shakedown was just in time for John to race the car at Snetterton on the following weekend where the car ran well bar a problem with the (original) clutch.
Sarah and John kindly presented Lee with a bottle of bubbly that he sensibly refrained from spraying around
Type 30 S2 08
At long last the team was able to take Paul Whight’s type 30 to Silverstone for testing where, despite some problems with a fuel leak and the front wishbones, the driver expressed a cautious ‘O.K.’ for this challenging car.
Paul Whight about to put 30 S2 08 back on track; Bob Dance is looking calm...
The post shakedown job list was completed in time for more testing at Brands Hatch where, once again, the drivers were enjoying getting to know the car. Towards the end of the day the output shaft on the gearbox (rebuilt by others) failed; subsequent inspection revealed a fatigue crack as the cause; yet more disappointment. To his credit, Paul Whight remains upbeat and his team, Cadena Motorsport, are repairing the car, with help from CTL, in time for the Silverstone Classic at the end of July.
Classic Team Lotus First Quarter 2007
There! I blinked. (And missed the quiet winter period)
Classic Team Lotus has been busy with restorations and winter overhauls; 12 weeks after the end of the 2006 season we were out testing at Donington.
The winter workshop programme has been a mixture of restoration projects and between season winter overhauls.
The type 18 FJ 746 (Sarah Hutchison), the type 30/40-S2-08 (Paul Whight) and the type 64/4 (Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum) have been the main restoration projects.
Lee Nicol, who joined Classic back in 2001 as a workshop assistant and has progressed to specializing in Formula Juniors, has been doing a great job on the 18. The car was in good original condition and the owners are keen for the car to remain as faithful to original specification as practical; Classic Team Lotus shares this enthusiasm.
Kevin Smith and Bob Dance together have progressed the 30/40 project. As the car was stripped down it became apparent that this would be a major project to get it back to being anything like a racing car; it has become a ground up restoration. Owner Paul Whight is the man behind the exciting GT3 Works Lotus Exige race programme. As such the Lotus marque has a lot to thank him for. We are delighted that he has chosen to try out historic racing with Classic Team Lotus.
The type 64 has made steady progress. Bob Dance has enjoyed pooling memories with Arthur Birchall who was Chief Mechanic on the Indy team in 1969. This was the year in which Bob logged a 140 hour week as the mechanics endeavoured to get the type 64s sorted in time for the ‘500’. The car is huge and the four wheel drive system is a bit of a challenge. Once again originality is all important, especially for the Barber Museum and its unrivalled collection of Lotus road and race cars.
In the midst of all this appeared the type 88B chassis 2 that Katsuaki Kubota acquired for racing in the Historic F1 Championship (neé TGP). Kubota san favours a composite chassis and, out of the few cars available, the twin chassis configuration of the type 88B has been proven to be competitive in Historic F1. Kevin Smith embarked on a hectic three weeks of preparation to have the car ready to test in mid March.
Meanwhile Nick Yallop has been busy preparing Dan Collin’s 91/10 for his seventh successive season of Historic F1. Dan has come extremely close to a podium finish on a number of occasions; surely 2007 will be the year. Before Kubota san purchased his 88B, Dan asked if he could race Classic’s own type 88B (chassis 1) and the plan is to have this ready in the first half of the season. It will be great to see this car back in one piece; maybe it will give Dan that little extra edge.
Away from the workshop we have attended various show car appearances and events. In particular Jesus Pozo, organizer of the Motor Show Festival in Zaragoza, invited us to take four cars to demo and two for static display. 120,000 visitors over three days confirm the success of the event, now in its third year. The 99T/4 (Ayrton’s Monaco and Detroit 1987 winning chassis) was resplendent on the stand of the Spanish Lotus importer. The beautiful 1968 type 58 De Dion F2 car attracted a lot of interest, as ever. In the Live Action indoor arena the types 18, 32B, 49B and 72D presented an exciting demonstration of Lotus and F1 history. Sadly the driver of the 72D became over excited; unbelievably he contrived to crash it and cause quite a bit of front end damage. Fortunately it has transpired the tub damage can be straightened without having to replace any skins of what is arguably the greatest ever individual F1 chassis. Thanks to Malcolm Ricketts for doing the honours in the types 32B and 49B; sensibly….
Donington became our second home around the weekend of the 17th and 18th March. Dan and Kubota san tested on the 15th; we set up on the 16th for the Club Lotus weekend; we tested again on the 19th, with Kubota; on the same day we attended the launch of the new book Jim Clark The Team Lotus Years and inadvertently starred in the press launch of the Grand Prix Live event.
Kubota san looking good in his type 88B/2
The Club Lotus weekend was as popular as ever; this year Classic shared a stand with Lotus Cars and showed off its types 49B and 79/3. Bob Dance fired up the 49B to announce the opening of the event. Steve Allen and Richard Parramint presented a wide range of Team Lotus related merchandising to the thousands of Lotus enthusiasts that flocked to the show.
Coterie press has established itself as a leading motoring publisher with a specialty in Lotus related books. Jim Clark The Team Lotus Years is a splendid collection of wonderful images of Team Lotus in the Sixties captured by Peter Darley who, in today’s language, was ‘embedded’ with the team from 1964 to 1968. The book captures a golden era for Team Lotus as Jim Clark dominated British Motorsport, racing against his F1 contemporaries in a wide variety of categories at all the main circuits in England; an evocative record and a must for anyone interested in Team Lotus. William and Jo Taylor organized a very pleasant occasion amidst the many Team Lotus cars within the Donington Collection to launch their latest creation, in the company of many of the Team characters that played a part.
Jim Clark Life at Team Lotus is a wonderful, poignant record
The weekend after saw Classic Team Lotus participating at Race Retro (the International Historic Motorsport Show to you and me) with a prominent stand in the main hall. The event attracted a good crowd and our stand was busy throughout. It is a great place to ‘network’ and helps us to make up for being stuck out alone in Norfolk somewhat.
Classic Team Lotus put on a good show at Stoneleigh
The Monday after and the transporter had to leave for Mugello for the opening round of the Historic F1 Championship. A lot of work had gone into 91/10 in an effort to resolve a fuel system problem that was apparent at the Donington test. Given the relatively limited time available to get 88B/2 into race ready condition the team was happy with its standard of preparation.
In qualifying Dan and Kubota san enjoyed the challenge of learning a new and daunting circuit. Dan qualified 8th on a tightly packed grid. Kubota was happier with a very competitive 3rd place; the subsequent withdrawal of the 2nd placed Peter Sowerby elevated everyone up one, so Kubota made it onto the front row.
In the race Kubota was disappointed to lose a place that delayed him over four laps before he could set off after Joaquin Folch in his Brabham, although despite getting close in lap times the gap was too great and he settled for a fine second. Dan enjoyed a competitive showing that saw him up to fifth before the fuel problem reappeared and prevented him from getting past Nico Bindels in his type 87B. So, Lotus in three of the top five; a good start to the season and the Manufacturers’ Championship…..
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