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Quarterly Review Third Quarter 2008
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The prolonged restoration of the Barber Museum type 64 was encouraged to a conclusion by the decision to run the car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. As ever a definite target worked wonders on pulling together all the final threads and having the car ready for pre event shakedown by Lee Clark in the week leading up the Festival.
At the event the 64 was a star turn. The STP Dayglo ‘Rocket Red’ paint scheme and the sheer size of the thing make it impressive. Added to that are the facts that in its day it was never seen in public in the UK and that none of the other cars have run since that fateful day at Indy when Mario shunted in qualifying.
Lord March also invited CTL to bring along its type 91/8 and type 49B/R10. Jim Bennett signed up to drive the 91, including a pre event Hethel shakedown. It was nice to have Jim back on board, a couple of years after we ran him in his type 76. Dan Collins and Martin Donnelly shared the honours in the 49.
Martin also took the Lotus Cars’ 2-Eleven up the hill, with Millie Hepworth, Colin Chapman’s granddaughter, as passenger.
All together with CTL Mechanics, CTL Point of Sale crew, volunteers Uncle Henry & Paul Stevens, Dan’s partner Lisa and son Nathan, Lee Clark’s son Harry and various Chapman grandchildren the CTL presence was fairly noticeable.
The Silverstone Classic saw CTL fielding two Lotus type 88Bs, 27 years after they were banned from competition at the 1981 British GP. At the time the Team Lotus mechanics were desperate to start converting the 88Bs back in to 87s, but Colin Chapman insisted that all three cars were lined up for a final photo.
Amazingly, all three monocoques were re-united at the Classic. Dan was in CTL’s 88B/1; Katsu was in his 88B/2; David Coplowe (run by Martin Stretton Racing) was in his 87/4 in the next door pit.
Katsu and Dan put in good performances in the HF1 races. Katsu was on the front row and made it onto the podium in race two. At one point Dan and Katsu were racing line astern; a great sight. Katsu caught some great footage on his on-board camera. Dan had a couple of, as ever, exciting races in the Colin Chapman Trophy for Formula Juniors.
Chris Locke endured a disappointing weekend in his 77/3. In the Masters Grand Prix race 1 he suffered fuel pressure problem and in race 2 the car overheated in the midst of a race re-start confusion. Disappointment was compounded by a gearbox problem in the 32B.
Malcolm Ricketts was kind enough to bring along the type 58 for display within the Lotus Cars exhibition area to which CTL was invited to position the new transporter and some cars. An apparently simple on-track demo opportunity caused a bit of head scratching for Bob Dance, Nick Adams and Malcolm.
Clive and Bob were invited by Lotus Ltd to attend the LOG 28 organised by CHILL in Indianapolis. (Club House Indianapolis Lotus Lovers, in case you did not know). The long weekend was a splendid event, made even more special by its location in the city where Team Lotus scored one of its greatest ever wins.
Richard Parramint was on hand as MC to ensure that the packed timetable ran smoothly and entertainingly. In particular Clive and Bob enjoyed a fascinating afternoon with the curator of the Speedway Museum; an expat Lotus fan with an encyclopedic knowledge of the 500’s history and the people involved.
Lee Clark represented the Barber Museum at the LOG and then traveled back home to Alabama with Clive and Bob, to pay a visit to the Museum and Mr Barber. On his first visit Bob was mightily impressed by the museum and its workshops. On his second visit Clive was just as impressed all over again; it really is fantastic. The display of Lotus cars now numbers in the 40s and is spectacular, set amongst the World’s largest motorbike collection in a breath-taking purpose built facility, complete with a stunning 2.5 mile FIA standard race circuit.
Clive was keen to be photographed alongside a replica of the chopper bike from Easy Rider, the film to which he took his wife Jane on their first date; how romantic!
Back at base the type 64 was ready to be shipped out to the museum and the CTL crew lined up for a farewell photo (minus Chris Dinnage).
In September Lotus Cars held an Open Day to celebrate 60 years since Colin Chapman created the Lotus Mark I. CTL was pleased to be invited along to display a selection of its own and customer cars, in pride of place at the end of the production line
We took the opportunity to raise funds for the Care For Life At Home Fund (in memory of Sarah Hepworth, nee Chapman) by inviting visitors to walk through the new CTL transporter, in return for a small donation. To add to the fun we persuaded Thomas Payton, a grandson of Colin Chapman, to press gang a few mates to parade around with him dressed in Team Lotus helmets and overalls.
Most importantly CTL was proud to display the Lotus type 25 R4 that it has restored for the Dawson-Damer family. Bob Dance and his colleagues have done a tremendous job of restoring the car to close to original specification. Adelicia Dawson-Damer was delighted to see the car looking well and awaiting its rebuilt Coventry Climax engine.
The Goodwood Revival was next up. Sadly the engine was not ready for the 25, but it still looked splendid on static display alongside a whole host of 60’s Lotus racers.
Dan raced his 21 but suffered a driveshaft failure; Chris Locke raced the CTL 32B into a competitive 5th place finish; Chris also raced his type 27 in an incredibly fast Junior field.
Chris Dinnage and Dan were looking the part at the Revival.
At the end of September it was off to Nurburgring for HF1 and Formula Junior. Katsu went well in the 88B coming 5th in the sprint race and 3rd in the main race on Sunday.
Chris Locke had a very busy schedule in his 77 and his 27, with the timetable making life hectic at times.
The Formula Junior races were very exciting and Chris was especially pleased with his 4th place on the Sunday, followed home by Team Manager Chris Dinnage in his type 20.
Our busiest ever Quarter
In April the Donington Masters was blighted by truly awful weather; freezing cold and wet. In the Thursday test day James King had his second serious run in 72/5; sadly James’s engine let go, so Friday was spent installing a CTL engine so that James could race. Saturday qualifying saw another disappointment for James, when the front left hub retaining stud failed, causing the wheel to come adrift, fortunately without consequence. Meanwhile Chris Locke was going well in his 77/3, lining up 8th on the grid with James 6th. Both drivers did well in both races; 8th and 6th on Saturday; 5th and 4th on Sunday. (Interestingly the first time Chris had driven 77/3 in the wet, after five years of ownership; it never rains in California.)
Happiness, Sorrow then more happiness...
The Jim Clark Revival was very well supported, with lots of Lotus fans in particular, as the redeveloped Jim Clark Memorial was set to be unveiled on the Saturday. This attracted a great crowd; everyone was impressed by and happy with the result of Warren King’s splendid effort. The 72/5 programme suffered a major setback when, in second qualifying, the car had a front outer CV joint failure. After much consideration with Patron James King, this resulted in the very disappointing decision to withdraw the car from Monaco. Things were already bad as Katsu’s engine had failed in his 88B; plus Dan was suffering gearbox troubles with his 91/10. The mechanics made a great effort to change the engine in time for the afternoon qualifying, and Katsu ended up 5th, with Dan just behind him in 8th. Happily both drivers drove a great race. Katsu was up to third and pushing for second, setting fastest race lap in the process. Dan did well to come home 5th. In the junior Dan had a nasty shunt in race 1 as a car rode over the top of him. In a ‘Tank Tape’ special Dan did well to win race 2 and take maximum points overall. Another challenging weekend.
Dan and Katsu brought home the silver at Hockenheim
Work hard, Play hard...
So, as it turned out, CTL took just two cars to Monaco; Chris Locke’s 77/1 and Dan’s 21, fresh from a fairly major rebuild that saw this important Lotus being returned to a condition much closer to its original specification. On his second visit to the principality, Chris turned in another impressive performance, qualifying 22nd in a very close grid, and avoiding the dreaded Armco throughout. Sadly, in the midst of a competitive race, Chris lost third gear and sensibly pulled into the pits to retire. Dan had a trouble free run in the 21, qualifying 16th, and confident he would go quicker in the race. Dan enjoyed a competitive run and fought his way up to 7th with a lap time that would have put him 8th on the grid. A relatively trouble free weekend enabled the team to enjoy some of Monaco’s delights. In particular the ‘Yanks’ kindly included Clive in the ‘Rascasse’ party on Thursday; the team had a dinner at the ‘Stars & Bars’ to celebrate Bob Dance’s birthday on Saturday; FJ stalwart Ned Speaker generously hosted a lunch on his chartered yacht on Sunday; Simon Bull and Martin Stretton welcomed (accepted?) a boarding by the team on Sunday night; all very nice.
Bob with a new friend celebrating his birthday at Monaco (Way past his bedtime)
The weekend after came Spa, which necessitated the transporter driving straight from Monaco. Dan was our sole representative in the HF1 race and was looking forward to a circuit that he likes especially. Qualifying went quite well and Dan lined up 6th on the grid. The race was something of a disappointment with Dan coming home 7th when more had been hoped for.
A eventful return to Monza...
Into June and the HF1 teams were delighted to be returning to Monza after a three year absence. A new promoter had signed up for three years and with significant sponsorship there was evidence of the beginnings of another major historic motor racing event. (Unfortunately one of their ideas was to position the transporters miles away from the pits; most unhelpful.) Dan went very well in unofficial running on Friday but then suffered a really bad shunt in Saturday qualifying. The front right corner was written off so that was that. Dan then hopped into the 18 for the Lurani Trophy round, starting from pole no less, only for the throttle cable to break while leading; a terrible day, that only got worse when it became apparent that the CWP had failed in the 18 causing the team to get Tim Gardner to embark on a mercy dash from England with a spare part. Katsu qualified 7th in 88B/2, somewhat hampered by gearbox issues that kept the team busy late into the night. On race day the weather was threatening. Katsu made a good start and was looking strong, punching his weight amongst the front runners. The rain started to fall at some points around the track and first and second went off. Katsu was up to third, and second was looking to be on the cards, until a chaotic last lap in a sudden, torrential downpour saw Katsu ending up 4th; an exciting race that no doubt Dan would have reveled in. By way of consolation Dan made it to the grid for the second FJ race, happily on pole again. Dan took it very steady to ensure a class win, in very tricky conditions that caused him a heart stopping brush against the Armco at one point. So, the excitement of being back at Monza again and seeing old friends was tempered somewhat by car troubles and logistical hurdles, but, even so, we will hope to be going back next year.
Remembering Ronnie...
On the same weekend in Anderstorp was the inaugural Ronnie Peterson Memorial Grand Prix. Classic Team Lotus was pleased to support this landmark event by providing 79-3 to be demonstrated by Stefan Johansson. Rex Hart ran the car, with help from Bobby Clark and encouragement from Ake Strandberg; all three being ex Ronnie mechanics. Evidently Stefan did a great job and delighted the large crowd. It was especially nice that Ronnie and Barbro’s daughter, Nina, was in attendance, along with Ronnie’s brother, Tommi.
A happy moment at Anderstorp with Rex, Bobby, Ake and Nina
Next up, at the end of June, was Brands Hatch HF1 on the GP circuit. Dan was driving 88B/1, so, together with Katsu in 88B/2, two 88s were on track together. Dan went really well in qualifying with one of his best ever laps in the morning session. He qualified 5th and Katsu lined up two places behind in 8th. Race day was a let down; Katsu’s clutch failed after the start; Dan was struggling with his clutch and fell back before being nerfed off at Paddock by the same man who dinged Clive’s Jag with his paddock scooter! (Dan was classified 5th).
Twin twin chassis at Brands Hatch
On the same weekend in Gran Canaria Classic Team Lotus was demonstrating the types 32B, 49B and 91 at an indoor arena event organized by Jesus Pozo. Rex Hart and Lee Nicol were swanning about in luxury, along with transporter driver Bernie Rose, in five star splendour (they took every opportunity to text images of their excess). By all accounts the demo was a great success in front of a large crowd and the Classic Team Lotus ambassadors made us a load of new friends.
In the midst of all the intense competition activity, two major projects were being completed; the type 64 restoration and the commissioning of the new CTL transporter. The type 64 of the Barber Vintage Motor Sport Museum had been in restoration for nearly two years, with Bob Dance as lead mechanic throughout. The deadline of the Goodwood Festival gave the impetus required to finish the job, especially as George Barber himself might be driving. Firing the car up for the first time in 39 years was a special moment; memorable too as it concluded with a massive sheet of flame from the exhaust. Chris Dinnage undertook the initial shakedown runs before Lee Clark arrived to get acquainted with the car prior to Goodwood, in the absence of an otherwise engaged Mr Barber.
The new transporter design, build and commissioning have not been without various dramas. However, it made it to Monza (and back) on its first run and, since then, the team has had the chance to iron out most of the snagging list. It is amazing how this much larger vehicle has been filled instantly, such that one wonders where the space has gone. Even so, it represents an important and vital step for the team; one that will enable it to provide an even better service to its customers for many years to come.
In theory the winter is the quiet time when we quietly catch up on restorations and potter about getting ready for the forthcoming new season. As ever, it never quite works out like this.
Classic has attended the Autosport International Show as well as the Club Lotus gathering at Donington. Once again we took four cars to the Motor Show Festival at Zaragoza. Dan Collins, Malcolm Ricketts and Joaquin Folch demonstrated the cars on the indoor arena in front of the ever enthusiastic Spanish fans.
Joaquin in 79/3 at Zaragoza. What tyre smoke? No doubt the thick haze was caused by others.....
In the workshop we have been pressing on with the Barber Museum type 64, the Dawson Damer type 25, the Nishida type 30 and Dan Collins'' type 21. With the engine in place we reckoned the type 64 looked good even half restored, so we took it to Donington where it attracted a lot of interest. Dan''s type 21 is racing at Monaco so we need to push on with it; we are very pleased that Dan wants the car put back to closer to its original specification after so many years away. Also at Monaco we will be running Chris Locke in his 77/3 and James King in our 72/5.
The type 64 restoration is coming on well; it will be a real head turner when it is done.
With echoes of F1 winter testing in the 80s we went on a three day test at Guadix in Southern Spain with four cars for Dan, Katsu and Paul Whight. Two 88s on track in line astern was a special sight. Hopefully we can dig up a photo from somewhere to show you at a later date. Paul enjoyed his first taste of F1, and single seaters.
2008 sees 40 years since Jim Clark lost his life at Hockenheim. Michael Oliver organized a Jim Clark Film Festival in February to which he attracted a great line-up of Jim''s contemporaries along with a great turn out of Motorsport enthusiasts. Hazel Chapman attended and Clive Chapman was suprised to see her featuring in footage of the Winner''s Circle at Indy 1965, at a time when he had always assumed she was at home looking after the baby i.e. himself. Club Lotus staged an excellent Jim Clark themed display at Donington. Long term Lotus Cars stalwart Warren King has taken it upon himself to instigate significant improvements to the humble Jim Clark Memorial at Hockenheim. Warren has gone a long way securing the necessary funds. In the meantime Classic Team Lotus ensured that work could start so that everything would be ready in time for an unveiling at the Jim Clark Revival at the end of April.
Michael Oliver did a great job to gather some wonderful, largely unseen archive film of Jim Clark. The gathering of Jim''s contemporaries was very special.
Classic Team Lotus has organized the publication of a second edition of the excellent book ''Team Lotus the Indianapolis Years'' by the late Andrew Ferguson. As a result of agreeing to stock significant quantities of this, and combined wih significant quantities of the excellent Elio De Angelis biography, we are now officially in the book trade. Classic is proud of its role in encouraging the publication of such books.
To top it all 2008 will see the commisioning of a new Classic Team Lotus transporter. The existing one does a great job but we found that more and more often we need to take more than three cars and that we needed space inside at the circuit for more than three drivers. We look forward to showing you a photo in the next review; and, writing as the designer of the new transporter, I mean that most sincerely.
The historic Motorsport calendar went through its usual convulsions before settling down around the end of March into something fairly fixed and plausible... and packed. Our customers are racing in a mixture of HF1 and Masters events plus, of course, their is Monaco and maybe Goodwood, Plus, no doubt, one or two others along the way. For starters, we are just about to tip over the edge towards four weekends in five; Donington, Hockenheim, Monaco and Spa with eight different cars. Wish us luck!
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!
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.
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