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Post by rcollum on Nov 19, 2019 20:31:41 GMT -5
Mark Franke and I booked the 'Exige Experience' at the Lotus Driving Academy, at the Lotus factory in Hethel. It's a morning of driving the standard (220hp) Exige, and the V6 (350hp) Exige. We also had a tour of the Lotus factory, and of Classic Team Lotus. We had a great time - ask us if you want more info about it. Thanks to Mickey for recommending the 'Bird in Hand' hotel, near the factory. We met up with friend and ex-Lotus employee, Richard Parramint, for dinner at Bird in Hand. We happened to run into a former chief mechanic for Jim Clark - Dave 'Beaky' Sims - at the bar. These guys have some GREAT stories!
--Bob Collum
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Post by rcollum on Nov 19, 2019 20:34:03 GMT -5
Some shots from the track...
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Post by rcollum on Nov 19, 2019 20:39:09 GMT -5
Lots of really cool cars at Classic Team Lotus, across the street from the Lotus factory.
--Bob Collum
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Post by ksm on Nov 20, 2019 18:54:03 GMT -5
Mark Franke and I booked the 'Exige Experience' at the Lotus Driving Academy, at the Lotus factory in Hethel. It's a morning of driving the standard (220hp) Exige, and the V6 (350hp) Exige. We also had a tour of the Lotus factory, and of Classic Team Lotus. We had a great time - ask us if you want more info about it. Thanks to Mickey for recommending the 'Bird in Hand' hotel, near the factory. We met up with friend and ex-Lotus employee, Richard Parramint, for dinner at Bird in Hand. We happened to run into a former chief mechanic for Jim Clark - Dave 'Beaky' Sims - at the bar. These guys have some GREAT stories!
--Bob Collum Wow, how cool to meet a mechanic for Jim Clark and meet up with your ex-Lotus employee friend. People, stories, cars, track time, factory… quite the excursion! How was the V6 Exige and how much track time did you get? Did they let you really push it? What’s the yellow #10 car?
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Post by rcollum on Nov 20, 2019 19:39:48 GMT -5
To answer your questions - we had just two 20-minute sessions, followed by a couple of hot laps in the V6 Exige, with the instructor driving. I did the LHD Elise (220hp) first, and the RHD V6 Exige (350hp) second. To be honest, I would have preferred twice as much time driving, but the description of the Exige Experience clearly stated how long we'd have to drive. (There are other Academy classes, but this was the only choice the weekend we went.)
They let us drive close to flat-out, but there was a learning curve. I thought I was driving fairly fast -- until the two laps with the instructor. I definitely learned some track skills, but could use more wheel time.
The Elise was fun - just like my Elise, but 31 more horsepower. The V6 Exige felt great - much more power, but didn't feel out of control. I had heard that the V6 Exige was the best road car Lotus has made -- and I believe it!
I believe the yellow #10 car is a Lotus 30. (For reference purposes, here's a picture of Bill Orr's 30.)
--Bob Collum
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Post by rcollum on Nov 21, 2019 9:09:43 GMT -5
Standing at the bar at the Bird In Hand Pub, near the Lotus factory, Mark struck up a conversation with a guy wearing a Ferrari jacket. As it turns out, this was Dave 'Beaky' Sims, a former F1 mechanic for Lotus, now working for Risi Competizione, a team racing Ferraris in the LeMans series. (Note: he was very humble; I had to look up what a big part of classic F1 he really was, and is!) This guy is amazing - he has worked as mechanic for (among others): Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Oliver, John Miles, Mario Andretti, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nicki Lauda, Ronnie Peterson, James Hunt, Arie Luyendyk, Mika Salo & Giancarlo Fisichella.
He told us a quick story about Mario Andretti, showing up to drive a Lotus 49B Gold Leaf F1 car for the first time in a race, at the 1968 US Grand Prix. The car was set up for someone else - probably Graham Hill, a six-footer. Mario is 5' 7". Mario asked them to put blocks on the pedals, and the mechanics did that. When Mario got back in, he needed to be still further forward and higher in the seat. He got a mechanic's jacket, and stuffed it in the seat. Mario then went out and set pole position!
The next morning, we went by Classic Team Lotus, the service run by Colin's son, Clive Chapman. CTL looks after the old racing cars owned by the Chapman family, and repairs and restores vintage Lotus race cars for people, from all over the world. We spoke briefly with Bob Dance, another Lotus F1 legend. He starting working at Lotus in 1960, and has worked as race mechanic for (among others), Andretti, Peterson, de Angelis, Mansell and Senna. Now in his 80's, Bob still manages to get over to the US for the Lotus Owners Gatherings almost every year. Mr. Dance is a soft-spoken man, with a wry sense of humor, and a treasure trove of F1 stories.
Lotus is so central to the classic F1 racing we all love. Seeing that such amazing people are still around is wonderful.
--Bob Collum
Richard Parramint, me, and 'Beaky' Sims, at the Bird In Hand Pub:
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Post by rcollum on Nov 23, 2019 11:53:01 GMT -5
...since we were in London at the end of our trip, we took the opportunity to go to the London Film Museum, which has a James Bond Cars exhibit.
--Bob Collum
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Post by rcollum on Nov 23, 2019 12:01:32 GMT -5
We happened upon a car dealership outside Harrogate, and stopped in...
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Post by rcollum on Nov 23, 2019 12:02:48 GMT -5
...around the corner from that dealership was a small repair shop, specializing in Lotus.
--Bob Collum
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Post by rcollum on Nov 23, 2019 12:10:33 GMT -5
Of course, we have more interests than just cars...
--Bob Collum
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