2012

[Dave Eds]

hope it doesn't clash with this, or Nick and Kim's Wedding!

[rip]

hope it doesn't clash with this, or Nick and Kim's Wedding!

The Brands Hatch festival is the same weekend as Nick & Kim's wedding.
I know where I'll be...ooop north!

[nicowalker1]

Our wedding is 18th August... the Brands hatch is 8th November or have i missed something

[nicowalker1]

ok just read it agian... missed the bit at the top yes it clashes

[Rambo]

Could be the quickest divorce in the history of LEC

[daveA]

Hi

Looks like no worries for those who posted above , I read this on Lotusexcel.net :-

I understand via TLF that there will not be a Club Lotus Festival at Donington this year.

daveA

[inkitin]

I understand via TLF that there will not be a Club Lotus Festival at Donington this year.

Yes, that appears to be so!

From the LotusElan.net forum:- "Is there going to be a Donington Show in 2012? - There will be an article in the next Club Lotus News. To answer the question, no there will be no Donington show in 2012."

[markv]

Shame...

Maybe we should organise our own informal Lotus Elan show instead.

[epipete]

Double up Castle Combe!

[rip]

Double up Castle Combe!

& hope that the weather is not rubbish last like year...& the year before.

Lotus were outnumbered by MX-5's at C Combe last year. It was nowhere near as good as '08 & '09.

[Rambo]

Shame...

Maybe we should organise our own informal Lotus Elan show instead.

What about Silverstone Classics in July ? Great racing, car clubs, trade stands, music etc.. Good camping near the Force india HQ. From memory I think that Lotus is being highlighted this year.

[theelanman]

Its the weekend after classic le mans..........i personally wont be able to do both and have already paid for the french trip.......

[rip]

Shame...

Maybe we should organise our own informal Lotus Elan show instead.

What about Silverstone Classics in July ? Great racing, car clubs, trade stands, music etc.. Good camping near the Force india HQ. From memory I think that Lotus is being highlighted this year.

It would be easier to tag along to an existing event, preferably one which is fairly central & held in the summer.
The last camping trip organised through the forum did not get a lot of response.

Silverstone looks like a promising option. Should we organise an event for the Saturday? I was thinking along similar lines to DaveT's convoy to the coast at Lotus's 60th anniversary back in 2008.
I am only 45 minutes from Silverstone, so I can check out a few local roads & arrange a route to somewhere.

[Rambo]

Definitely no Club Lotus Donington event in August 2012 and the August show will not return. Feedback from visitors and exhibitors favours the original April slot but there is no time for CL to organise this for April 2012. However, CL have confirmed that Donington will be back on in April 2013.

CL are concentrating on the Silverstone Classics in July this year as the baby Elan will be 50.

Also, don't forget the Castle Combe trackday in May and a Lotus festival at Brands Hatch (previously Snetterton) in August

[Stef]

No Donington??!

Hmmm... Silverstone looking good. Where would the camping be?

[rip]

Definitely no Club Lotus Donington event in August 2012 and the August show will not return. Feedback from visitors and exhibitors favours the original April slot

Does anyone else find this strange?
August weather makes it better than April for just about everything.
I agree that attendances were down, but they were also down at Snetterton & that was around the same time of year.
I think it is more likely that the cost of hiring the venue is a lot higher in August & this is why they have decided to switch back to rainy April.
Or maybe it is because April is the first real chance to get out & enjoy our Lotuses after a winter when some of us have not driven them too much?
Also, the current format is getting a little tired & the lack of an LOT trackday probably did the event no favours either.

The camping really made it for me last year. The festival itself was rather lame in comparison.

[DavidEJM]

No Donington??!

Hmmm... Silverstone looking good. Where would the camping be?

The camping can be at the Silverstone Woodlands site which is adjacent to the track with 'shuttle tractors' ferrying people back and forth though we took pushbikes and rode in. i think this was about £10 per person per night. There are toilets/showers but little else. We didn't bother getting an electrical hook up for example (went in a motorhome so had own facilities), though I believe these were available.

There is a farm field directly opposite the main gate which you can also camp in for £10 per person per night, again limited facilities but OK for a short time. it is just a short walk to get in and out which can be attractive.

Whittlebury Hall is another option, though this is a longer walk (there may be shuttles available I cant remember) and it is a 'proper' camp site so the facilities are better, but it is correspondingly more expensive.

Having done them all, I would probably use the Woodlands site again this year. the facilities are better than the field for the same cost and the limited additional distance to get in wasnt really an issue, though I guess it may be in bad weather.

Hope that helps.

[dapinky]

Lets get the priorities right, here......

Silverstone woodlands has a catering facility, and they claim to keep beer prices similar to "your local pub"

[DavidEJM]

Mmmmm, we thought that there was a pub and we did find what appeared to be a kind of 'film set' pub with a facade of an olde worlde pub, but it was shut. I suspect it does a good trade at the F1 but they didnt think it worthwhile opening for the Classic.

i have to say we arrived at lunchtime on Friday, last year, with the intention of getting to the circuit in the afternoon for some of the qualifying. The reality was three pints in about half hour with the weekends drink supply dwindling quicker than we had anticipated and the remaining afternoon sat in the sunshine. A good time was had and we wobbled our way to the circuit on the bikes for the evening entertainment.

[muley]

We camped at Woodlands one year and won't be going back - it's a long way from the circuit and they stuffed us around with which gates were open and shut. We can't manage bikes and our camping gear in the Elan and Boxster

Then we used Henwood which was OK bit basic but very near. Literally just across the road from the circuit.

We tried Litchlake last year but the map they use is confusing - shows loads of showers than they only use for the F1 weekend. The bottled gas for the showers ran out and they didn't bother changing the bottle on Sunday morning.

I'm proposing to go back to Henwood for 2012. Mark, what do you think?



Jim