I just
thought I would brighten up the registry with a note - we don't seem to have
many messages here!
?
I
don't use the 23 much since I crashed it in 2001, I keep it for shows and
international races ie with David Piper and his group. However, I use?my
"look-a-like-23" which we call the?"ELF 89", in sports car/Lotus racing in
South Africa. The car was named after the?the guys who built it in 1989
(Eric,? Louis,? Fred) mainly for endurance races.? It has had a
very good history, until July 2004 when I ran out of luck, and wrote off the car
(ouch! concrete walls are not forgiving!)
?
We are
building a new one (will be called ELF 05, I think, despite the fact that Fred
has been diagnosed with cancer this week and may not see the end of the
project).
?
I
pulled out the old faithful, the original 23, (I have owned it since
1974),?in an attempt to finish the season, even though the sports cars are
running modern equipment, and are very fast.? I managed to run a set-up
practice, approx 30 laps, race meeting (2 heats + 2 practice + qualifying) in
Cape town, approx?55 lap, Phakisa near Johannesburg (2 heats, + 3 practice
+ qualifying) approx 70 laps, and Cape Town again a few weeks later, also about
55 laps.? The car never missed a beat, and required almost no maintenance
or repairs! Fantastic handling and reliability, despite its age, gave good
results.
?
Approx?210 racing?laps in a 40 year old car!
Not bad, and we managed 2nd in the Index championship, 4th overall even though
we had no points for the crashed race and the next one because we were not
ready!
?
Just
goes to show how good the Lotus 23 really is.
?
Best
regards, and hope you all have a good year, especially with your
Lotus's.
?
Eric
Salomon
