Monaco Historic Grand Prix
Having driven my 964, the Peppermint Pig, from Devon to my Portuguese holiday house – courtesy of Brittany Ferries aboard the SS Pont Aven via Plymouth to Santander – I then flew from Porto to Nice (via Lisbon) for the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. I joined the Lotus Cars’ lifestyle press party at the fabulous Mas de Pierre hotel and shared some fun late nights with a bunch of UK national journos who were sampling Lotus driving days out in the Provencale countryside while my pal Antony Fraser snapped them in action. My role, meanwhile, ws to cover the Historic GP for Lotus Club International magazine. As well as following the fortunes of Classic Team Lotus’s various entries across the different eras I attended the presentation at the dealership at which Clive Chapman and engineering guru Nick Adams gave talks lauding the Evora and hailing the 50th anniversary of the marque’s first GP win. As well as the Evora there was a Type 18 in the showroom for guests to admire. After dinner for the Lotus press party it was time for chips in the casino.
In the actual historic races around an unyielding circuit the Lotuses had mixed fortunes; Dan Collins’ sleek 21 ended in the barriers, Chris MasAllister’s newly restored 49 lost all its gears, Chris Locke’s 77 overheated when the starter kept everyone too long on the grid. But Andy Middlehurst in the Type 25 came a fine 2nd place in the late 50s/early 60s rear-engined F1 race, and Duncan Dayton won the front-engined GP cars race in the elegant Type 16.
Fabulous atmosphere in Monaco on race day, some cracking racing, and fun meeting lots of old friends, journos and drivers including Kozo Fujiwara and Katsu Kubota, Bob Dance and the Classic Team Lotus mob, plus Doug Mockett, Angelica Fuentes and Keith Mainland from La Carrera Panamericana.
Antony, Caroline and I then stayed over at the Mas de Pierre to do a Lotus drive story.