36 replies to this topic

[BorderReiver]

Hey everyone.

I was wondering, does anyone have a complete listing of the Lotus 30's race results? Or any pictures? Or any information on the car?

Anything would be greatly appreciated. It's on behalf of a friend.

[st59cz]

Try this:www.lotus30.com

[Geoff E]

Originally posted by st59cz
www.lotus30.com

Clicking on the link didn't work for me, but typing it in did.

This one seems to work

[Manfred Cubenoggin]

What an interesting website on this marque. Always viewed as something less than successful, I'm pleased to see that the Pink Stamps liveried car had a host of wins in Britain. Here in North America, I don't think that the 30/40 ever won a major event but I did watch in amazement as Craig Hill survived attrition to bring one home in first place at a Canadian Championship event, then for sport cars, at Mosport back in 1968. While hardly the quickest, it at least survived where the others didn't! I've no idea where the car is now.

[Ian McKean]

Does anyone remember (silly question - I'm sure lots of you do) the fantastic battle between Jimmy Clark in the Lotus 30 and John Surtees in the Lola 70 at a very wet Silverstone meeting? It could have been a supporting race to the Grand Prix, or maybe the May International Trophy meeting. Alzheimers seems to have got me.

I was watching on the pit straight so did not see them cornering, unfortunately, but the commentator was beside himself with excitement as the lead was changing hands several times a lap. According to the commentator at least one of them did a 360 spin on the straight because it was so wet.

Can't even remember who won, but they both deserved to!

[David Beard]

Originally posted by Ian McKean
Does anyone remember (silly question - I'm sure lots of you do) the fantastic battle between Jimmy Clark in the Lotus 30 and John Surtees in the Lola 70 at a very wet Silverstone meeting? It could have been a supporting race to the Grand Prix, or maybe the May International Trophy meeting. Alzheimers seems to have got me.


Can't even remember who won, but they both deserved to!

This is my programme from the International Trophy meeting in May 64. One of the Lotus 30's earliest races I think.

I don't remember any rain, and I don't think Jimmy did very well at all..perhaps not the race you mean.

Significant race for Bruce McLaren though.......

[David Beard]

It looks to me as if Bruce Halford and Dan Gurney were meant to be racing 30s too...anyone know the whole stories?

Did John Fisher ever take delivery of a Lotus 30?

[Ian McKean]

Fascinating to see the old programme. Thanks!

But this must have been a different meeting. The one I remember must have been a year or two later.

[Roger Clark]

I think the meeting Ian remembers is the guards Trophy. March 20 1965, when Clark won from Surtees. The rain was so bad that the sports car race was stopped after 18 of the scheduled 25 laps. The feature F2 race was not run. A good day to be driving a Lotus 30.

[Ian McKean]

Originally posted by Roger Clark
I think the meeting Ian remembers is the guards Trophy. March 20 1965, when Clark won from Surtees. The rain was so bad that the sports car race was stopped after 18 of the scheduled 25 laps. The feature F2 race was not run. A good day to be driving a Lotus 30.

This sounds wet enough!!! No wonder I could not remember what the main event was, if it got cancelled.

[David Beard]

Originally posted by Roger Clark
I think the meeting Ian remembers is the guards Trophy. March 20 1965, when Clark won from Surtees. The rain was so bad that the sports car race was stopped after 18 of the scheduled 25 laps. The feature F2 race was not run. A good day to be driving a Lotus 30.

Well, I have this programme...Senior Service 200, Saturday 20 March 1965.



I can't remember the race although I was at the meeting. ...and this must be a programme I found somewhere. Mine completely disolved.

[David Beard]

And just to prove that it was VERY wet.....

[Ray Bell]

Not only the rain to contend with...

Look at all those tiddlers... they'd have been lapping cars from the fourth lap on! Trevor Taylor, Aurora BMC?

[Ian McKean]

Another fascinating programme.

It brings home to me what wonderful depth of talent was on display in those days in the supporting events. 4 World Champions!!! That's more than you get in a modern F1 race.

PS
I can't remember the Salvadori Cooper-Cobra Ford. But it seems to have have been on the front row of the grid. I cannot remember Cooper making a sports car after the Monaco (excepting the Xerox Specials which were based on the F1 chassis and SFAIK not built by Cooper anyway). What were Ford doing entering the car? Did it have anything to do with the Maserati engined Monaco he drove the previous year? The Monaco would have been about 6 years out of date by then. Help, someone!

[David Beard]

A JCB yellow Lotus 30 at Goodwood last year...the same car as Silverstone 65?

[Roger Clark]

Originally posted by Ray Bell
Not only the rain to contend with...

Look at all those tiddlers... they'd have been lapping cars from the fourth lap on! Trevor Taylor, Aurora BMC?

In the conditions, some of the small cars went quite well. Paterson's Mark 1 Lola was third, Taylor was fourth.

[Ray Bell]

I'd still think it would have been a lapscorer's worst nightmare...

Of course, a well driven tiddler stood a good chance of doing well in a race like that.

[humphries]

I was there too! The girl friend was less than impressed even when Surtees did a 180 in front of us. Trevor Taylor's drive was one of the hightlights, if that is an appropriate term for a day as dark, gloomy and sodden as that day was. As for Patterson I never noticed him; the little Lola must have been too low in the water.

In the F3 race Warwick Banks, using his touring car experience, trounced all the Brabham boys in Ken Tyrrell's Cooper T76.

The BARC didn't have a lot of luck with this meeting. It was abandoned in 1966 when it was held at Oulton Park. This time it was snow! There was no racing at all but at least we did not have to get out of the car. Same girl friend and now the better half.

[Roger Clark]

Jim Clark's pole position time was 1m 44.2. Slowest was a Lola in 2m 13.8. so Clark would have lapped him in a little over three laps. The driver of the Lola? - R Bell.

[David Beard]

Originally posted by Roger Clark
Jim Clark's pole position time was 1m 44.2. Slowest was a Lola in 2m 13.8. so Clark would have lapped him in a little over three laps. The driver of the Lola? - R Bell.

That you then Ray?

[Ray Bell]

Not me... for a few reasons...

I've never been to England, I've never driven a Lola, and that's before I started racing.

And I reckon I could never drive one of those Lolas so slow, never.

On a more positive note, it's nice to see that Trevor Taylor did well, as I would have expected him to do in those conditions.

[kirkkeyes]

Greetings All,

I would first off like to thank everyone for your kind comments on my web site, www.lotus30.com. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Ian mentioned the wet, wet Silverstone race. Car & Driver had a brief article on the race in the June 1965 issue. It says in part:

"The sports car race was won and lost before the cars came out of the paddock. As usual, the story was tires. Jim CLark (Lotus 30-Ford) chose "non-aquaplaning" R7s, even though they're not yet available in wet-weather rubber, and was in the lead when the bath was called off after 18 of the 25 laps. John Surtees had picked yellow-spot R6s and spun at least nine times - yet still finished second.

"Clark led for the first four laps, was passed by Surtees in the Lola 70 who held the lead until the tenth lap despite a truly monumental spin. Another spin let Clark by, and further off-course exploration by Surtees gave ol'Jim almost a full lap lead."

The article also mentions "[] and the remaining cars gyrated madly around the course, in a clumsy imitaion of a race."

An accompianing photo of Clark in a Series 2 Lotus 30 places this race in 1965. The photo has an almost prefect reflection of Clark in the water lying on the track. It must have been wet indeed.

David, thanks for the photos and the scans in the thread.

Kirk

[Ian McKean]

Originally posted by David Beard


That you then Ray?

R Bell might have been Roger Bell, the Motor editor. He was quite a good driver, IIRC, although I thought he was more 70's than 60's.

[Tim Murray]

Originally posted by Ian McKean
R Bell might have been Roger Bell, the Motor editor. He was quite a good driver, IIRC, although I thought he was more 70's than 60's.

. . . or how about Bobby Bell, of Bell & Colvill?

[arttidesco]

I wonder if anyone can help me piece together various bits of information about Mathew Watts Lotus 30 which is listed in the 2011 Goodwood Revival programme as being a 1964 model.

As I understand it Matthew's car once belonged to David Prophet.

I also understand that David had two Lotus 30 chassis, 30/L/11 which was used at least twice in South Africa in 1964 and was presumed destroyed in South Africa and replaced by 30/L/20 used in the UK in 1965 presumably (?) in updated to S2 spec with spoilers and bigger wheels as seen above at Goodwood last year.

On the Lotus30.com registry the 30-L-20 was listed as missing as of Jan 27th 2003, can anyone confirm that 30-L-20 is now indeed no longer missing ?

Relevant answers to resolving the identity of Matthew's car may be credited and used in a forth coming blog.

Thanking you in anticipation of your responses.

[Graham Gauld]

I wonder if anyone can help me piece together various bits of information about Mathew Watts Lotus 30 which is listed in the 2011 Goodwood Revival programme as being a 1964 model.

As I understand it Matthew's car once belonged to David Prophet.

I also understand that David had two Lotus 30 chassis, 30/L/11 which was used at least twice in South Africa in 1964 and was presumed destroyed in South Africa and replaced by 30/L/20 used in the UK in 1965 presumably (?) in updated to S2 spec with spoilers and bigger wheels as seen above at Goodwood last year.

On the Lotus30.com registry the 30-L-20 was listed as missing as of Jan 27th 2003, can anyone confirm that 30-L-20 is now indeed no longer missing ?

Relevant answers to resolving the identity of Matthew's car may be credited and used in a forth coming blog.

Thanking you in anticipation of your responses.

Eighteen months ago at the BRDC Classic meeting I was with Gerald Ashmore who had owned the Lotus 30 and had either bought it from or sold it to David Prophet. Gerald is Chris Ashmores brother and they are sons of Joe Ashmore who raced an ERA immediately after the War

[pete53]

Eighteen months ago at the BRDC Classic meeting I was with Gerald Ashmore who had owned the Lotus 30 and had either bought it from or sold it to David Prophet. Gerald is Chris Ashmores brother and they are sons of Joe Ashmore who raced an ERA immediately after the War

I would guess that Gerry Ashmore bought the car from David Prophet as Prophet raced a Lotus 30 in the first half of 1965 before switching to a McLaren. I think Ashmore didn't appear in the Lotus 30 until later in the year.

[bradbury west]

ISTR that this car has been discussed previously under a Silverstone thread.
Roger Lund

[Peter Darley]

I think the meeting Ian remembers is the guards Trophy. March 20 1965, when Clark won from Surtees. The rain was so bad that the sports car race was stopped after 18 of the scheduled 25 laps. The feature F2 race was not run. A good day to be driving a Lotus 30.

For the full story read / get "1965: Jim Clark and Team Lotus. The UK Races" by Coterie Press.

[arttidesco]

ISTR that this car has been discussed previously under a Silverstone thread.
Roger Lund

Thanks Graham, pete53, and Roger. I found the thread and I think I've got the picture as to which car this is

[Giraffe]

ISTR that this car has been discussed previously under a Silverstone thread.
Roger Lund

http://forums.autosp...w...t&p=4528738

[Steve O'Brien]

For the full story read / get "1965: Jim Clark and Team Lotus. The UK Races" by Coterie Press.

My father Harry O'Brien was lying 3rd to Jim Clark & John Surtees in that race in his ex UTD Lotus 19 till a brake disc broke and put him into the wall at Club

[Ted Walker]

This car is indeed chassis 20 Ex Prophet . It has been restored and in order to make to improve its handling has been fitted with a "JCB"" type body with all the spoilers etc. at the 2010 Revival Matthew was the fastest car through the speed trap recording a speed of 171mph so the JCB mods must work !!!!

[elansprint72]

For the full story read / get "1965: Jim Clark and Team Lotus. The UK Races" by Coterie Press.

Got it! An excellent book, as usual the photos are works of art and it is well written. My one complaint is that the Lotus yellow on the dust sleeve has faded to almost white along the spine, should I put that complaint in the "Lotus yellow stripe thread"?

[arttidesco]

This car is indeed chassis 20 Ex Prophet . It has been restored and in order to make to improve its handling has been fitted with a "JCB"" type body with all the spoilers etc. at the 2010 Revival Matthew was the fastest car through the speed trap recording a speed of 171mph so the JCB mods must work !!!!

Thanks Ted

[arttidesco]

Got it! An excellent book, as usual the photos are works of art and it is well written. My one complaint is that the Lotus yellow on the dust sleeve has faded to almost white along the spine, should I put that complaint in the "Lotus yellow stripe thread"?

You could try asking Classic Team Lotus about a restoration of the stripe

[arttidesco]

Thanks to everybody who responded to my questions and contributed today's blog