1961 Lotus Elite

This was one of the competitors in the Coys of Kensington Pre-1964 GT Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting  at Silverstone in July 1998.

It’s the 1961 Lotus Elite of Robin Longden which he and Roger Fountain drove in the race and the 'DAD10' number plate is a nod to Leston’s nickname ‘Daddio’ as a jazz musician

1959 Lotus Elite

This was one of the competitors in the HSCC Classic Sports Car Championship race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Summer Race Meeting at Oulton Park in July 1992.

It's the 1959 Lotus Elite of George Hadfield which has a 4-cylinder inline 1,216cc Coventry Climax FWE engine. Over 1,000 of these cars were built between 1957 and 1962.

1961 Lotus Elite

This was one of the competitors in the HSCC Classic Sports Car Championship race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in September 1993.

It's the 1961 Lotus Elite of Christopher Ross which has a 1,216cc 4-cylinder inline Coventry Climax FWE engine. 1,030 of these cars were built between 1957 and 1962, although some sources say there were 1,047.

Aston Martin Owners' Club

 

This is the start of the Park Place Thoroughbred Sports Championship race at the Aston Martin Owners' Club's meeting at Oulton Park in September 1986.

Leading is the Triumph TR3 of Reg Woodcock with three Aston Martin DB4's in pursuit. There were five green DB4's in the race and three red ones and I can't identify the drivers of the cars pictured. Bringing up the rear is Robin Longdon in Les Leston's famous Lotus Elite 'DAD10', or 'Daddio' as it was affectionally known.

1961 Lotus Elite

This was one of the competitors in the Richardson Hosken Classic Sports Car Championship race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Summer Race Meeting at Oulton Park in July 1995.

It's the 1961 Lotus Elite of Chris Ross which has a 1,216cc 4-cylinder inline Coventry Climax FWE engine. 1,030 of these cars were built between 1957 and 1962, although some sources say there were 1,047.

1962 Lotus Elite

I took this photograph in the one of the car parks at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1975.

It's a 1962 Lotus Elite which has a 1,216cc 4-cylinder inline Coventry Climax FWE engine. 1,030 of these cars were built between 1957 and 1962, although some sources say there were 1,047. The DVLA record shows that this car has not been taxed since August 1987.

Old Hairpin, Donington Park

This is a photograph I took from the straight between McLean's Corner and Coppice Corner of the field rounding Old Hairpin Corner on the first lap of the Pre-1961 Sports & GT Cars Race at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2011.

The two leading cars are an Austin Healey and a Lotus Elite, and as far as I can make out the 12 cars in the photograph are:

44  1955 Austin Healey 100M, Michael Thorne

59  1960 Lotus Elite, Robin Longden

7    1959 Lotus Elite, Brian Arculus

98  1955 Austin Healey 100M, Mark Pangborn

97  1954 AC Ace, Mark Morgan

49  1957 Aston Martin DB MkIII, Jon Gross

18  1955 Austin Healey 100M, Robert Rawe

5    1957 AC Ace, Andy Shepherd

65  1951 Bristol 401 ‘Mitchell Special’, Andrew Mitchell

47  1959 Aston Martin DB MkIII, Simon Jefferies

48  1955 Aston Martin DB2/4, James Campbell

85  1948 Frazer Nash High Speed, Ned Spieker

Historic Lotus Cars

I took this photograph at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000.

It's a line-up of historic Lotus cars, but I don't seem to have kept a record of exactly what cars they are. The first car looks like an early Lotus Seven and the second a Lotus 18. The third car is the Lotus Mk III from 1951 which was built to compete in 750 Motor Club racing and therefore had to be based on the Austin 7, using that car's 747cc straight-4 engine. This was the first car to be named a 'Lotus'. The next car is a Lotus Type 14, more commonly known as a Lotus Elite, a car that was produced from 1957 to 1963 and had the 1,216cc Coventry Climax FWE straight-4 engine. At the end of the row is what look like a Lotus Seven Series 3 which was produced from 1968 to 1970. The car in the background is a 1958 Lotus Seven, one of five cars produced that were effectively Le Mans Lotus Elevens with Lotus Seven bodies. This particular car, chassis #421 and registration VGJ4, was at one time owned by Betty Haig who won the National Ladies Hillclimb Championship in 1960 and 1961 with the car which had a 1,460cc Coventry Climax FWB straight-4 engine.

Britten's Chicane, Oulton Park

Three photographs here and a short video clip taken at Britten's chicane during the Equipe Pre '63 race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2018.

This is the 1965 Austin Healey 3000 of Martyn Corfield leading the 1959 Elva Courier of Paul Andrew. In the background Adam Key in his 1961 Austin Healey Sprite has spun after Island Corner and is still facing the wrong way.

Paul Kennerley in his 1959 Jaguar XK150 is leading David Reed in his 1952 Aston Martin DB2

James Haxton in his 1960 Austin Healey 3000 leading the 1954 Austin Healey 100/4 of Jim Campbell, the 1962 Morgan Plus 4 of Mark Hoble and the 1962 Lotus Elite of John Pearson.

The field passing through Britten's chicane on the first lap of the race. It's a bit shaky and filmed on my little Canon IXUS camera.

Maserati 300S

This car is pictured in the pit lane during a practice session at the HGPCA's International Historic Grand Prix meeting at Donington Park in May 2004.

It's the Maserati 300S of Burkhard von Schenk, one of the last to be built and is chassis #3082. This car is often described as a 300SI, implying that it has one of the experimental fuel-injection engines that were tested by Maserati, but I've not been able to confirm that this is so. The car behind is the 1962 Lotus Elite that Malcolm Ricketts and Barry Sewell drove in the 2¼ hour long Gentleman Drivers GT and Sports Endurance Race.

On 23 December 2017 I showed photographs of three Maserati 300S sports cars at Silverstone in 1994, including that of Burkhard von Schenk pictured above.

Lotus Elite

This car was in the paddock at Donington Park at the HGPCA's Donington International Grand Prix meeting in May 2004.

It's a Lotus Elite, otherwise known as a Lotus Type 14, a car that was produced from 1957 to 1963. Three of these cars were entered in the 2¼ hour long Gentleman Drivers GT and Sports Endurance race, but this car has no racing number on it and I don't think it took part in that race. On 4 December 2014 I showed photographs of the late Les Leston's Lotus Elite, registration number 'DAD 10'.

Lotus Elite

One of the cars in the Pre-1961 Sports & GT Cars Race at the SeeRed & Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Donington Park in May 2011 was this Lotus Elite.

It's the 1960 Lotus Elite formerly raced by Les Leston in the 1960s and raced here at Donington Park by Robin Longdon. Les Leston died on on 13 May 2012 at the age of 91 and his life story in the obituary in The Telegraph is well worth reading. It says about the famous 'DAD10' number plate:

'Leston raced in the Le Mans 24 hour race and rallies, and in the 1960s enjoyed great success in the British GT Championships, driving a bright red Lotus Elite with the number plate “DAD 10” — a nod to the jazzman’s nickname “Daddio” by which he was known on the big band circuit.'

This is Robin Longdon at McLeans Corner at the Donington Park meeting leading the 1959 Lotus Elite of Brian Arculus.