2026 Newsletters
2026 Events
- Timaru Weekend & Southern Classic at Levels (February)
- Ivy Hall picnic & games (January)
Timaru Weekend & Southern Classic - 13th-15th Feb
Last year, our club received an invite to attend the Southern Classic race weekend at Levels Raceway in Timaru, with Lotus as the featured marque for the event. We were, of course, delighted to take up the offer to display our members’ cars, with the added incentive of a few parade laps of the track during the Sunday lunch break.
Many of us decided to make a weekend of it, taking in some scenic backroads along the way and stopping at Castle Claremont, a grand old country homestead near Timaru, for a picnic lunch on the Saturday. Rob, the owner, gave us some fascinating insights into the colonial history of the house and kindly gave us a tour of the property. The rolling hills inland of Timaru were unusually green for February after a very wet summer. No rain for us though; we were treated to an ideal day and some great roads for top-down motoring.
Although the race event spanned three days, Sunday was the big day for our Lotus display. With 20 club cars, plus a handful of non-club ring-ins and our new Christchurch Lotus dealer Archibalds in attendance, together we put on a very respectable display with a wide range of models, including a stunning new Jim Clark Edition Emira, one of just 60. Aside from this, a number of Lotus race-cars and replicas were competing, bringing our grid line-up up to an impressive 35 cars in total.
The parade laps were sedate, but still, it was quite the spectacle looking across when exiting the tighter bends to see the rest of the field on their approach! All in all, a very enjoyable weekend supporting the brand, using the cars and hanging out with other Lotus fans.
Many of us decided to make a weekend of it, taking in some scenic backroads along the way and stopping at Castle Claremont, a grand old country homestead near Timaru, for a picnic lunch on the Saturday. Rob, the owner, gave us some fascinating insights into the colonial history of the house and kindly gave us a tour of the property. The rolling hills inland of Timaru were unusually green for February after a very wet summer. No rain for us though; we were treated to an ideal day and some great roads for top-down motoring.
Although the race event spanned three days, Sunday was the big day for our Lotus display. With 20 club cars, plus a handful of non-club ring-ins and our new Christchurch Lotus dealer Archibalds in attendance, together we put on a very respectable display with a wide range of models, including a stunning new Jim Clark Edition Emira, one of just 60. Aside from this, a number of Lotus race-cars and replicas were competing, bringing our grid line-up up to an impressive 35 cars in total.
The parade laps were sedate, but still, it was quite the spectacle looking across when exiting the tighter bends to see the rest of the field on their approach! All in all, a very enjoyable weekend supporting the brand, using the cars and hanging out with other Lotus fans.
