Tentenths

Ben Elliott Racing are also very good.

Brake pad wear indicator doing its job?

Dad, dad, those nasty mods are ganging up on me!!

Nope, "General Motoring/Lotus/Esprit Chat - This is where anything to do with cars... goes" so here it stays

What? You mean there's also a Subaru one?!

Suspect Jimmy was referring to t'other Tony, Tony Bearing in mind that one or two of the 'adverts' poke fun at BMW owners Loteuk Tony was making the point that there are one or two good guys amongst them... him being one! No offence intended by the way, Tony

Happy Birthdays fellas

I know this is quite old but it's just cropped up again on another forum I frequent during a discussion about BMW drivers. Always makes me smile so I thought I'd share...

Did you try Merlin Motorsport - clicky

Don't give up hope matey. We can always try again next year Meantime I'll remove it from the calendar.

Y'know what, Dave? That might just work!

Now, why didn't I think of doing that?

Good man, Dave Owen & Tracy - Esprit GT3 Andy C - G Esprit Turbo James - goodness only knows! Simonf - " " " " !!! Kimbers - Esprit S4 Dave F - SE Turbo Whereabouts in East Anglia are you? If you're within a reasonable distance of Cambridge we'd be delighted to see you at our next evening meet - more details here. Incidentally, attendance in an Esprit is by no means compulsory

Good plan, Owen Owen & Tracy - Esprit GT3 Andy C - G Esprit Turbo James - goodness only knows!

As I've said already we did slow down to a crawl/stop several times. In each case it was on a straight, clear visibility stretch of road having due regard for other road users. In fact in all but one case it was just before the junction where we were due to turn off. Sadly, in the specific case you mention (the roundabout on a very busy stretch of single carriageway road) it would have endangered us/other road users if we had simply stopped before the roundabout. We therefore had no choice but to take our exit (the first); just as soon as we realised the rest of the group had disappeared we stopped once again. Please don't misunderstand me, Owen, I'm in no way accusing you of being Captain Slow and hindering the rest of the group. In fact, quite the opposite, I'm confident that had you been the 4th car you and the rest of the group would have had absolutely no difficulty in maintaining position... and without endangering anyone's licence. At the end of the day it is as much for the drivers of the following car to try and maintain pace/contact with the one in front as it for those in the lead to try and maintain contact with those behind. Hand on heart I can honestly say that the three lead cars did everything possible to achieve this (I even tried ringing Brendan at one point!) but the driver of the 4th car appeared to be quite content to simply bimble along, seemingly oblivious to the frustration being caused to those in front and, presumably, behind. As you'll remember we were divided into three separate groups. These were based on the perceived ability of the cars/drivers. Group A comprised the quickest cars such as the M3, the 400bhp P1 pictured above, the GTO, Westfields & Caterhams, and some of the TVRs. Group B included the two Elises, our Esprits, a TVR and the two Foresters. You'll have to trust me on this but I can assure you that even the lead cars did not stray into licence losing territory. Yes, we had some fairly exhilarating WOT through-the-gears runs; points territory on the odd occasion perhaps but certainly not bans. Frankly, the relatively narrow, undulating and twisting B roads we were on for much of the route were simply not conducive for such high speed antics. Anyway, be that as it may, the fact remains we all had a great day. I know from chatting to Mark both before and after the event that he spent a huge amount of time organising it on our behalf and I for one am very grateful to him for putting together such a thoroughly enjoyable day

Owen, in fairness that's exactly what we did, on five or six occasions! The last time we sat by the side of the road for no less than 10 minutes. Two or three lessons for future reference. 1. Firstly and fundamentally, avoid having markedly slower cars/drivers within one group. Whilst I suspect we may have perhaps strayed over the limit on a couple of occasions (but certainly NOT within 30 & 40 mph zones which were observed religiously) the driver in question seemed very reluctant to peg it through the gears when the opportunity arose, even on the straightest and most inviting stretches of road. 2. Ensure the group leaders have mobile numbers for two or three of the cars towards the rear of the group. And vice versa. 3. Distribute two or three additional copies of the map throughout the group.

Indeed, a very Happy Birthday to LEF Guv, fully appreciate your reasons for needing a little time out. It's certainly been a fraught few days, the like of which we hopefully won't see again. On behalf of us all I'd just like to say a huge thank you for all your hard work in creating and maintaining LEF. I know it's been said before but I'll say it again, LEF is without doubt the friendliest forum I've ever had the good fortune to be involved with... long may it continue! On a more personal note I'd also like to publicly express my extreme gratitude for all the support and concern you've given me during what has undoubtedly been the darkest and most difficult five months of my entire life. Selfless to the last, you really are a true friend - even if you can't hack the late night drinking sessions without resorting to sleep! James

A somewhat belated Happy Birthday John

You missed an absolute corker of a day, Chris. The Ipswich contingent was reduced to just three. John (Simpo Two) in his 5.0 litre Griff, Steve (tankerman24) in his completely bonkers V8, 3.9 engined Westfield (see Owen's last pic) and yours truly in the Scoob. Having quickly established that none of us exactly believed in hanging around, what followed was an epic 40 mile chase across almost deserted B-roads. The Scoob acquitted itself remarkably well against such exalted company, especially through the bends. The sound of the two V8's, together with my remarkably quiet flat four, on full chat had to be heard to be believed! We then met up with the Cambridge & Norwich contingents for an hour or so's chat, tyre kicking and lunch before splitting up into three groups for the second phase of the day. I was delighted to find myself in the same group as the AEG/LEF Esprit contingent but, unfortunately, the antics of what must have been the most sedately driven Lotus ever meant that the following Esprits were constantly held up and separated from the lead three cars (two Foresters and a remarkably quick, decatted Elise). Despite stopping several times to allow the stragglers to catch up, it seems they eventually took the wrong exit on a roundabout and that was the last we saw of them for over an hour. Having waited for 10 minutes or so we eventually gave up; back down to three cars we then made our way (even more 'enthusiastically') back to final RV. Happy days!

He is/was on hols - clicky

Tobi, regrettably won't be able to join you as I have a prior engagement. Hope it goes well and you all have a lovely time BTW did you see the thread re the next Cambridge meet (7th Oct)?

Simon removed it from that particular Ebay auction some time ago, Wayne. Subsequently exchanged it for a Jag, but it's now turned up on Ebay again - see thread two or three below this one.

All those who've put their names down thus far should have now received email confirmations from Mark. If not let me know and I'll sort.

How about bringing an M100 along then, Dave?