Europe by car

Category: Okategoriserade

  • Day 3, Assen TT Circuit with DTM and Lotus Cup Europe plus ferry from Hoek van Holland

    Day 3, Assen TT Circuit with DTM and Lotus Cup Europe plus ferry from Hoek van Holland

    • Line up outside Lotus restaurant
    • Nose job
    • It’s a Lotus
    • Checking up the DTM CARS
    • DTM cars coming into the pits
    • Pit walk during lunch
    • Track taxi with DTM cars
    • Aston Martin pace car
    • Lotus F1 car in BOSS series
    • Line-up for BOSS series on Sunday
    • Lunch, sort of…
    • Audi café, says it all about Audi drivers?
    • DTM car
    • Lotus Cup Europe cars
    • Exige V6
    • Exige V6
    • Elise S1
    • Exige V6
    • Baloghs Evora GT4
    • Tidy engine bay
    • Exige v&
    • Evora GT4
    • Robin Nilssons Exige V6
    • Daniel Palmas Exige V6
    • Cai Cederholms Elise
    • W series car
    • Audi DTM demonstraator
    • Audi DTM demonstrator
    • Older BMW on display
    • W series cars
    • Lotus F1 car in BOSS series
    • Trucks in the paddock
    • DTM
    • DTM
    • DTM
    • Porsche Cup Benelux
    • Porsche Cup Benelux
    • On the road towards
    • Wingman Per in the yellow Elise
    • Lots of green houses outside Rotterdam
    • More green houses
    • Waiting to get onboard the ferry
    • A small part of the harbor in Rotterdam
    • View from the cabin
    • Meeting up with the rest of the pagans in the bar

    Third day of the Pagan tour. We’d noticed a restaurant near the hotel that was called Lotus. Obviously we had to stop there for a photo shot in the morning. The Lotus Cup Europe race was the final one on the schedule for the Sunday. So, we had breakfast at the hotel and only arrived att the track when the DTM cars started with their warm-up. Joel Ericsson had another bad day on the track, his race ended up in a big cloud of smoke. For some reason he stayed on the track for quite a while. That ment that there was a significant amount of clean-up needed afterwards.

    When the Lotus Cup Europe race finally got going, there weren’t many people left on. the stands. Since the weather on Sunday was a lot better than the day before, we sat on one of the stands after the main straight. Much better view there compared to the grand stand. In the V6 class, Balogh had got his Evora repaired and won overall as well as the class. In the 211O class, Fournier won and in the Production class, Yates was the winner of the day. The Swedish drivers had mixed results, Robin Nilsson came 5th in V6, Cai Cederholm came 2nd in Production class. Neither Daniel Palma, nor Sven Pettersson, finished on Sundays race.

    After the race, we said goodbye to Jakob and Göran who would go back to Sweden again. Then we set off towards Hoek van Holland. It’s a 245 km drive from Assen TT Circuit. Once on the boat, we met up with the other cars that were going to England.

  • Day 2, Assen TT Circuit with DTM and Lotus Cup Europe

    Day 2, Assen TT Circuit with DTM and Lotus Cup Europe

    • Map of the circuit
    • Aston Martin pace cars
    • DTM qualifying in the dry
    • BOSS GP series
    • BOSS GP series
    • Cai Cederholm car
    • Wet DTM race
    • Looked more like speed boats
    • Line up for Lotus Cup Europe
    • Cai Cederholm
    • Exige V6
    • Elise Type 49
    • Daniel and Robins cars
    • Lotus Evora
    • Car park at the hotel
    • 2x Evora at Assen
    • DTM garages
    • Lotus Evora
    • Robins car
    • Daniels car
    • Heineken at the track
    • Music and national flags prior to the DTM race
    • Grid girls leaving the track
    • Water spray during DTM
    • Weather forecast
    • Winners in the DTM race
    • Interview in Lotus Cup Europe

    Second day of the tour, first day at Assen TT Circuit. The qualifying for Lotus Cup Europe was at 08:00. So, we decided to eat breakfast at the hotel and arrive a bit later. The circuit as such was a good experience. A lot closer between the paddock, the stands and the lunch facilities. Also, most of the buildings were in a great shape. Compared to other tracks we’ve visited, including Hockenheim last year.

    There are four Swedes competing in the Lotus Cup Europe. Two with Exige V6 and two with Elise. Of course we have to cheer them during the race. We also went over to have a chat with them after the race. On Saturday, Daniel Palma finished 4th, Robin Nilsson 8th in V6 class. Sven Pettersson won the Production class.

    The weather was changing between rain and sun during the day. During the DTM race, the rain was pouring down. On the long start/finish strait, they looked more like speed boats than race cars. There is one Swedish driver in DTM this year, Joel Ericsson. He ended up on position 16 on Saturday.

    Apart from DTM and Lotus Cup Europe, there were formula cars and some motor bikes. A former STCC driver, Emma Kimilainen, is now competing in W series. On Saturday, she won the race.

    In the evening, we had some great time with our newly found German friends in the hotel. The favorite food of the weekend has become ‘BitterballenIn’.

  • Day 1, transit to Holland

    Day 1, transit to Holland

    • Early morning in Helsingborg
    • Empty roads at 05:00
    • The Öresund bridge
    • Farø bridge
    • Rødby harbor
    • On the ferry to Germany
    • Pretty expensive breakfast
    • Another ferry, going in the other direction
    • Autobahn, boring as h**l
    • Refueling, 102 octane
    • Refueling, curry wurst
    • Arrived at the hotel in Paterswolde

    Early morning, departed from Helsingborg (southern part of Sweden) at 05:00. Not much traffic at that time. Then drove across the bridge to Denmark and on to the ferry between Rødby and Pottgarden. Breakfast on the ferry, a bit expensive if you ask me. But a good way to save time by not having to stop again. Plus you got to have something to do during the 45 minutes that the ferry takes to cross the strait to Germany.

    Got very lucky with the traffic around Hamburg today. No cues whatsoever, otherwise ‘stau’ is common there. A couple of roadworks, but they were easy to pass. Stopped for refueling at an Aral petrol station. They have 102 octane fuel, which the car seems to like. Another stop around lunch for the mandatory ‘curry wurst’.

    After 722 km (448 miles), we arrived at the hotel in Paterswolde. First of the pagans! After a quick shower as well as cleaning the car, we are now awaiting the rest of the group in the bar.

  • Bringing the papers with you

    Another part of the preparation is to make sure that you bring the neccesary papers with you. For the car, this typically means insurance documents and proof of ownership. Also, make sure that your insurance covers the countries where you intend to go.

  • Playlist for the transit

    Getting to your destination can be rather booring. In case you are, as we do, driving a GT car. You can actually listen to some music while driving on the highways.

    In 2016, the Swedish Lotus club made an anniversary tour to UK. Part of the preparations were to come up with a Spotify playlist. Participants could come up with suggestions. They had to be at least remotely related to one of these topics: England, Travel, Lotus.

    For this years tour, we’ll simply re-use that list. Link to Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/saxelsso/playlist/76wkRVrlmuYbhodA8dn0wg?si=-JGltcYdSAmnvH1bifwjTA

  • Keeping the car clean on the road

    Keeping the car clean while on the road can be a challenge. Since many years, we always bring a bottle or two of Meguiars Wash Anywhere. Plus a couple of micro fibre cloths. Take a look at http://www.meguiars.com/automotive/products/meguiars-ultimate-waterless-wash-wax-g3626-26-oz-spray

  • Plan for the week

    This is the high-level plan for the week. The daily planning will be sorted once we get to Wales.

    19-21/7
    Lotus Cup Europe incl DTM at Assen in Holland
    Hotel: Fletcher Familiehotel Paterswolde https://www.familiehotelpaterswolde.nl/en/

    21-22/7
    Ferry from Hoek-van-Holland to Harwich

    22-25/7
    Maenan Abbey Hotel, https://www.maenanabbey.co.uk 

    25-26/7
    Hotel Portmeirion, https://portmeirion.wales/stay/accommod … rion-hotel

    26-28/7
    Silverstone Classic
    Hotel: De Vere Horwood Estate https://www.phcompany.com/de-vere/horwood-estate/

    28-29/7
    Ferry from Harwich to Hoek-van-Holland

  • Logotype for the tour

    Logotype for the tour

  • One week left until this years Grand Tour

    One week left until this years Grand Tour

    One week left until we departure towards Assen. To be followed by England and Wales. Very much car themed, starting with Lotus Cup Europe at Assen. Four Swedish drivers competing there. So, better bring the Swedish flag with us.

    Joined by some fellow Lotus owners. We will then continue to England and Wales. Evo triangle as well as Silverstone Classic are planned for.