RACING VICAR TO FIELD NEWLY BOUGHT LOTUS
Anglican priest Simon Butler will field a newly acquired Lotus Elan 26R in the
Pre ’66 GT race at Silverstone this weekend.
The race is on Saturday, so he will back in his Hampshire church on Sunday.
Butler, ‘the Racing Reverend’, has been preparing the 1962 Elan since its acquisition from Germany last year and will share it with Martin Rich. “We’ve done a little bit of testing and, fingers crossed, it’s going to be reliable,” he prays.
His ambition is to race at Le Mans and he has been driving a Ligier LMP3 in selected rounds of the Michelin Le Mans Cup.
“My parishioners are very supportive and some come to watch me at races,” said Butler. “With their blessing – and lots of understanding from my Bishop – I’ve been fortunate enough to have fitted in quite a lot of racing alongside my ministry.”