Craig Houston

My Lotus Eclat/Excel was built in 1982. The cross over model between the phasing out of the Eclat and the start of the Excel line, there were only around 200 of these examples made, and only 5 remain registered in the UK. Of these 5, this is the only one that is Essex blue, and the only one ever, to have been turned into a race car. I found it in a million pieces in a shed near Aberdeen in 2016, and with help from my father Andrew and brother Mark, rebuilt it and turned it into the race car you see today. One of the hardest parts was creating the roll cage which we had to design and build from scratch. Quite a challenge in a car that is predominantly plastic with no 2 being quite the same.

My father Andrew Houston was an accomplished racing driver from the 70s to the 00s, so racing is in my blood. I began racing in the classics in 2018 in my Lotus Eclat/Excel after guest driving an MGB GT V8 in 2016. I have scored many first and second in B class results, and placed a fourth overall on the road in 2019, resulting in receiving the most improved driver trophy. In 2021 I came 7th in the Scottish classic sports and saloons championship, and was privileged to win the Andy Walker memorial trophy, for most driving grit and determination, at his tribute event. This trophy was awarded to me by Andy’s family, and was genuinely one of the most humbling experiences of my life. We now hold the B class anti clockwise lap record at Knockhill, and won the B class classics championship in 2024.