Following on from our recent interview with Abarth Club Como, we turn out attention closer to home this week. Our involvement with Abarth scene gives you the opportunity to work more closely with the Clubs back in the UK. One of which has been side by side with us pretty much joined at the hip… So much that we share the border with them.
My guest today rather than taking care of a catchment area, she has the pleasure of looking after an actual country.
I get to speak to Club President of Abarth Club Scotland, Tasha Lake – Today I find out more about our neighbours with what they have planned for 2020, the clubs personal journey and more about Tasha’s role/involvement with it in full.
Hello Tasha, so for those who don’t know. What is your role with Abarth Club Scotland and what are you currently driving?
Hello I’m Tasha - 23 years old and I like to be known as the founder of Abarth Scotland which was established in 2016. As of right now I currently drive a 2010 Abarth 500 Esseesse (Pearl White, which is my favourite colour of all Abarths!) – I’ve owned the car since January 2016.
With being responsible for pretty much a full country rather than a county or catchment area. How does it feel from a personal standpoint and how have you dealt with it over the years?
I find it pretty crazy especially when you call it a country! Trying to deal with the different areas of Scotland has been a bit of a challenge. However everyone in Scotland is pretty used to travelling long distances so we just get over it and drive haha!
Scotland in my opinion shouldn’t be split into different sections. I have managed to keep Scotland as one and plan on keeping it that way. We all come together one way or another and I just feel that's the way it should be.
What has been your biggest obstacle/challenge to date for you being involved with the club and also with the club as a whole?
To be honest I’ve not had much challenges… apart from when I try and publicly speak in front of a big group and get embarrassed easily!
Also trying to keep everyone happy and making sure we can cover the different areas of Scotland when it comes to meets or events. Like any club there will be people who disagree with certain things, luckily Abarth Scotland is full of epic people and we rarely get disagreements!
I note that you’re in the detailing business yourself. Was this something you fell into through family? Fancied a change in career or something you had a passion for from the off?
I have always been an enthusiast when it comes to cleaning cars, more so when I got my Abarth. I love cleaning in general, and the satisfaction afterwards is worth all the hard work that goes in to it!
I landed the Car Detailing job with AMDetails when I saw it advertised on Facebook and sent my CV in (which my partner Jack helped me with). Going from an office based job to a more physical "male focused" role was a huge gamble. In all honesty I didn’t think I had a chance! Nearly 2 years later, I am now IDA Certified, Gtechniq accredited and Rupes Certified! Working with AMDetails has been amazing and the future is looking bright!
I’m assuming with looking after the country it’s not as easy holding local events to keep everyone happy. How do you get round this?
It is difficult to keep everyone happy, but I’ve come to terms with that. No matter what you do there will always be someone unhappy about something.
I’ve expanded the admin team further South/West. Dean Liddle is now organising the meets further south and west however I still organise and attend the big car events. Mark Sutherland covers the East side as well and he also does an epic job of the clubs Instagram! This in my opinion has worked out great and may even look further afield for new admins.
From my own personal experience when I’ve had to fly the flag for the North East to Abarth in general, I’ve always made reference to how big the North has in terms of area and the amount of members involved on a large scale. I’ve let them know about our presence here as well as North West & Scotland. What has your experience been so far with Abarth to get more eyes on your club?
Just being a part of the Scorpionship is huge. Abarth UK and over at Abarth HQ know the Scotland club and we try to get involved as much as we can.
In all honesty I never imagined the club getting as big as it is today. That in itself is enough for me as the club founder!
Last year you made the long trip down to the Sports Cars in the Park event at Newby Hall in Yorkshire. Fair play for coming such a long distance. Is there any further plans as a club to cross the border again and attend any more events in England?
It was an epic journey and I love driving and going on little adventures, especially with club members.
We have a club stand for Festival Italia and we are making some progress to do a big road trip South West this year and hoping that will coincide with other clubs down south.
What shows have you got to look forward to this show season?
Our first car event will be a charity Coffee & Cars held in Aberdeen. We went last year and it’s a nice event, just big enough and for a great cause so that’ll start off the show season nicely!
Following that event we have the Scottish Italian Car Day, which is a great event being Italian Car focused! We have around 7 more events across the year and a road trip as previously mentioned. We also like to do a club meet every two months.
Scotland is known for some amazing picturesque locations. If you were to recommend some great locations for those who fancy making the trip further North, where would you recommend?
There are so many places to go, the list is endless! From personal experience, doing the North Coast 500 is definitely memorable. I love it so much I’ve lost count how many times I’ve done it now. The roads through the Cairngorms is also amazing.
Scotland is a beautiful place and I’m just honoured to say I live here!
What do you enjoy most from running the club and what has been the best thing to date?
I’ve always enjoyed organising events and road trips. I’ll always ensure to make these as memorable as possible (even if that involves me messing up!). I have made so many friends and everyone is just genuinely nice and caring!
Being recognised as the Club President has been one of the best things! Hearing people come up to me asking if I’m Tasha and then going on to say things like you run Abarth Scotland. It’s a great feeling to hear nice things being said about me and the club. It’s a huge confidence boost and to know that I’m making a good impact on people gives me such joy!
As for the best thing to date, I can’t just pick one thing... Abarth Days 2019 in Milan was epic. One of the best trips and being recognised by Abarth, getting invited to HQ was insane... we also got a tour of the new Heritage Centre which wasn’t open to the public at the time. I wish I could relive that moment all over again!
Lastly, you’ve been given a blank cheque. Pick an Abarth within the whole series and also your dream car to purchase.
It has to be an Abarth 50th anniversary for sure! That pearl white makes my heart melt.
My dream car…. a La Ferrari, I have been in love with it ever since its release. The name is just so simple yet perfect!
Again thank you for Tasha for taking the time to give us more knowledge about her involvement with the club and what they have planned for the year.
If you would like to see what both Tasha and Abarth Club Scotland get up to then you can follow both on Instagram at the following accounts:
@TL_ABARTH
@ABARTHCLUBSCOTLAND