Mini Tag

[caption id="attachment_11157" align="aligncenter" width="450"]Gunter Pichler ('64 XKE) passes Ivan Lessner ('58 Austin Healey 100-6 BNG) on the inside with Ian Wood ('69 Volvo 142S) close on his tail. - Brent Martin photo Gunter Pichler ('64 XKE) passes Ivan Lessner ('58 Austin Healey 100-6 BNG) on the inside with Ian Wood ('69 Volvo 142S) close on his tail. - Brent Martin photo[/caption] Posted: October 16, 2015

Sunday October 11th saw the final Vintage racing of the 2015 season at Mission Raceway's Road Course during the Sports Car Club of BC (SCCBC) Turkey Triple Weekend. The Vintage - related results are now posted on this web site under the Race Results menu (here). The full results for all of the weekend racing are available on the Results page of the SCCBC web site (here). As always, our thanks to the SCCBC Timing & Scoring team for making this information available to us.

Brent Martin has again provided us with some photos (see below). Thanks Brent. You can find his full portfolio for the Turkey Triple Weekend plus a lot of other motorsport action on his own website (here). And remember, Brent is donating 50% of the revenue from the sale of photos from his web site during October to the E-Crew Firesuit Fund (here).

[caption id="attachment_10842" align="aligncenter" width="450"]Roger van der Marel exiting Turn 9 in his beautiful 1967 Alfa Romeo GTV. - Brent Martin photo Roger van der Marel exiting Mission's Turn 9 in his beautiful 1967 Alfa Romeo GTV during the REVS races on June 28th. - Brent Martin photo[/caption] Updated: June 30, 2015

The weather was almost too perfect for the SCCBC's June Bug Race Weekend at the Mission Raceway Park Road Course. It was warm!

There was a good turn out of Vintage racers for the VRCBC REVS races. A real highlight was the appearance of Collin Jackson's beautifully restored and very fast 1973 Brabham BT40, a well-known Formula Atlantic competitor from the past.

The Vintage Closed Wheel and the Open Wheel / Sports Racer results for the Sunday are available on this web site (here). The complete results for the weekend are available on the Race Results page on the SCCBC web site (here).

Brent Martin has again provided us with some great photos - see below. He has also posted many more photos of the weekend's action on his web site (here).

[caption id="attachment_9977" align="aligncenter" width="450"]The M3 Class Podium with the third place man, our boy Geoff on the right, runner-up Richard Paterson on the left and the winner, UK Mini-legend Nick Swift (of Swiftune fame) in the centre. - photo courtesy Can-Am Mini Challenge Can-Am Mini Challenge: The M3 Class Podium with the third place man, our boy Geoff on the right, runner-up Richard Paterson on the left and the winner, UK Mini-legend Nick Swift (of Swiftune fame) in the centre. - photo courtesy Can-Am Mini Challenge[/caption] Posted: July 9, 2014 Classic Mini enthusiasts gathered at the famous Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Can-Am Mini Challenge, celebrating the 55th anniversary of the 'real' Mini. The Mini Challenge was one of the feature races in the Sports Car Vintage Racing Association's (SVRA) big '2014 The Mechanics Bank Vintage Grand Prix of Mid Ohio' over the June 26th-29th weekend. [caption id="attachment_9967" align="alignleft" width="300"]Class M4 Winner Bob Beauchemin - photo courtesy Can-Am Mini Challenge Class M4 Winner Bob Beauchemin - photo courtesy Can-Am Mini Challenge[/caption] The VRCBC was very well represented. Two of the biggest Mini enthusiasts anywhere, VRCBC members Geoff Tupholme and Bob Beauchemin made the long trek from the BC interior to Ohio, and they did us proud. In a field of 48 racing Minis of every description ('standard' Vintage eligibility rules didn't really apply!), Geoff finished 8th overall and third in class and Bob (after a slight off-course excursion on the last lap) came 10th overall and won his class. (See the results pages here and here courtesy of the SVRA.) But the VRCBC connection didn't stop with our two local heroes. Club 'alumni' (and 'monster' Mini enthusiasts) Rachel and Andy Nelson (who now live in Ontario) were also heavily involved in the event. Andy took 14th overall in their beautifully restored 1965 Cooper S. He also loaned their very fast 1963 Cooper S to well-known British Mini tuner Nick Swift, who proceeded to take second overall and win his class. (Check out his story of the event on the Swiftune web site here.) And last but certainly not least, Rachel was the lead organizer of the Mini-Challenge. It will not surprise VRCBC members who remember her great contribution as a member of our Executive, that this event was a huge success. Click here to see a short video of the start of the race; Geoff goes by in 10th place and Bob in 12th. (Mission Raceway Road Course racers will be interested to know that there are no sound level restrictions at Mid-Ohio!) The Can-Am Mini Challenge Facebook page (here) has many more photos and videos. And an online album with over 300 photos of the full SVRA event (not just the Minis) can be viewed here. That great 'Montage of Minis' below was created by Richard Coburn. You can visit his Facebook page here.

[caption id="attachment_9821" align="aligncenter" width="450"]John Elliott (1969 MGB) splashes around the track. - Brent Martin photo John Elliott (1969 MGB) splashes around the track. - Brent Martin photo[/caption] Posted: May 28, 2014

The 2014 Vintage racing season at Mission Raceway Park Road Course got off to a very soggy start on May 25th. The weather was OK on the Saturday of the SCCBC's "May-niacs" Weekend, but the Sunday - when the Vintage races were run - was a real west coast-style soaker! Not all of the VRCBC racers had the ideal tires for the conditions but nevertheless 'a good time was had by all' - sort of. After all, being out on the race track - no matter the conditions - is always better than doing chores at home!

The results are posted under the 2014 Race Results menu (here). Thanks to the SCCBC for making them available.

Check out Brent Martin's photos below. As always, thanks Brent.

[caption id="attachment_9093" align="aligncenter" width="450"]John Carroll (1967 Ginetta G4) leading Bernie Hamm (1967 MGB), with Glen Gibbons (1969 Alfa Romeo GTV) in the background - Brent Martin photo John Carroll (1967 Ginetta G4) leading Bernie Hamm (1967 MGB), with Glen Gibbons (1969 Alfa Romeo GTV) in the background - Brent Martin photo[/caption] Posted: September 16, 2013 Sunday, September 15th saw the final Vintage REVS races of the 2013 season during the SCCBC's CACC-sanctioned, 'Summer's End' Weekend at the Mission Raceway Park Road Course. The day started out a little foggy but the weather held all day. It was a great ending to another excellent season of Vintage racing. Our thanks to the SCCBC for hosting our races once again this year. The results are now available and are posted on the 2013 Results page (here) Here are some of the first photos of the action. Once again our thanks to Brent Martin for the on-track shots. You can check out all of Brent's photos on his web site (here).