Non-VRCBC News & Events

15 Sep

Posted at 08:58h in Non-VRCBC News & Events, Targa Newfoundland by
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[caption id="attachment_11058" align="aligncenter" width="450"]Ready to go!! The BEL Racing Team with their Honda S2000 in St. John's. L to R: Len Swanson, Alan McColl, Brad Law, Chris Lewoniuk and Doug Floer. - BEL Racing photo Ready to go!! The BEL Racing Team with their Honda S2000 in St. John's before the start. L to R: Len Swanson, Alan McColl, Brad Law, Chris Lewoniuk and Doug Floer. - BEL Racing photo[/caption]

Posted: September 15, 2015

VRCBC members Alan McColl and Doug Floer have parked their Vintage Formula Fords for a week to go to the other side of the country and compete in the famous annual Targa Newfoundland with the BEL Racing team. (Team leader Brad Law is also a regular Formula Ford runner at Mission Raceway but isn't a VRCBC member ... yet.)

The Targa is a unique motorsports event in North America. It is on many enthusiast's 'bucket list'; not just because of the opportunity to drive fast on 'The Rock's' challenging closed public roads but also because of the legendary hospitality of Newfoundlanders. The 2015 Targa started on Sunday, September 13 and will end on Friday, September 18.

BEL Racing is entered in the fastest 'Targa' class; they are aiming for an outright win. You can pretend you are right there by following the team's exploits on their Facebook site (here). They are continually updating it with photos and on-board videos.

Good luck guys and watch out for the rocks and the moose!

15 Jul

Posted at 10:19h in Racing Related, SOVREN by
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[caption id="attachment_10914" align="aligncenter" width="450"]The VRCBC's own Tony Carruthers in his Swift DB2 leads a Lola 497/C - Jim Moody photo The VRCBC's own Tony Carruthers in his Swift DB2 leads a Lola 497/C - Jim Moody photo[/caption] Posted: July 15, 2015

Several VRCBC members took part in the Portland Vintage Racing Festival organized by the SVRA at Portland International Raceway over the July 9-12 weekend. Our friend Jim Moody was there and sent us some of his photos; thanks Jim.

08 Jul

Posted at 16:02h in SOVREN by
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[caption id="attachment_10881" align="aligncenter" width="450"]The VRCBC's own Steve Clark in his 1963 Lotus 23B sports racer. - Brent Martin photo The VRCBC's own Steve Clark in his 1963 Lotus 23B sports racer. - Brent Martin photo[/caption]

Posted: July 8, 2015

Our friends across the border, the Society Of Vintage Racing ENthusiasts - better known to all as SOVREN (here) - held their premier annual event, the Pacific Northwest Historics at Pacific Raceways over their July 4th holiday weekend. Many VRCBC members and friends of the Club, who often race with us at the Mission Raceway Road Course, took part.

Brent Martin was there too and has provided us with some great action photos (see below). You can see more of Brent's photos of this and many other motorsports events on his web site (here).

09 Jul

Posted at 11:26h in Racing Related, Special Events by
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[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.