Vintage Racing Club of BC

The Spirit of Westwood Lives On!

May 8, 2019

A Vintage Traffic Jam! From left to right, Peter Valkenburg (Porsche 911), Ian Thomas (BMW 2002) and Gunter Pichler (Jaguar E-Type) lead Paul Haym (BMW 2002), an almost hidden Steve Gunner (Porsche 944), Phil Linzey (Datsun 240Z) and Ivan Lessner (Austin Healey 100-6) into the Mission Raceway Road Course’s Turn One. – Brent Martin photo

Posted: May 8, 2019

The first VRCBC REVS races of the 2019 season at Mission Raceway Park on the Sunday May 5th of the SCCBC’s ‘May Daze‘ weekend. The full results for the weekend are posted on the SCCBC web site Results page (here).

As usual, Brent Martin has provided us with some great photos (see below) of our Vintage cars (and the drivers too of course!) in action. Thanks Brent! You can find all of Brent’s photos on his web site (here).

The next Vintage on-track action at Mission will be during the SCCBC’s ‘Dash for Dads‘ event over the June 15-16 weekend. See you at the track!

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April 8, 2019

Trevor Sandham’s #76 gold Mini and Karlo Flores’ #84 red Mini were highlights of the display on the Jack Poole Plaza at the 2019 Vancouver International Auto Show in March. – Patrick Stewart photo

Posted: April 8, 2019

It was a Mini invasion on the last day of the Vancouver International Auto Show (VIAS) when 23 classic Minis and 3 BMW Mini Coopers filled the Jack Poole Olympic Plaza to celebrate the 60th (!) anniversary of this most iconic and celebrated of British cars.

The Mini 60 Drive-Up event began at Vanier Park and then proceeded in convoy down Burrard street to the Plaza creating quite a sight for many by-passers. Our friends at Steveston Motor Company – the classic Mini specialists in Richmond – have posted a video of their involvement in this procession. Check it out on their web site media page (here).

The plaza display drew large crowds all day with many enthusiasts sharing stories from their own racing and personal Mini experiences ‘back in the day’. Two of the ‘biggest’ (ahem) stars were the very quick Mini Vintage racers of VRCBC members, Trevor Sandham and Karlo Flores.

This one-day event was sponsored by the VIAS, Mini Club BC and WesternDriver.com.  To see more than 500 British Classic Cars be sure to visit the All British Field Meet (aka ‘The Greatest Show on British Wheels’) on Saturday, May 18th at Vancouver’s VanDusen Botanical Garden; both the Mini and Bentley marques will be featured this year. (Check the web site (here) for more information and tickets.) The VRCBC will again be there with our usual display; make sure to stop by and say hello!

April 8, 2019

 

Fastest Team! Event Co-organizer Ian Wood (L) presents the Overall Winners trophy to the members of Team Silverstone; Jeremy Stewart, Will Jones and Danny Getheran. – Patrick Stewart photo

Posted: April 8, 2019

As has now become the tradition, the VRCBC kicked off their new race season on March 19th with a Kart Fest Enduro at TBC Indoor Kart Racing in Richmond. The Enduro was promoted as a fund-raiser in support of our BC Historics Motor Races in August but in reality, it is primarily just an excuse for members of the VRCBC, SCCBC, META and their family and friends to have fun on the track!

Each team was assigned a race track name and had three randomly selected members:

  • Westwood: Mike Bailey, Russell Jansen, Kaylan van der Marel
  • Mission: Scott Dougans, Daryll Jansen, Rowan van der Marel
  • Abbotsford: Rob Dunlop, Nolan Rempel, Doug Walter
  • Mosport: John Elliott, Keith Robinson, Ian Wood
  • Laguna Seca: Angus Glass, Patrick Stewart, Bruce Yeo
  • Silverstone: Danny Geheran, Jeremy Stewart, Will Jones
  • Goodwood: Paul Haym, Peter Valkenburg, Lachlan ‘Rocky’ MacKay
  • Gimli: Ryan Jansen, Roger van der Marel, Marcus Lee

The awards were all original Westwood trophies from the 1970’s, which had been refurbished for this event. Good, clean racing was enjoyed by all who attended and the VRCBC thanks everyone for their support!

These photos of the action were taken by co-organizers Patrick Stewart and Ian Wood.

 

December 18, 2018

Larry Sandham in his modified 1965 Morris Mini Cooper at Western Speedway in 1970 / 1971.

Posted: December 18, 2018

Larry Sandham’s bright green Mini Vauxhall is well known in these parts. But did you know that it started out as a 1965 Morris Cooper that he bought back in 1969? Well, that’s not strictly true but that car was the start of his long love affair with fast Minis.

The Cooper had many of the ‘traditional’ modifications of the time. The 998 cc engine’s horsepower had been raised from the stock 55 to about 85 by the time Larry had modified the head, installed a 544 cam and two 1.5 inch SU’s and made other modifications. 

Larry had a great time competing in gymkhanas, slaloms, hill-climbs, sprints, speed trials and road races with this Cooper, and probably wishes he still owned it!

Some things never change – Minis always seem to need something fixed! Larry’s Mini Cooper at Western Speedway in 1970-71 and his Mini-Vauxhall at Mission Raceway’s Turn 3 in 2017.
October 16, 2018

And they’re off!  Variety is the spice of VRCBC REVS Vintage racing! – Brent Martin photo

Posted: October 16, 2018

The ‘road racing gods’ must have felt guilty for the miserable rain storm throughout the September race weekend because they delivered beautifully warm, sunny weather for the SCCBC’s final event of the season on October 13th-14th. As usual, our Vintage REVS races were on the Sunday.

The full results for the weekend-including Vintage-are available on the SCCBC web site (here). Brent Martin has again provided us with a sample of his always excellent action photos (see below). For many more of Brent’s shots of this weekend and many other motorsport events, check out his web site (here). Thanks Brent.

See you at the track next year!

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