Inside Track Motorsport News - Volume 25, Issue 08

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IN THIS ISSUE Volume 25 I Issue 08 I February / March 2022

INSIDE News Robert Wickens 14 Canadian racer back on track in 2022 15 Short Track Update NPS, APC and Qwick Wick schedules out 16 Western Stocks I.M.C.A. Canada season review INSIDE Features Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame 10 16 inductees added in latest class 22 NASCAR Pinty’s Series Reigning champion L.P. Dumoulin APC United Late Model Series 24 Watson wins second series title 26 Qwick Wick Super Stocks Lane Zardo gets reflects on 2021 title 28 Assorted Short Track Champions OSCAAR, OSS and TQ Midgets 30 Frieberger Racing Family-owned team continues to give back CASC-OR 32 Pandemic can’t dent series’ robust car counts

INSIDE Features 34 VARAC Series baounces back after arduous 2020 Super Production Challenge 38 58 drivers scores points in 2021 season 40 Western Road Racing 2021 season review 42 Frank Williams Formula 1 icon left lasting Canadian legacy 48 Canada Heads Up Street Car Shootout 11 champions crowned after busy season INSIDE Opinions 04 The Inside Line Greg MacPherson: Motorama’s New Dates 08 Shifting Gears James Neilson: Abu Dhabi Thoughts 50 Looking Back Dave Mathers: Bob and Helen Harvey 52 Tomas Tales Erik Tomas: That Formula 1 Finale Technically Speaking 60 Larry Holt: Active Suspension

ON THE COVER: APC LMS champion Brandon Watson, Qwick Super Series champion Lane Zardo and CASC-OR Libre champion Paul Subject. Photos by Peter Anderson, Steve Traczyk and Tim McGill. Row 2: CHU Pro10five champion Nick Agostino, VARAC CL-A champion Steve Hummel and Canadian Rally champions André and René Leblanc. Photos by Blake Farnan, Richard Cobrun and CarsRally.ca.

Former IndyCar, NASCAR and Grand Am racer Patrick Carpentier was among 16 new inductees into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. Photo by Paolo Pedicelli

InsideTrackNews.com 3

I OPINION

THE INSIDE LINE

By Greg MacPherson

F

MOTORAMA HAS NEW DATES!

or the first bit of news, we’d like to let you know that the date of our Motorama Custom Car & Motorsports Expo has been moved back seven full weeks, to April 29, 30 and May 1 at Toronto’s International Centre.

From our perspective, this is a great turn of events given that the Province of Ontario isn’t planning on allowing 100 percent attendance at events like ours until March 14, which would have been the day after our show would have closed had we stuck with the original date.

Since we announced the change, the response has been incredible. Exhibitors and vehicles are registering. We laugh / cry that it’s “been a long two weeks to flatten the curve” since the 2020 edition of Motorama was shut down half-way through. In fact, it’ll have been more than two years by the time we’re all back at the International Centre again to continue an almost 50-year tradition of celebrating incredible cars and Canadian motorsports, at this show.

The only thing slightly tempering our happiness about the date change – which will give the mild Omicron variant even more chance to subside – is that we’re right on the edge of racing season for some of the region’s racing venues.

Our friends at Flamboro Speedway are set to kick off their 2022 season on the Saturday of the show, and some other venues have scheduled practice days. We apologize for any conflicts, and we understand that some people will be at the track instead of in track or series booths or showing off their cars.

That said, individual racers are welcome to attend and bring their vehicles. With the show happening later than ever, we imagine there will have never been so many race cars in pristine condition. If you’re interested, go to MotoramaShow.com, click on the Register A Vehicle link at the top-right of the page, and go down to the Racers’ Corral area, where you can access the application.

WHAT BETTER WAY In other racing news at Motorama, the Fast Eddie Night of Champions will take place Saturday, April 30 on the main stage in Hall 1. As usual, we’ll be honouring any Canadian track or series champion from 2021. Once 4 Inside Track Motorsport News

(Above) The Fast Eddie Night of Champions will once again be a big part of Motorama.

(Below) Canada’s Brad Moran was recently named Managing Director of the NASCAR Cup Series.

Photos by Dave Franks (above) and Greg MacPherson (below)

again, this will include drag racers and short trackers (dirt and asphalt!) who won season-long titles the previous season.

New for this year’s show, we’ll also be celebrating the achievements of those who won road racing crowns in 2021. Finally, while we know that only a few tracks and series ran enough to declare champions in 2020 – the first season of the pandemic – the Night of Champions will also be open to them.

So, if you won a title at your weekly track or in a series during the past two seasons, head to MotoramaShow.com and look for the Night of Champions registration page.

To our knowledge, nowhere else in the world of racing do 150-plus champions get together for a single event to be celebrated by their families, crew members and fans and a few thousand others.

Another new racing twist, for the 2022 Motorama show, will be the Stoneridge Stage in the Racing Zone. Throughout the weekend, racing radio show hosts and podcasters will be there interviewing racers and special guests, for the entertainment of those in the Racing Zone and for possible use on their broadcasts.

Looking down the road to 2023, Motorama will be back in its traditional midMarch timeslot. The pandemic will be a distant memory and we’ll have no conflicts. But in the meantime, we look forward to seeing everyone who can make it April 29, 30 and May 1 at the International Centre.

CONGRATS BRAD MORAN! In other Canadian racing news, congratulations to Brad Moran, who was promoted

by NASCAR, on January 6, to the position of Managing Director for its elite Cup Series.

What an incredible accomplishment!

Many of us knew Brad back in his days as an owner / operator of Barrie Speedway, before heading up the NASCAR Pinty’s Series and the Camping World Truck Series.

“The entire competition team is incredibly strong at the NASCAR Cup Series level, and I look forward to helping them grow the series at this exciting time in our sport,” said Moran, in a press release issued by NASCAR. “As we introduce the Next Gen car and continue to promote the outstanding talent and personalities at NASCAR’s top level, I’m honoured to help shepherd the series alongside this experienced group of teammates.”

It’s always gratifying to see ‘one of your own’ succeed at the highest levels. And for someone in Brad’s line of work, you can’t get any higher. Congrats Brad! IT

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Photo by Matthew Manor

2014 CANADIAN NASCAR CHAMPION 2018 CANADIAN NASCAR CHAMPION 2021 CANADIAN NASCAR CHAMPION

THE CHAMPIONS

In this issue, Inside Track Motorsport News celebrates champions from across Canada, including short track, road racing, dirt, rally and drag racing title winners, like Nick Agostino. The Markham, ON drag racer wheeled his 1969 Camaro to the Canada Heads Up Street Car Shootout (CHU) Pro10five class championship in 2021. For the full list of CHU class winners, turn to page 48. Photo by Blake Farnan

6 Inside Track Motorsport News

InsideTrackNews.com 7

I OPINION

SHIFTING

GEARS

By James Neilson

ABU DHABI THOUGHTS

T

he 2021 Formula 1 season finale at Abu Dhabi was a disaster, simply put. Thanks to an inexplicable decision by Formula 1 Race Director Michael Masi, more on that later, Lewis Hamilton was robbed of a record eighth Formula 1 World Championship.

A Lap 53 crash by Canadian Williams driver Nicholas Latifi caused the safety car to come out with 5 laps remaining. Under normal circumstances, the race would have been effectively over at this point with Hamilton taking the win and Verstappen in second, clinching the title for the Mercedes driver.

During the safety car period, Hamilton stayed on track to avoid losing track position, keeping lapped cars between him and Verstappen, while the Dutchman, with nothing to lose, pitted for fresh tires.

Shortly after Verstappen pitted, Masi made the call to clear the lapped traffic – five cars – between Hamilton and Verstappen and restart the race with one lap to go. Predictably, Verstappen used his fresh tires to hunt down Hamilton, passing him in Turn 5 to clinch the win and one of the most controversial titles in Formula 1 history.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff was understandably furious with the decision, and Masi could be heard telling the German, “Toto, it’s called a motor race, okay? We went car racing.”

But was what we saw really racing? I don’t think so. As I stated earlier, the race should have ended after Latifi’s crash, but if you are going to go the NASCAR route and manipulate the race order, why not give Hamilton a chance to pit for fresh tires, too? That way, you have two equal drivers in equal cars on fresh tires in a one-lap duel.

I wouldn’t be so upset with that scenario, but what we got was the deck stacked in Red Bull’s favour, which isn’t very sporting.

As for Masi’s comments, I have a few questions for the embattled Race Director. He called the finish “car racing,” but aren’t crashes, yellow flags and finishes under caution part of car racing, too?

Now in fairness, as Erik Tomas and I discussed on his Raceline Radio show (see Erik’s column page 52 for his thoughts), one theory is Masi’s decision was influenced by Drive to Survive, the popular Netflix Formula 1 show. While we will probably never know if that’s true, I would be remiss to point out that there is zero chance Masi made any decisions regarding the restart in a vacuum, so he shouldn’t be facing the brunt of the public outcry.

Ultimately, I do think this will all blow over. It’s not the first time a Formula 1 World Championship has ended in controversy. There’s no asterisk beside Alain Prost’s 1989 title despite clashing with McLaren teammate Ayrton Senna at the start of the Suzuka season finale that ultimately caused Senna to be disqualified after winning on the road, neither is there one beside Senna’s 1990 title after exacting revenge against the Frenchman in the season finale at the same track. Nor is there one next to Michael Schumacher’s 1994 title after clashing with Damon Hill in the Adelaide season finale.

And Lewis Hamilton will return, I have no doubts about that. He’s not quitting when he’s so close to breaking the record for most titles he currently co-holds with Schumacher.

The new cars will be on track soon, a new season is right around the corner and then we can all get back to complaining about how the latest technical changes have done nothing to improve overtaking. IT 8 Inside Track Motorsport News

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2021 CANADIAN MOTORSPORT HALL OF FAME INDUCTS 16 NEW MEMBERS Story by Bryce Turner / CMHF t the end of 2021, the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) announced 16 individuals will be honoured as new members. Ten will be inducted in the Competitors / Motorsport Builders / Team Members / Significant Contributors category, with six more to be honoured in the Media category.

Commenting on this year’s nomination and selection process, CMHF chair Dr. Hugh Scully said, “We are very proud to announce this year’s class of new inductees. We were very pleased with the quality of the many nominations submitted. I would also like to thank the members of the Independent Selection Committees for their meticulous work, carefully reviewing and scoring the nominations.

“I have had the great pleasure of congratulating each of the future inductees, either personally, or by speaking with members of their families. On behalf of the CMHF, we applaud the contributions of the new members to motorsport in Canada, and we look forward to welcoming them to the Hall. As well, on behalf of the Board, I am happy to name Marco Signoretti as our 2021 ‘Rising Star’ award recipient. His name will be added to the Hall’s group of talented young Canadian drivers.”

A

COMPETITORS/BUILDERS/TEAM MEMBERS/ SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS INDUCTEES JOHN BONDAR John Bondar’s involvement in road racing began as a corner worker from 1982 to 1991, before moving to the driver’s seat, where he raced in sedans, GT and formula cars for more than a decade.

He racked up 77 podiums and three overall championships during that span and later passed along his knowledge as a licensed racing instructor.

Bondar is perhaps best known for his role with sanctioning bodies, where he was president of the Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs – Ontario Region (CSC-OR) from 2002 to 2006 and established the Canadian Touring Car Championship in 2006, staying on as president through present day. Most recently, he purchased Shannonville Motorsport Park with business partner Steve Gidman in 2019, with a plan to revitalize the Ontario-based road course.

10 Inside Track Motorsport News

PATRICK CARPENTIER Patrick Carpentier raced in several disciplines throughout his career, starting out in karts and the Spenard-David Racing School, before rising through the Formula Atlantic ranks, winning the 1992 Formula Atlantic (Canada) and 1996 Toyota Atlantic Championship titles. He set a season record for most wins in 1996, with nine victories in 12 events.

Carpentier later raced in CART, IndyCar and Champ Car, recording five wins and 24 podiums in 157 starts. He transitioned to closed-wheel competition in the mid-2000s, finishing second overall in the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2007, winning a NASCAR Cup pole in 2008 and recording five top-ten finishes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series between 2007 and 2008. Away from the driver’s seat, he joined RDS as a commentator in 2013.

BERTRAND GODIN Bertrand Godin raced in a variety of series in the first 12 years of his career. He started out in karts in 1986, was vice-champion in French Formula Ford in 1993 and 1994, raced in eight Indy Lights events between 1995 and 1996, won two races in Formula Atlantic in 1997 and raced in Formula 3000 the following year. His Formula Atlantic season included a victory on Canadian Grand Prix weekend.

Godin made occasional racing starts in the years that followed before competing in Formula 1600, where he won at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières in 2018 and finished third in the championship in 2019, when he also won at Trois-Rivières. Away from the driver’s seat, he’s been involved in road safety initiatives in Quebec and broadcasts on RDS, TVA Sports and local radio.

BRIAN GRAHAM Brian Graham first got involved in motorsports as a driver, including racing in F1600 and F2000, between 1986 and 2008, winning the Ontario Formula Ford Championship in 1992. His efforts started to shift away from the driver’s seat in 1998, when he formed Brian Graham Racing to prepare race cars for customers, before ultimately purchasing two cars to start his own team in 2007. Sixteen drivers won rookie of the year and seven drivers won championships for his team.

Graham’s long list of alumni include Josef Newgarden, Conor Daly, Kyle Marcelli, Dalton Kellett, Zacharie Robichon, Scott Hargrove and Megan Gilkes. Graham also helps the careers of young drivers through the Team Canada Scholarship, which he founded in 2011, providing Canadians with an opportunity to race in the prestigious Formula Ford Festival in England.

JOHN GRAHAM John Graham has made over 185 professional starts in a variety of racing series, including Can-Am, British Formula 2, Indy Lights and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He’s made eight starts in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning his class in 2000, and has made nine starts in the 24 Hours of Daytona, finishing on the class podium in 1998.

He’s also competed in the Paris-Dakar Rally.

When Graham was looking for funding to run CART in 1983, he pitched Molson, who said they’d be interested if he could get them a Toronto event. He called the chairman of CART and arranged meetings between the series and Molson, which ultimately led to the Molson Indy Toronto in 1986. He also helped organize the Moosehead Grand Prix in Halifax from 1990 to 1995.

COLIN HINE Colin Hine has nearly six decades of motorsports experience, ranging from driver, team owner and team manager to engine builder and chassis distributor. His Colin Hine Racing team finished first in the production class and second overall in the Canadian Rally Championship in 1979 and 1980. In the Canadian Formula Ford Championship, he won three consecutive titles with Scott Goodyear from 1980 to 1982 and one title with Paul Tracy in 1985.

Hine also ran the Canadian School of Motor Racing at Shannonville Motorsport Park, alongside Goodyear, from 1981 to 1985. Most recently, he was a technical inspector for IMSA Prototypes, followed

by Chief Technical Inspector for both Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada and Lamborghini Super Trofeo series, between 2009 and 2019.

KANDY MITTON Kandy Mitton has collected more than a hundred trophies and plaques since she started drag racing in Atlantic Canada around 1997. She became the first female driver to win the Atlantic Drag Racing Association (ADRA) championship in 2015, advanced to the quarter finals (going seven rounds) for Team Canada in the NHRA Open at Lebanon Valley Dragway in 2016 and once went on a 34-round win streak between two tracks and three weekends.

Mitton became the first secretary / treasurer for the ADRA in 1998, a role that needed to be split between two people when she stepped away in 2008. She also had a Rogers TV series, 2FAST4U, for two years, highlighting high schools where students built drag racing cars to compete against each other on the May long weekend.

HOWIE SCANNELL Howie Scannell, the first of three generations to strap into a driver’s seat, raced stock cars for 44 years. He started in 1953 in Supermodifieds, before switching to Late Models in the late-1960s, competing in ASA and NASCAR events south of the border. He raced at some notable tracks of the day in southern Ontario, such as CNE Speedway, Pinecrest Speedway and Cayuga Motor Speedway, and also raced at tracks still operating, such as Delaware Speedway and Flamboro Speedway.

Scannell was once declared one of the most talented stock car racers in Canada in a Globe and Mail article, following a race at CNE

(Opposite page) Patrick Carpentier (top), Bertrand Godin (left) and Bill Zardo Sr. (right). (Above) Glenn Styres (left), Kandy Mitton (right) and John Graham (above). Photos Courtesy CMHF

Speedway. He also won two Flamboro Speedway championships, competing against drivers such as Don Biederman, Earl Ross, Norm Lelliott and Junior Hanley.

GLENN STYRES Glenn Styres’ contributions to dirt racing include his own ‘Field of Dreams,’ building Ohsweken Speedway in his front yard, a track that has become a top dirt racing destination in Canada. He won the North American Sprint Car Promoter of the Year Award eight times and is a multi-time champion in Southern Ontario Sprints and at Ohsweken Speedway.

Styres has competed in the Chili Bowl Nationals and has been a major sponsor and team owner in the Chili Bowl Nationals and World of Outlaws, including sponsorship of Kyle Larson’s dirt sprint car program. He is also a role model in the Indigenous community and has a TV series airing on APTN, Friday Night Thunder, which takes viewers inside Ohsweken Speedway.

BILL ZARDO SR. Bill Zardo Sr. started his racing career at Pinecrest Speedway in 1962, competing at the track until its closure in the mid-1970s, contending alongside Junior Hanley and Don Biederman. He joined CASCAR in 1981 and became the first CASCAR Super Late Model Series champion. He also won the Flamboro Speedway Late Model title in 1984 and 1986, the Molson Series title in 1984 and Flamboro’s Triple 50s championship in 1987.

Zardo Sr. started racing in the American Canadian Tour in the 1990s, winning the Flexmor Super Late Model title in 1996. He’s also been a team owner and sponsor for other drivers, including his family of racers, son Billy Zardo, daughter Sharon Zardo (Shepherd), son-in-law Pete Shepherd Jr. and grandsons Lane Zardo, Billy Zardo III, Pete Shepherd III and Scott Nagel.

InsideTrackNews.com 11

GERRY FRECHETTE Gerry Frechette has covered nearly all forms of racing in Western Canada during his career, starting in the late-1980s, working for publications in British Columbia, such as Motorsport West magazine and Western Driver. He covered races through writing and photography for competing publications, Performance Racing News and Formula Magazine, and also worked for Inside Track Motorsport News.

Frechette captured a famous photo sequence of Rob Fellows’ crash in the Player’s/GM series at Circuit Mont-Tremblant in 1991.

He’s also covered major racing events, including the Indy Toronto, Grand Prix of Long Beach, Canadian Grand Prix, Indianapolis 500 and 24 Hours of Le Mans. He’s a 30-year member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada and was also invited by developers to photograph the construction of the Area 27 road course from 2013 to 2017.

JAMES (JIM) MARTYN

MEDIA INDUCTEES

James (Jim) Martyn started his career in radio before merging that experience with motorsports, when he volunteered to assist the Mosport Park track announcer with calling a 24-hour race in 1987.

That led to his official involvement with the legendary track, now Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, the following weekend. He held the role of PA announcer until his death in October 2019.

Martyn was the PA announcer for the American Le Mans Series from 1997 to 2010 and was part of the broadcast of the inaugural Petit Le Mans, the second major sporting event to be available via internet for worldwide reach. He was also the voice used as background commentary in the Sports Car GT video game in 1999 and was part of Motorsport Radio on Sportsnet 590 and Car Guys on Global TV.

PHILIPPE BRASSEUR

FRANK ORR

Philippe Brasseur created Pole Position magazine in 1990, which has become the only motorsport magazine from Quebec. He has also been involved in broadcasts, first with TQS network from 1997 to 2000, then as analyst and host for RDS since 2006, covering NASCAR, DTM, Nissan Micra Cup and the Canadian Rally Championship. His other roles include being a track announcer at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières since 2002 and producing editorial content for the Nissan Micra Cup since 2015.

Brasseur is the only Canadian journalist to cover the 24 Hours of Le Mans, consecutively, for more than 30 years. With racing experience in the past, he is also the creator and organizer of the 4 Hours Pole-Position, an annual karting competition bringing together roughly 60 drivers from Ontario and Quebec.

Frank Orr covered sports for more than four decades, mostly with the Toronto Star, which he joined in 1961. He was best known for his hockey coverage at Canada’s largest daily newspaper, which helped give his racing coverage more eyes and add more credibility to motorsports within the sports media landscape. He started covering racing in the mid-1960s, including the lead-up to the inaugural Formula 1 race in Canada in 1967.

Orr covered up-and-coming drivers in series like Player’s/GM and Rothmans-Porsche, while providing a Canadian perspective to major events like the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500. He also wrote at least three motorsport books, covered the inaugural Molson Indy Toronto in 1986 and wrote a motorsports column for The Star’s Wheels section in the early 1990s.

CLARE DEAR

ALLAN DE LA PLANTE

Clare Dear’s early motorsports reporting helped launch a long career. His weekly column in university led to invitations to major events, which helped him land a staff position with the London Free Press, where he spent nearly 30 years. He has also filed for the Canadian Press, National Post, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and multiple motorsports publications, covering a variety of events from the grassroots to international level, in various forms of racing.

Dear spent five terms as president of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada and was media relations official for CASCAR during its development to a national series. His public awareness tour also helped introduce Junior Late Model racing to the country, leading to a weekly division in the Delaware Speedway infield.

Allan de la Plante is probably best known for his role of official photographer for racing legend Gilles Villeneuve. He first crossed paths with Villeneuve at a Formula Ford race at Mosport Park in 1973 and would later follow the driver around the world on the Formula 1 circuit, until Gilles’ death in a crash in May 1982. De la Plante released a photographic essay titled “Villeneuve” that fall.

De la Plante’s other notable photographs include “Four into Four,” taken at Mosport in 1976. His photographs were also used as a base for two commemorative stamps, in memory of Villeneuve, released by Canada Post in 1997. His photographic essay was re-released as “Villeneuve: A Racing Legend” in 1995, winning a bronze medal in New Media magazine’s Invision awards in 1996. IT

Media inductees Frank Orr (top, with Jackie Stewart) Philippe Brasseur (left), and Gerry Frechette (right). Photos Courtesy CMHF

12 Inside Track Motorsport News

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I NEWS

WICKENS BACK ON TRACK Canadian Returning to Racing as New Member of Hyundai’s TCR Team Courtesy Hyundai Canada hree-time International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Michelin Pilot Challenge (IMPC) Champions, Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) and Hyundai Motor North America, announced they have signed international racing star Robert Wickens to co-drive the No. 33 Elantra N TCR racecar. Wickens will drive with fellow Canadian champion Mark Wilkins in the 2022 IMPC. “Today (January 14) is a monumental day for us as a team and as fans of Robert Wickens,” said Bryan Herta, president of BHA. “We have followed along with Robert’s rehabilitation and marveled at his determination and dedication, along with his many, many fans. To now announce that he will be making his professional motorsports return in one of our Hyundai Elantra N TCR cars is truly incredible. We thank Hyundai for their amazing support and helping us build a path for Robert to get back to where he belongs.”

In May of 2021, Wickens successfully evaluated the BHA No. 54 Hyundai Veloster N TCR using hand controls. It was his first time driving a race car after 989 days of rehabilitation following an IndyCar accident that left him paralyzed in 2018. Wickens will return to competition, taking the green flag at the IMPC season opener, a four-hour endurance race commencing the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona race weekend at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“I’ve spent a lot of nights dreaming of this moment, and with the support from Bryan Herta and Hyundai it is all becoming a reality,” said Wickens. “I am hungrier now

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(Above) Robert Wickens is all smiles after driving the Hyundai Veloster N TCR at Mid-OhioSports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on May 4, 2021. Photos Courtesy Hyundai Canada

than I was before my accident to compete for wins again! I’m really looking forward to incorporating myself with the entire Bryan Herta Autosport team and finally get my first taste of the Hyundai Elantra N TCR.” Wickens, a former Formula 1 test driver, took the American IndyCar scene by storm as a rookie in 2018. He won the pole position and led all but two laps in his first IndyCar race, went on to score four podium finishes and earned the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Award, all in his first 12 IndyCar races in 2018. Race number 13 of his stellar rookie IndyCar season changed his life forever. Wickens was involved in an accident on Lap 7 at Pocono Raceway, where he suffered a thoracic spinal fracture, spinal cord injury, neck fracture, tibia and fibula

Hyundai Veloster N TCR car hand controls used by Wickens during a test session at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH, in May 2021.

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fractures to both legs, fractures in both hands, a fractured right forearm, fractured elbow, a concussion, four fractured ribs and a pulmonary contusion. Since the accident, Wickens’ perseverance and persistence has led to triumphant breakthroughs in his relentless regimes of physical rehabilitation and therapy that continues daily. Wickens and his team of therapists and trainers have become trailblazers in developing innovative technology and treatment methods for the spinal cord injury community.

The No. 33 Hyundai Elantra N TCR has been fitted with a custom hand-control system designed by BHA Technical Director David Brown and Development Technician Jonathan Gormley. The system features a custom metal ring connected to the brake pedal by a series of rods. The ring is attached behind the steering wheel that is pulled with fingers to activate the brake. Two linked throttle paddles and shift paddles, all attached behind the steering wheel, allow the driver to accelerate, shift and make steering inputs. The system also features a switch for Wilkins when he takes over the cockpit in pitstops that deactivates the hand throttle. The Elantra will accelerate and brake using the traditional foot pedals when Wilkins is driving.

Wickens and Wilkins join the previously announced 2022 BHA driver lineup featuring six Elantra N TCR entries to defend the team’s trifecta of series titles, and they will vie for Hyundai’s third straight manufacturers title. IT

I NEWS

NASCAR PINTY’S SERIES 13-Race 2022 Schedule Announced With Files From NASCAR.ca he 2022 NASCAR Pinty’s Series schedule has been released and features a 13-race slate that will see the series return to some of its traditional venues after a two-year COVID-19-driven hiatus. The announced schedule features races at ten different tracks across four provinces, including the return to the streets of Toronto and the series’ annual western swing.

“It was important for us to return to a traditional-looking schedule for the 2022 season,” said Brandon Igdalsky, Managing Director, NASCAR Touring Series. “We want to bring the exciting, side-by-side racing of the NASCAR Pinty’s Series to our fans across Canada and have appreciated their patience as we navigated the past two seasons. We will continue working with local and provincial officials to put on safe events for our fans and competitors.”

The 2022 season opens at Sunset Speedway on May 14 for the third consecutive year and concludes at Delaware Speedway on September 25, where L.P. Dumoulin was crowned Pinty’s Series champion in 2021. Altogether, the series will visit five short tracks, two road courses, two street courses and the long-awaited debut on dirt at Ohsweken Speedway on August 16. A 13th race will be scheduled at a TBD track for June 25.

The 2021 season was limited to six tracks in Ontario and Quebec due to pandemic-related challenges. The 2020 championship season was also cut short and replaced by a six-race Pinty’s Fan Cave Challenge held over three weekends.

Other highlights of the 2022 schedule include a return of the fan-favorite Honda Indy Toronto street course race on Friday, July 15. Andrew Ranger and Alex Tagliani have combined to win five of the previous six races at Exhibition Place.

Additionally, two Pinty’s Series races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), including the traditional Victoria Day weekend race on Sunday, May 22. The second visit will be the season’s penultimate race on Sunday, September 4.

And the 52nd annual Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières (GP3R) will be run on Sunday, August 7. Quebec-born drivers have won the last seven events.

All races will air on TSN and RDS. Start times and complete broadcast schedules will be released at a later date. For more information, visit nascar.ca. IT

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The NPS will make its return to Toronto in 2022. Photo by Greg MacPherson

2022 APC LMS AND QWICK WICK SS SCHEDULES With Files From APCracingseries.com he APC United Late Model Series will once again make its way across Ontario in 2022, making stops at four familiar tracks and returning to one track for the first time since 2018.

The nine-race tour will get started at Innisfil, ON’s Sunset Speedway on Saturday, May 21.

The 2022 schedule will see no back-to-back weekends and the tour will also enjoy a late summer break before crowning its 2022 champion on September 24 at Delaware Speedway. After the Sunset Speedway opener, the series will head to Flamboro Speedway on June 4 and then Peterborough Speedway on June 18, which returns to the schedule for the first time since 2018 after lobbying from teams and fans alike.

The APC Series will then head to Delaware Speedway for the fourth round of the season and a new racing surface will be waiting for the Pro Late Models when they arrive after extensive offseason upgrades.

The second half of the tour will see the teams return to Flamboro Speedway on Saturday, July 16 for the fifth race of the tour. The sixth race takes place on Saturday, July 30 at Sauble Speedway for the first of two trips to the beach in 2022. Sunset Speedway’s late-season race will see the tour return on Saturday, August 13 and set up the final charge to the championship.

The penultimate event on the schedule will take place on Saturday, August 27 at Sauble Speedway. This will be the first time Sauble Speedway has hosted the second-to-last event on the schedule.

Meanwhile, the 2022 Qwick Wick Super Stock Series schedule features five races at four different tracks, all alongside the APC LMS, kicking off at Millgrove, ON’s Flamboro Speedway on Saturday, June 4.

The tour will return to Peterborough Speedway for the second race of the season on Saturday, June 18, while the third race of the five-race season sees the tour head to Delaware Speedway on Canada Day (Friday, July 1) for its first of two events at the half-mile.

Sunset Speedway will host the only August event for the series on August 13 before heading back to Delaware Speedway on September 23 for the championship event, part of the United Racing Series championship weekend. IT

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I NEWS

I.M.C.A. CANADA SEASON WRAP-UP Johnny Beaumont Jr. Wins Third Career Series Title Story by Robert K. Rooney ohnny Beaumont Jr. of Fort St. John, BC, won his third I.M.C.A. Canada Modified championship in 2021. He also won in 2011 and 2016.

“It’s a good feeling,” said Beaumont Jr. “When I started this, I never thought I’d be there. To get three in 11 years is pretty decent.”

In 2021, Beaumont did most of his racing at Taylor Speedway and won the track championship. As usual, he began to look at the points only toward the end of the season.

After nine races, when he realized that the championship was a possibility, he and some other Taylor regulars headed to Dinosaur Downs Speedway in Drumheller, AB for the season-ending triple-header. Beaumont did well enough to edge Justin McTavish of Stony Plain, AB by seven points for the title, although he would rather not have broken his engine in the very last race.

The 2021 I.M.C.A. season, the 33rd for the sanctioning body, consisted of 29 races on four different tracks. Taylor Speedway and Dinosaur Downs Speedway are dirt and Hythe Motor Speedway near Grande Prairie, AB and Edmonton International Raceway (EIR) in Wetaskiwin, AB are both paved. Of the top two points finishers, Beaumont ran dirt exclusively and McTavish confined his campaign to pavement. In all, 48 drivers earned points in at least one I.M.C.A. event this year.

Beaumont Jr. started racing at the now-closed Mile Zero Speedway in Dawson Creek, BC in Street Stocks and Hobby Stocks. He began racing IMCA Modifieds nearly 25 years ago, attracted by the high level of competition and the variety of tracks that ran to the I.M.C.A. rulebook.

“I like a rulebook that the racers can’t change,” said Beaumont Jr. “We’d all love to change it, don’t get me wrong, but we’d do it for the wrong reasons.”

In the past, Beaumont Jr. has been seen, at least occasionally, on just about every I.M.C.A.-sanctioned track in Canada, but now he only has a dirt car, although that could change. If the right pavement car came along, he’d add it to his operation.

“I’d like to go back and play on the pavement again,” said Beaumont Jr. “Play” is a word that Beaumont Jr. uses a lot when he talks about racing. As the

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The 2021 I.M.C.A. Canada was contested on four tracks: Taylor, Dinosaur Downs and Hythe Motor Speedways and Edmonton International Raceway (above). Photo by Perry Nelson

owner of a busy oilfield trucking outfit, the 48-year-old knows what pays the bills. He jokes it isn’t entirely sensible to go after racing championships but says he does it, “because I’m not smart enough! I should just miss the first race because when you’re out of the championship points, you can just show up a couple of times and have fun. I’ve had a couple of seconds and a couple of thirds when I was trying hard. It seems like when I didn’t try so hard and put pressure on myself, I did better. It’s not an easy task.”

His attitude is best illustrated when he is asked about his best race of the year. Rather than a victory, he describes a side-by-side lap-after-lap battle at Taylor with Dean Bell where the two were so focused on the race that they failed to notice that the starter was waving the checkered flag and continued for another lap.

Who won? Who cares? Bell, by the way, was third in the Modified points. Beaumont Jr.’s worst race, he said, wasn’t the finale in Drumheller that cost him an engine, it was when he broke a tie rod end at Taylor, a tie rod end that he had opted to straighten rather than replace.

McTavish’s efforts on the asphalt earned him the track championship at EIR. Another

EIR regular, Karey Stular was Rookie of the Year. Keaton Pylypiuk, in his rookie year, earned the Hythe track title. Brian Roode topped the track points in Drumheller.

Nobody raced more in 2021 than Mike Reneau, who won the SportMod title and was sixth overall. Reneau was in the field for no fewer than 19 races and made at least some appearances on all four I.M.C.A.-sanctioned tracks. Reneau scored the SportMod crown by one point over Emma Fitzpatrick.

Multi-time champion Garth Dushanek didn’t chase the championship this year, only showing up four times at Drumheller.

It bears mentioning that in three of these races, Dushanek was the top points-scorer for the evening.

For 2022, IMCA President Bruce Hampton expects to see more races on more tracks. The uptick in oil prices should enable a few more racers to get back to the track, as well. As for Beaumont, his plan for 2022 is similar to 2021.

“I’ll just relax and have some fun,” said Beaumont Jr. “If I get some points, I do. If I don’t, I don’t. It’ll be halfway through the year before I’ll decide if I’m going to race harder, but I’m still going to make some trips and have some fun.” IT

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I NEWS

PACIFIC CHALLENGE CUP Canadian-American Formula Vee Series to Kick Off in 2022 Story by Brent Martin he Pacific Challenge Cup is a newly formed Canadian-American racing series featuring Formula Vee open-wheel race cars that will compete at seven premier road courses within Western Canada and the US. To date, there are 20 cars and drivers signed up to compete in this inaugural season, making it the largest field of Formula Vees in the region since 2018.

Formula Vee is a grassroots racing class based on the pre-1964 Volkswagen Beetle.

The engine, transmission, suspension and brakes are stock or modified parts. The chassis is a two-frame design with a fibreglass body.

It has changed little from the start in 1965 yet has seen some of the finest racers in its ranks. It has been the starting point for many famous Formula 1 drivers like Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet and remains one of the most popular classes in racing worldwide. One of its many benefits is the lower cost entry point into motorsport.

The idea for a series exclusively focused on Formula Vees was floated last year by Derrick Moennick, a seasoned race car driver, who in his 25-plus years of racing has competed in Honda Civics, Touring Car Series, Indy support races, and recently strapped himself back into a Vee. With an interest in broadening the competitive field of Vees and an appreciation for the fun and accessibility of Vee racing, Moennick floated the idea to the community of existing drivers

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and fans of the sport and open-wheel racing in the region, and enthusiasm for the series quickly grew.

“There was huge interest from both drivers and sponsors in building out the field and creating this series, so that has created a lot of momentum, said Moennick, co-founder of the Pacific Challenge Cup. “Being able to tie into existing competitive racing at tracks along the pacific coast was just the perfect opportunity to get this off the ground. I’ve been racing my whole life, but it’s hard to beat the thrill of racing Vees, there’s really nothing like it. We are looking forward to a great season.”

The inaugural Pacific Challenge Cup season will consist of seven races at premier road courses along with west coast, including two events at Mission Raceway. Photos by Brent Martin

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“I can’t think of any better way to showcase the progression of grassroots motorsports than a Formula Vee series,” said Aaron Robins, who alongside Moennick has been marketing (or building support for) the series to prospective drivers and sponsors alike.

“The Pacific Challenge Cup highlights a battle that has been taking place on race weekends around the world for over half a century, that brings together drivers from up and down the coast who only want one thing: to push themselves and their cars to the limit. I am incredibly excited to compete in such a thrilling series and be a part of the resurgence of Formula Vee throughout North America.”

The Pacific Challenge Cup will compete at the events listed below, along the west coast of North America. The series already has a string of sponsors including Lordco Auto Parts, Speed Fanatics Motorsports, Maxxam Insurance Services, Martins Action Photography and Quioxte Racing.

For more about the series and sponsors, visit pacificchallengecup.com.

PACIFIC CHALLENGE CUP SCHEDULE Mar 18-20 Thunderhill Raceway Apr 9-10 Ridge Motorsport Park May 14-16 Portland Int’l Raceway May 28-29 Pacific Raceways Jun 11-13 Mission Raceway Sep 16-18 Mission Raceway * Plus special events in July and August IT

I NEWS

(Left to right) Parker Thompson, Brian Graham and James Hinchcliffe announced the resurrection of Team Canada, at PRI. Photo by Greg MacPherson

TEAM CANADA SCHOLARSHIP SHOOTOUT Hinchcliffe, Wickens and Thompson to assist BGR in 2022 Effort With files from Greg MacPherson n December, at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) show, in Indianapolis, Brian Graham announced that the Team Canada Scholarship was being rejuvenated and for the first time ever, would include a Team Canada Scholarship Shootout.

Set to take place later this summer, the Team Canada Scholarship Shootout will evaluate six young Canadian driver hopefuls, with the winning two drivers selected to represent Canada at the prestigious Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy races, taking place in late October at two world famous tracks in England.

On hand for the program announcement were Canadian racers James Hinchcliffe and Parker Thompson. Robert Wickens is also involved in the program and will likely serve as a judge with Hinchcliffe.

Discussing the news, Graham said, “I am very excited about the return of the Team Canada Scholarship for 2022. It will be our tenth appearance and I’m thrilled to have James Hinchcliffe and Robert Wickens involved with our team. With the creation of this new shootout to select two exciting new talents to represent Canada at the Formula Ford Festival, the future of our Team Canada Scholarship program is bright.”

The Team Canada Scholarship Shootout will give the selected young Canadian drivers the opportunity to showcase their talent at the legendary Formula Ford Festival, whose winners include Formula 1 drivers like Derek Daly, Roberto Moreno, Roland Ratzenberger, Johnny Herbert, Eddie Irvine, Jan Magnus-

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sen, Mark Webber, Jensen Button and Anthony Davidson.

Past alumni of the Team Canada Scholarship program have included Garett Grist, Scott Hargrove, Parker Thompson and Zach Robichon. All who have gone on to further global success as professional drivers.

Graham continued, “For years, I’d see racers who would come and race in Canada and go to England to race in the Formula Ford Festival as Team USA drivers. I kept wondering why we couldn’t have a Team Canada scholarship.

“After several years, we and a couple of partners who put that together and started just that. The Formula Ford festival is held annually at Brands Hatch, in England, and about 25 percent of the former winners have gone on to be Formula 1 drivers, with others making it to IndyCar.” The program was put on hold with the advent of the pandemic, but Graham is excited to bring it back.

“We ran that the scholarship right up until COVID came along and put the brakes on it for a few seasons. But we’re coming back for 2022 with a larger format that will include a ‘shootout’ for the first time. It will likely take place in late August or September.

“And we have a great lineup of judges. It will be a two-day shoot, including one day of a ‘meet-and-greet’ with driver fittings and some media and engineering work. And then there will be one day of on-track activity.

Hinchcliffe, who recently took a step back from full-time IndyCar competition, is happy to be part of the program to support young

Canadian racers.

“For me, it’s exciting to announce we’re not only bringing this program back, but really expanding it to include a shootout,” said Hinchcliffe. “One of my passions has been to try to give back to Canadian motorsport by promoting young Canadian talent.

“We don’t have anywhere near the population of the US, but per capita we produce a fair number of great racing drivers and a lot of that comes down to the grassroots levels, so when Brian approached me with the idea of bringing this program ‘bigger and better’ and to emulate what Jeremy Shaw is doing with Team USA, I was absolutely thrilled. I think this has a lot of potential.

Alberta racer Parker Thompson also took to the media centre podium at PRI to applaud the news and how it can make a huge difference to a racer’s career.

“In 2016, my career was at a big turning point, and it took the Team Canada Scholarship to kind of drag me back to where I knew that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I had just lost the US F2000 scholarship by seven points due to a flat tire. That weekend, Brian (Graham) called me and said, ‘We’re going to send you to England to compete as the Team Canada Scholarship driver at the Formula Ford Festival,’ and it meant a lot.

“That was my first funded deal where I didn’t have to bring any money. I think I’m still the only Canadian to qualify on pole at the Formula Ford Festival, which was cool.”

For more info on the program, visit TeamCanadaScholarship.com. IT

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3-TIME CHAMP L.P. Dumoulin celebrates his third career NASCAR Pinty’s Series title, at Delaware Speedway, in 2021. Photo by Greg MacPherson

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L.P. DUMOULIN WINS THIRD TITLE IN 2021

Story by Greg MacPherson fter emerging from the No. 47 WeatherTech / Bellemare Dodge as champion of the NASCAR Pinty’s Series for the third time in his career, L.P. Dumoulin was overjoyed.

“It feels outstanding. I mean, we worked really hard during this year (2021). The COVID-19 situation wasn’t easy on anybody, and I mean that for all the teams and all the drivers. And I think it was a big bounce-back to get the 2021 championship with our WeatherTech / Bellemare team.

“It was just amazing. We have a good car. We have a very good program, but we did have a couple of curveballs during a season and everybody on the team just kept working really hard to overcome all those difficulties. So now, here we are, the NASCAR Pinty’s Series champions for a third time.”

Always thoughtful, Dumoulin was quick to recognize his supporters for the roles they played in making his success possible.

“I can’t believe we’re here today and I can’t give enough thanks to my sponsors, team and my family.

They’re all there for us every week and every day, working really hard. Also want to thank the fans and the NASCAR Pinty’s Series.”

It was the first time Dumoulin secured the title at Delaware Speedway. His third crown was earned in front of the biggest NASCAR Pinty’s Series finale crowd, of the three.

“Delaware Speedway is a ‘racey’ track. It’s a lot of fun around this joint. It made it super exciting and it was great for the series. Now, I’m looking ahead to 2022.”

Heading to the Delaware Speedway finale, Dumoulin was behind in the championship standings, but he was confident he could still come out on top.

“I was totally believing in it. I knew we had a shot and I knew we had a good car coming here. I knew the team could do it, and being back 11 points, I was thinking, ‘We’re good…this is all right.’

“But again, you never know if you’re going to have bad luck. But the car was reliable and again because of the team putting the extra hours, we were capable of analyzing what we needed to be fast here. And here we are.”

With his third NASCAR Pinty’s Series title, Dumoulin joined rare company. Andrew Ranger also has three championships, while Scott Steckly earned four.

“Everybody at Dumoulin Competition worked so hard to make this happen,” continued Dumoulin. “It’s amazing to think it’s something we started 11 years ago. We have long-time sponsorships and partners and that makes a huge difference in how you can build a team, especially through the hard times like we’ve all had lately.

“So, it feels outstanding to be out here and fighting for a third championship in this series with so many professional drivers. I mean, 10 years with WeatherTech now and Bellemare and we have three championships together. Looking back at it now, all I can say is, ‘wow!’ IT

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r u o y p u v Re ste Buds! a t pintys.com

APC LATE MODEL SERIES CHAMPION

BRANDON WATSON

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt hen he’s not running in the Snowball Derby, or at a PASS Super Late Model race at Richmond or Bristol, or in his own, Ontario-based Super Late Model or making his NASCAR Pinty’s Series debut, Brandon Watson can be found on the Southern Ontario APC United Late Model tour aboard his No. 9 Shear Metal Products/ Barrie Frame & Alignment McColl Chevrolet.

A past champion in the APC series (2017), in a shortened 2020 season Watson ended up finishing in second place behind Jo Lawrence in the final tally.

Returning to the series for another dedicated pursuit of the APC crown, Watson set the tone early, capturing back-to-back wins in the season opener at Delaware Speedway, and doubling down three weeks later at Flamboro. Disappointing 11th place results at the next two races (Sunset and Sauble) allowed challengers Pete Shepherd III and Treyton Lapcevich to close the gap to the point leader, although Watson rebounded in the second race of the Sauble doubleheader by adding his third win of the season, overtaking Matt Pritiko with less than 30 laps remaining to score the victory.

“That was really the story for us this year, there were a lot of ups and downs,” recalled Watson. “We had a good start to the year, but then we ran into some mechanical issues. Coming off a third place at Flamboro, we had a rear end bracket break at Sunset, we ended up in 16th, our worst finish of the season.”

On September 25, the APC Late Model tour made the trip to Delaware Speedway for the championship-deciding final round. Heading into the night, Watson held on to a precarious ten-point advantage over Pete Shepherd III and was just 12 ahead of Lapcevich.

Twenty-nine cars took the green flag for the finale, with Lapcevich and Shepherd starting on the second and third rows and behind

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Brandon Watson added a second APC Late Model Series title to his resume in 2021. Watson's first title came in 2017. Photo by Steve Traczyk

pole-sitter Shae Gemmell. Starting well back in the pack, Watson took the green flag from 15th spot.

“We had a tire going down, something we didn’t catch in practice,” said Watson. “We lost most of our practice making adjustments the wrong way. That really hurt our qualifying times.”

Battling a “slightly tight” race car, Watson was able to slowly pick up positions, while Lapcevich was engaged in a race for top spot with Shae Gemmell. On Lap 86, Lapcevich made his move around Gemmell’s No. 3 to take the lead, a position that he would maintain until the checkered flag.

With Lapcevich notching his debut APC United Late Model series win, it was up to Watson to “keep plugging away.”

“I knew we needed at least a top-seven finish, but a top-five finish would be better,” said Watson. “I got past Pete (Shepherd) and in the last couple of laps I got around (Kyle) Steckly. That position was just what I needed to earn this second APC title.”

In the final point tally, Watson earned the crown by a single point over Lapcevich (467-466), with Shepherd a further 11 points behind in third place. Ever the racer, Watson had mixed emotions in Delaware’s victory lane.

“This is definitely a nice feeling to be here with the points championship, but it would have been even better to be in the winner’s circle as the winner, too, but we’ve had our share of wins this year and the No. 32 (Lapcevich) was a good car tonight, he’s run good all year and deserved a win, and Pete (Shepherd) was just as strong tonight,” concluded Watson. “McColl Racing always gives us a really good piece to race. We had to come up from mid-pack, and even with a tight car, we had the equipment under us to get the job done.” IT

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InsideTrackNews.com 25

LANE ZARDO

THIRD-GENERATION DRIVER WINS QWICK WICK SUPER STOCK TITLE IN FIRST FULL SEASON

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt hen Kenny Grubb needed a replacement driver as he took time off to heal from a medical procedure in 2020, he handpicked Lane Zardo to fill the seat in the Bester Forest Products-owned Ford.

In what proved to be a wise decision, the third-generation driver guided the No. 36 Ford to three pole positions, a pair of wins and two runner-up results over the five-race 2021 Qwick Wick Super Stock season, earning the championship by a mere three points over perennial season shadow Trevor Collver.

“Lane’s driven for me on and off before, and anyone who’s ever watched him, knows what he can do in a car. He’s always done a good job for us,” said Grubb.

Unfortunately, the new campaign did not get off to the start that the team had been hoping for.

“At Delaware, we had the wrong chip in the car and we kept hitting the limiter. We hit it so hard that we blew the distributor out of the motor,” said Zardo. “That DNF in a series that only runs five races put us in a deep hole.”

Returning to form in Round 2 on the Peterborough bullring, Zardo kept his mount in contention, taking the checkered flag in second place, finishing two seconds behind race winner Carson Nagy. Zardo repeated the result a month later when the Super Stocks visited Flamboro Speedway.

“We got banged up coming up through the field and in both races the handling went away as the race went on,” recalled Zardo. “But we managed to salvage decent results, enough to keep us in the chase.”

Zardo broke through to the winner’s circle at Sunset Speedway, a race that was slowed by ten caution periods.

“I was fast in qualifying, but with the inversion I started from the third row. The car was great and by the seventh lap I had top spot. I was trying to take it easy on the tires, but Dwayne Baker was being a pain by getting a better jump on me on the restarts, and we had a lot of those.”

In a green-white-checkered sprint for the victory, Zardo was able to edge ahead of the Baker with a half-car length advantage at the finish. Utilizing a rather confusing race results / home track points system, the Qwick Wick Super Stocks marched into Delaware Speedway for a 50-lap season-ending shootout with Trevor Collver

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26 Inside Track Motorsport News

Prior to the 2021 season, reigning champion Lane Zardo had only one Qwick Wick Super Series start. Photo by Steve Traczyk

holding a slight edge over Zardo (six points behind) and Ray Morneau (nine points behinds).

Collver and Zardo took the green flag side-by-side from the fourth row of the grid, with the Green No. 36 Ford eventually snatching the point away from race leader Pete Vanderwyst on Lap 37, holding on to lead the final laps and claim his second win of the season and his debut Qwick Wick Super Series title.

A disappointing sixth pace finish relegated Collver to a year-end runner-up position, just three points back of Zardo with home track scoring included.

“I love running the Super Stocks, they’re a lot of fun to drive,” concluded Zardo. “And the Qwick Wick series brings a lot of talented drivers together from a lot of different tracks in a lot of really good machinery. You know that you’ve accomplished something when you’ve beaten a whole lot of the very best.” IT

InsideTrackNews.com 27

EDWARDS AND BOOK ENTER 2022 SEASON AS REIGNING MODIFIED AND HOT ROD CHAMPIONS MODIFIED CHAMPION T.J. EDWARDS fter the pandemic put his planned 2020 OSCAAR debut on sabbatical, former Varney Speedway Late Model champion T.J. Edwards returned to the Southern Ontario tour in 2021 and guided his No. 34 Candue Homes / Epic Racewear Modified to not only the Hard Charger and Rookie of the Year Awards, but he ultimately managed to get his name inscribed on the OSCAAR championship trophy as well.

In a Modified purchased by Don Tremble from Jim Bowman Racing, the Guelph, ON-based effort enjoyed just a single test session at Sauble Speedway before the true competition began.

“We didn’t know much about this car, but Brain McDonald and the team went to work and make it wonderful to drive,” said Edwards.

“The Late Model had more power, but the Modified corners so well!

Adapting to this new ride actually came pretty quickly.”

Finding comfort in the seat of the No. 34 open-wheel modified, Edwards was pressing for the lead in the season opener at Sunset Speedway but spun himself out of contention on the last lap, resulting in a season-low 14th pace finish.

Over the next five events split between Sunset, Sauble, Flamboro and Delaware Speedways, Edwards scored runner-up results in each, his consistency pushing him to the top of the point leader board.

“For some reason, I’ve always struggled at Sunset, so second place was like a win for us,” noted Edwards.

Heading into the season finale at Peterborough Speedway’s Autumn Colours Classic, Edwards was admittedly “points racing,” content to settle for a fourth-place feature result which was sufficient to secure the series newcomer the OSCAAR Modified crown.

“I’ve always enjoyed the reputation as being a hard charger. I don’t think I’m overly aggressive, but you need to be near the front to be successful. As a rookie, I focused on staying away from trouble and taking points when I could,” concluded Edwards. “We picked up (four) heat wins this year, but 2022 will be about getting into the winner’s circle in the features.”

STORY BY J. WALLY NESBITT

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(Above) T.J. Edwards only had one test to get to grips with his Modified, but found his footing quickly. (Top) Steve Book won the Hot Rod title in a car that’s a tribute to his dad. Photos by Steve Traczyk

28 Inside Track Motorsport News

HOT ROD CHAMPION STEVE BOOK From third place overall in 2018 to runner-up in 2019, Steve Book has advanced up the points ladder one rung at a time, and in the most recent incarnation of the OSCAAR Hot Rod division in 2021, the second-generation driver managed to oust perennial favourite Tyler Hawn from top spot to secure his debut class championship.

“Tyler has set the bar really high in the Hot Rods over the past years,” said Book. “His record gives you something to chase.”

Aboard his classic black-and-yellow No. 47 1960 Studebaker Hawk, ‘Booky’ outscored 37 fellow point-scoring rivals, riding a record of two feature wins, four heat race victories and 20 total top-five finishes to the series crown.

“My first year in the Hot Rods I ran a Camaro, but my dad’s first race car was a Studebaker, so we wanted to do a tribute car,” said Book. “We found this old, bent chassis that we needed to modify, but we made it work. In 2019, after a few little tweaks the car started to work pretty good but then I put it into the wall at Sunset.”

Repaired and race-ready for the 2021 campaign, a relatively tentative start gave way to a steady string of top finishes, results that included a pair of wins (Brighton / Delaware) and six top-three finishes over the final eight races.

“I’d won at Brighton on the clay before, but we were struggling this year, the car was just way too loose. We changed the springs before the feature and the car came to life. At Delaware, I was racing hard with Jesse (Kennedy), but there was some confusion with the flags with two laps to go. He slowed down and I got past him on the last lap for my second win of the year. You don’t want to win like that, but I was glad to take the points.”

The championship chase between Book and Hawn was only settled at the season finale at Peterborough Speedway, where Book only needed to stay close to his rival to secure the title.

“I knew that I could throw everything away if I was foolish and messed up. Peterborough is a tough little track and I wasn’t going to put myself in danger by getting muddled up in traffic and trying too hard. I saw that Tyler was on a charge, so I let him go and was satisfied to follow him through to the checkered flag. Third place was all I needed, and that’s what I got,” said Book. “The best part of that evening was that Tyler was the first guy over to congratulate me. To get his thanks, and to win the championship with my mom and dad in the stands, made this one pretty special.” IT

ONTARIO SPORTSMAN SERIES ANOTHER MCGLYNN ADDED TOP OSS TROPHY Story by J. Wally Nesbitt aving watched his brother Shawn claim four Ontario Sportsman Cup series championships and coming off three consecutive third-place year-end finishes, Chad McGlynn decided that “enough was enough.”

“I’ve come so close so many times, it kind of inspired me to really push in 2021,” said the Kitchener, ON-based racer. “And I figured that it was time that another McGlynn got his name on the trophy!”

A top-five finish in the season opener at Sauble Speedway was not what McGlynn had hoped for, but the No. 18 Shelby Signs & Graphics Ford Fusion racing effort showed its true colours over the next four races by never finishing out of the top three, a streak that included a pair of wins, both coming on the Delaware Speedway half-mile. ”Delaware was kind to us this year, but we got lucky in some of the races,” noted McGlynn. “However, lot of our success came because of some set up changes made by my dad, he did a lot of work trying to get the car right. Even at Peterborough Speedway, where we were not good, we came away with a second place, but that was a bad night for just about everybody and Tyler (Bouillon) ran away with it.”

Heading into the final race at Flamboro Speedway with a tenuous points advantage over Todd Sheppard and Kevin Gallant, McGlynn faced an ongoing struggle once the green flag flew.

“The car just wasn’t working. We struggled in qualifying and made some last-minute adjustments just before we hit the track. It was a Hail Mary shot that unfortunately made it worse,” admitted McGlynn.

Struggling to stay in contention, McGlynn could only watch as Sheppard won the race, but ultimately McGlynn’s sixth-place finish

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2021 Ontario Sportsman Series champion Chad McGlynn.

Photo by Peter Anderson

in the finale would land him the position of Ontario Sportsman Cup series champion.

“This series is so competitive, everyone has stepped up their games, and that’s what makes this championship so rewarding,” concluded McGlynn. “If you look at the year-end point standings, first place through fifth were only separated by 25 points and five different drivers won races in 2021. That speaks to the competitiveness of this series. And the point structure is going to change in 2022, which will make winning even more important. It will be tough to repeat.” IT

QWICK WICK CAN-AM TQ MIDGETS JEFF BLACKBURN OUTDUELS DANIEL HAWN TO WIN 2021 TITLE

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt aving bested his Hurricane Midget rivals with a championship in 2010, Jeff Blackburn then set his sights on the more technically sophisticated Qwick Wick TQ Can-Am Midget cars.

Never completing a full schedule over the next decade, Blackburn originally raced a Midget purchased from Ross May and then built his own “baby” from a frame and boxes of spare parts that came with the sale. While this car was ready for action in the 2019 campaign, Blackburn was approached by former multi-time Can-Am champion Mack DeMan and car owner Andy Mackareth in 2021, who offered to sell him their championship-winning mount. Careful deliberation ultimately concluded with the purchase of the car.

Race prepared and “quick right out of the box,” Blackburn unloaded the No. 7 Beattie’s Distillery / Lloyd’s Auto & Truck Clinic / Wagner Painting at Sauble Speedway for the season opener and was immediately impressed with the car.

“This car was on rails. I could drive it into the corners and it just hung on. When I got back onto the gas, it launched,” said Blackburn.

Taking the victory in the opening round of the Sauble doubleheader, Blackburn noted he should have gone “two-for-two, but got chopped.”

A fourth-place came at Flamboro in the subsequent race, with the tour heading back to Sauble Beach for the fifth event.

“I was coming to the front and got collected and turned into the wall. I don’t think I have ever had such a hard hit. The right rear was destroyed and I thought the car was done for the year,” said Blackburn. “But Dan (Hawn) called me and came to pick up the car to take back to his shop. By the next Friday, we were putting it on the scales

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Jeff Blackburn at Flamboro in August 2021. Photo by Peter Anderson

getting ready for Varney (Full Throttle Motor Speedway).”

A series of top four finishes were earned over the next five races, including another pair of wins for the No. 7 car, the victory in the penultimate race at Sunset Speedway put Blackburn atop the point standings over perennial championship winner Daniel Hawn, and set up a battle in the season finale back on the Flamboro oval.

Knowing that he only had to beat Daniel Hawn to secure the 2021 crown, Blackburn was cautious in the championship-deciding feature, content to take the checkered flag in third spot, ending the season holding on to a 12-point advantage over Hawn, securing his debut Qwick Wick Can-Am Midget title, and solidly in front of third-place points finisher Darren McLennan.

“To go wheel-to-wheel, and ultimately beat two previous Midget champions, meant that this was a very, very successful season,” concluded Blackburn. IT InsideTrackNews.com 29

SOUTHERN ONTARIO TEAM CONTINUES TO HELP COMMUNITY DURING 2021 SEASON Story by J. Wally Nesbitt Southern Ontario short track tradition continued for the No. 37 Freiburger Racing effort in 2021, as both family patriarch Marvin and grandson Del reclaimed their rightful places behind the wheels of the No. 37 Super Stock / Limited Late Model and the No. 37 Thunderbird Junior Late Model, respectively.

For Marvin, the No. 37 Ford made eight race starts this year, including taking a green flag in the Quick Wick Super Stock Series, in races split between Sunset, Sauble and Delaware Speedways. The racing veteran claiming a pair of heat race victories and earned a season-best seventh place finish in the talent-laden Super Stock field.

Del fared even better in his 2021 pursuits, earning the ‘series-within-a-series’ Quick Wick Championship at Full Throttle Motor Speedway while finishing in second place overall in Junior Late Model scoring.

In his 16 race starts, the 11-year-old driver secured 11 race wins between FTMS, Grand Bend, Sauble and Flamboro Speedways while also earning the Best Appearing Car Award at his home venue.

And equally as important for the Walkerton, ON-based team was

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the fact that, for the 12th consecutive year and with the assistance of 141 race team supporters and sponsors, they were able to raise funds to be contributed to the Easter Seals foundation and individuals battling serious ailments.

“Both Marvin and Del donated their race winnings to the fund, while merchandise sales and other fundraisers made up the difference,” explained Angela Freiburger. “We especially need to thank Dave Lloyd, Frank Wall and the late Brad Clarke from Quick Wick, because they provided us with samples of their product that we were able to sell with all proceeds going to charity.”

At year’s end, Marvin Freiburger and Sons Inc. truck and trailer repair, owned by Marvin and Angela, were able to turn over $5,540 in total donations to the Easter Seals of Ontario and five other individuals who were battling cancer and other serious illnesses.

Since 2010, when the Freiburgers began charity fundraising through their motorsport involvement, they have been able to donate a grand total of $98,582.83 to Easter Seals and other worthy recipients. IT

(Above and top) The Freiburger clan raised more than $5,000 for Easter Seals and people battling serious illnesses in 2021. Photos by Dave Franks

30 Inside Track Motorsport News

Thank You

to Our Wonderful Sponsors!

MONEY RAISED THIS YEAR BY THE FREIBURGER RACING TE AM

$5,540.00

CHARITABLE DONATION TOTAL SINCE 2010 IS:

$98,582.83

OUR 2021 SEASON SPONSORS ON THE #37 SUPER STOCK -MARVIN FREIBURGER AND THE #37 JUNIOR LATE MODEL -DEL FREIBURGER 1 Marvin Freiburger & Sons Inc. - Walkerton 2 VERSA BANK - David Taylor 3 KENWORTH TRUCK CENTRES; Ted Murphy 4 Tire Discounter Group Inc. 5 Transaxle Parts Inc. Gary Zwygers; Owner 6 Weber Contracting Ltd., Clifford 7 Leslie Motors Ltd. - Walkerton 8 London Drive Systems Inc. 9 Team Truck Centres - Mark Robinson 10 Orr Insurance Huron Inc. - Dan Kerr 11 New-Life Mills/Fischer Poultry - Hanover 12 Dave's Diesel Inc. - Naneish Dave 13 Wayne's Electric - Hanover; Chris Kanters 14 DK Salon - Walkerton 15 Qwick Wick Fire Starter 16 Wally Howald - Walkerton 17 Inside Track Motorsport News 18 Dave Frank's Photos 19 B & L Farm Services Ltd. Chesley 20 Porter Holdings, Lucknow 21 Andy's Country Repairs - Walkerton 22 Plane Paint - Victor & Anne Dannielli 23 Kelly & Kelly - Barristers & Solicitors 24 Norm Paterson Aircraft Maintenance 25 Blair & Esther Buchanan & Family 26 Summer House Park Ltd. - Miller Lake 27 Ann & Gary Gooch-Raleigh, North Carolina 28 Andrew Widdes;Bruce Cty Detailing-Walkerton 29 B & B Towing Sherry & Dwayne Baker 30 Brad & Joanie Weltz - Mildmay 31 Earl Lippert Trucking Limited - Ripley 32 Chepstow Wing Nights 33 Old World Medicine - Owen Sound 34 Walkerton Meat Market 35 Linde, Hanover 36 Ideal Supply - Walkerton 37 Ron & Karen Lipskie - Walkerton 38 Dave Spitzig Construction - Walkerton 39 Speedy Auto Glass - Hanover 40 Georgetown Printing - John Karley 41 MEG Computer Service - Hanover 42 Ross E. Young Bus Lines Ltd. 43 Cargill Auction Market Inc. 44 Cuneo Interiors Ltd. - Walkerton 45 Skelton Memorials - Walkerton 46 Reuber's Car Care Inc. - Walkerton 47 Harman Heavy Vehicle Specialists Ltd. - Ian Johnston 48 Walkerton Auto Parts 49 First Class Health & Wellness; Captain Kyle Freiburger 50 Brian Stanley Trucking Ltd.- "Steamer"

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CASC-OR YEAR IN REVIEW ONTARIO SEES STRONG NUMBERS DESPITE ANOTHER COVID-19-WRACKED SEASON

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt ccording to CASC-OR Race Director Ray Arlauskas, “Overall numbers were great this year, considering COVID-19. The GT Sprints were especially strong again and we saw car counts grow over 2020 in virtually every other division.”

With entries strong, it was unfortunate that spectators were restricted from viewing the on-track action as the competition was at a level not seen in several seasons. New drivers were welcomed, racing veterans returned to action and despite travel restrictions the occasional out-of-province competitor stood up to offer some added challenges to the band of CASC-OR regulars.

As Arlauskas mentioned, the amount of participation in the GT Sprints series allowed for full, split fields (GT1 and GT2 / GT3, GT4 and GT5) at virtually every event. Car count was especially impressive at the top of the series, as 14 drivers made regular forays into the GT1 / GT2 class contests, with fields enhanced by 11 additional point scorers registering as guests. Among the list of invaders were the Maritime Pettipas contingent, Ottawa Sports Car Club members Marc Steenbakkers and Mike Cavanagh, plus Trans Am and IMSA driver Misha Goikhberg.

However, in the final GT1 tally, it was the yellow and black No. 02 Corvette of James Beaton who won the class trophy, his seven top-three results, including a trio of class wins, allowing him to edge perennial rival Dan Corcoran (No. 125 Impala) by a slim 15 points (200-185).

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32 Inside Track Motorsport News

Using three different mounts this year, defending class champion Blaise Csida pursued third place points finisher Roberto Tutino (No. 78 Porsche 911 GT-3) all season long but fell a single point shy (162-161) of securing a year-end podium result.

Former GT3 class champion Daria Khachi stepped up his racing program this year (“More RMP Horsepower”) and entered his No. 199 BMW M3 in the GT2 class. Also vying for champion’s status against a strong field (18 regulars and eight guests). Khachi recorded only a single class victory, but filled his scorecard with eight podiums, only once finishing out of the top five in 12 starts.

“Reliability was our strength this year. We weren’t the fastest car in the field, but we always saw the checkered flag,” noted the Mississauga, ON resident. “Stepping up our motor program forced me to learn to drive faster, I needed to use everything that the motor would give me.”

Needing to make use of every opportunity, Khachi was pressured all season long by the persistent, race-winning No. 24 Chevrolet Pro Truck of Ed Caranci. Recording four class wins and six podium finishes, Caranci’s challenge fell short when a blown motor eliminated him from competition on the final race weekend of the year.

“That was very sad, for both of us. We both wanted to go headto-head for the title, may the best man win,” said Khachi. “It took the pressure off of me at the Celebration weekend, but I’d rather have raced Ed to the end.”

His run of consistency not only allowed Khachi to claim another

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Paul Subject (Opposite peft), Daria Khachi (top) and Jonathan Rashleigh (above) won the Formula Libre, GT2 and GT3 class titles, respectively.

Khachi also earned the overall GT Sprints title. Photos by Richard Coburn

CASC-OR crown, but for the second time in four years, earned him the Overall GT Sprints Championship.

“This is very rewarding. We had a great turnout, there was lots of competition and we all had fun. To win the overall title in my first year in GT2 was a huge bonus.”

Jonathan Rashleigh has seen limited track time over the past several seasons as he has been focusing his time on family responsibilities. Returning to the GT3 ranks in 2021 aboard his eye-catching red and blue No. 34 Subaru STi, the former CTCC class champion racked up four class wins and a pair on runner-up results to top the GT3 scoring charts.

“I purposefully kept a mechanical advantage on my car this year, but running on four-year-old rubber,” joked Rashleigh. “The lack of grip kept me from ‘breaking out’ in my lap times!”

Marek Petruczynik (No. 54 BMW 330i) was he only GT3 driver to appear in each of the 12 scheduled races, finishing second in class, notching one class victory and four podium finishes.

In what developed into a two-driver points chase in the 2021 GT4 campaign, 71-year-old Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame inductee Larry Caruso edged out Thomas Holland (No. 72 BMW 325Ci) for the class championship.

Aboard his bare-bones No. 35 Ariel Atom, the racing veteran won only once, but a further six second place finishes allowed him to best Holland by 38 points in the final tally and secure his debut CASC-OR championship.

Voted the 2015 CASC-OR Competitor of the Year, Caruso built on his point advantage over Holland at the Late Fall Trophy Races, where he won once and finished runner-up twice to third-place point

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InsideTrackNews.com 33

CASC-OR YEAR IN REVIEW

scorer Lain Vendittelli (No. 19 Porsche 944). Although outscored by Holland in their final trio of races, Caruso maintained his advantage to claim the 2021 class crown.

I have raced a lot of different cars, everything from a stock car at Westgate (Peterborough) Speedway, a Players / GM Camaro, a Porsche GT3 Cup car, an INEX Legends car and even a CASCAR stock car,” noted Caruso. “But this was one of the most enjoyable years I’ve ever had. I believe that regional road racing is at its best right now, and to win this championship after being so close three years in a row makes it especially rewarding. Not too bad for a senior!”

Sadly, the GT5 class was under-represented this year, but Shawn Greeley (No. 42 Mazda RX-8), Pierre Knobbs (No. 113 BMW 325i) and Joseph Comacchio (No. 155 BMW 325i) still managed to put on a championship hunt. Despite starting the season with three consecutive class wins, Knobbs fell to Greeley in the overall scoring as the driver of the Mazda ran up a single victory that was coupled with four runner-up results to steal to title away with a 15-point margin (135-120). With just one podium appearance, Comacchio’s consistent finishes let him end his 2021 racing effort in third spot overall, ten points behind Knobbs.

Although the growth was not as evident in the open-wheel ranks, there were enough cars in the combined Formula Libre, Formula 4 and F1200 fields to allow for exciting action.

The familiar blue and yellow No. 77 Formula Mazda of Paul Subject managed to pace the open-wheel pack throughout much of the 2021 campaign, easily topping the scoring charts in Formula Libre. James Morton, likewise, was the class of the F4 division, and for the seventh time in his career Phil Wang (No. 173 Caracal C) showed the way to his Formula 1200 rivals, his nine race wins and 12 podium results allowing him to narrowly claim the 2021 championship over persistent shadow Sid Nye (No. 8 BRD).

With his seventh CASC-OR F1200 title, Wang matches the championship total of former teammate Michael Iamundi.

“Mike and I started in F1200 together coming right out of karting. In fact, our cars came up from the US on the same hauler. My goal was always to beat that little s***,” joked the Pickering, ON resident. “I got him a few times going head-tohead, but I had to wait until he stepped away to focus on his family before things nicely swung my way.”

As a F1200 veteran and series spokesman, Wang is intent on growing the car count.

“The numbers had really dwindled over the past years, but it looked like things were turning around for us when COVID-19 hit. That stalled things out for a period. In 2021, we had 13 drivers score points, which, considering the pandemic wasn’t too bad, but I know that there is at least a half-dozen car still sitting in shops, not being raced. We need to get those cars back on track.

“There are lots of guys coming out of karting looking for a spot to compete. We need to promote F1200 as an affordable option to them. There are cars out there and we can provide them with plenty of opportunities to race. We need these drivers so that we don’t run out of steam in our rebuilding process.” IT Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame member Larry Caruso (top) beat out Thomas Holland (middle) to win the GT4 title. (Below) Phil Wang won a record-tying seventh F1200 championship. Photos by Richard Coburn

34 Inside Track Motorsport News

AGAINST THE WORLD

JUNE 16-19, 2022 42ND VARAC VINTAGE GRAND PRIX Watch the ‘2022 Vintage Grand Prix’ tab at VARAC.ca for details and updates RACE GROUPS FOR: VINTAGE - PRE 1962 • HISTORIC - PRE 1973 • • CLASSIC - PRE 1999 • FORMULA CLASSIC - HISTORIC SINGLE SEAT RACE CARS •

VARAC

YEAR IN REVIEW

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt s most of the VARAC vintage racing machinery aged another year while sitting silently in shops in 2020, members and vehicles of the Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada returned to action in 2021 with a renewed enthusiasm, the motorsport passion reflected in the car counts at each of the racing events. Ultimately, titles were determined in 15 distinct classes, with three drivers recognized as Overall Champions in the Formula Classic, Classic and Vintage Historic divisions.

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(Top) VARAC Classic CL-A champion Steve Hummel in his 1996 Panoz GTS. (Middle) Formula 90 class champion Paul Subject.

(Above) CL-2 champion Martino Beretta in his 1994 Porsche 968.

(Opposite Page, top to bottom) CL-1 class champion Del Bruce and Vintage / Historic overall champion Ivan Samila. Photos by Richard Coburn

36 Inside Track Motorsport News

PAUL SUBJECT For Burlington, ON driver Paul Subject, it was a three-part celebration in 2021. Doing double-duty in CASC-OR and VARAC competition, the pilot of the No. 77 yellow / blue Star Mazda open-wheel car not only secured the CASC-OR Formula Libre and the VARAC Formula 90 crowns, but Subject also won VARAC’s Overall title.

“This car became eligible to run in F90 three years ago and it is a perfect fit for the class,” said the 65-year-old triple champion. “It has a proven ‘spec’ chassis, which is a great platform and the car is

DEL BRUCE Although Del Bruce says the best part of his No. 99 1971 Corvette is the sound, most believe that the Detroit power under the hood and the BC Race Cars-tuned suspension geometry make this car something special. In 2021, competing against a strong field of primarily European racing vehicles, Bruce guided his thundering yellow Corvette to four CL-1 Class wins, plus another runner-up result to be crowned the Overall Classic division champion.

This is Bruce’s second Classic title, having won the crown once before aboard a Porsche 944.

“To be honest, this could be classified as a Vintage/Historic car, but with the VARAC weight restrictions, I need to run it in Classic.

That makes me a little proud to know this brute can run with Steve (Hummel)’s CL-A Panoz, the CL-1 Porsche of Marco (Beretta) and Lindsay’s (Tadros) BMW and beat them,” said Bruce. “This is one of the most competitive years I’ve had with VARAC and probably one of the most fun.”

IVAN SAMILA There was a trio of Lotus race cars topping the Vintage Historic VH-2 class results, with Ivan Samila guiding his No. 64 1970 Lotus Super 7 to the class title ahead the Lotus 23b’s of Ted Michalos (No. 23) and Brian Thomas (No. 74). Samila’s 2021 success also saw the traditional-appearing Super 7 lead the way in the Overall V/H championship scoring.

“This year, it was consistency that paid off for us,” said Samila. “In our Vintage Historic racing, it’s a lot like the tortoise and the hare.

Other guys were faster, but we finished more often.”

Although not able to crack into the win column this year, Samila only had two DNFs, one due to an off-track excursion and the other due to the 50-year-old shift lever snapping off in his hand. However, Samila’s high rate of top-three finishes earned the Stouffville, ONbased driver his first V/H Overall title.

“The mixed grids with different classes in Vintage Historic means you always have someone to race with. You will always find some one and some car running at the same speed and with the same potential to win. That’s what makes racing exciting, and beating those drivers makes a VARAC Overall title that much more rewarding.”

FINAL POINTS very predictable and easy to drive. The power comes from the Mazda 13b rotary engine that was used on the RX-7 and is an ideal match for the chassis.”

Couple this solid mount with Subject’s long and successful history of racing in Southern Ontario, Quebec and throughout the US, it soon becomes obvious that a VARAC title was probably inevitable.

“I’ve raced this same car since 2010. It’s like slipping into a favourite pair of shoes. Everything just fits and racing at CTMP (Canadian Tire Motorsport Park) as many times as we did this year, and as we have over the past 40 years, made the task even easier. I think I could probably drive this track in my sleep.”

Notching four F90 victories and rarely finishing out of the top three in 2021 allowed Subject to outscore Michael and Sam Cross (No. 30 Renault F2000) in the final standings.

“Those guys are relative newcomers, but they’re fast learners. I will need to keep my eyes on them in the future,” concluded Subject, “Just knowing the drivers who have come before me to win the VARAC Overall championship makes this a true honour for me. It is a very distinguished group and that makes it so very memorable.”

VARAC FORMULA CLASSIC (TOP THREE): Formula Junior: 1. No. 948 Doug Elcomb (1961 Canada Class Dreossi) // Historic Formula Vee: 1. No. 67 Doug Durrell (1966 Bobsy Vanguard), 2. No. 41 Doug Switzer (1970 TSR TS Vee) // Historic Formula Ford: 1. No. 5 Ed Luce (1968 Lotus 51), 2. No. 03 Murray Burkett (1969 Chinook Mk IX), 3.

No. 60 Kevin Young (1971 Crossle 20F) // Club Formula Ford: 1. No. 47 Doug Beatty (1981 Crossle 45F), 2. No. 29 Stephen Adams (1980 Lola T540), 3. No. 27 Shane Viccary (1981 Zink Citation) // Formula 1200: 1. No. 173 Phil Wang [after winning a coin toss] (1996 Caracal C), 2. No. 8 Sid Nye (1996 BRD), 3. No. 38 Robert Patterson (1997 BRD) // Formula 70: 1. No. 241 Jeff Watson (1985 Reynard SF-85), 2. No. 36 Steve Wagland (1982 Van Diemen), 3. No. 82 Bill Tebbutt (1978 Lotus T492) // Formula 90: 1. No. 77 Paul Subject (1998 Star Mazda), 2. No. 30 Michael Cross (1995 Renault F2000), 3. No. 30 Sam Cross (1995 Renault F2000).

VARAC CLASSIC (TOP THREE): CL-A: 1. No. 151 Steve Hummel (1996 Panoz GTS), 2. No. 182 Blaise Csida (1999 Ford Taurus), 3. No. 0 Anthony Polito (1979 Ford Mustang) // CL-1: 1. No. 99 Del Bruce (1971 Corvette), 2. No. 301 Marco Beretta (1982 Porsche 911 SC), 3. No. 08 Lindsay Tadros (1995 BMW M3) // CL-2: 1. No. 130 Martino Beretta (1994 Porsche 968), 2. No. 75 Michael Strelbisky (1988 Porsche 944), 3. No. 21 Ted Michalos (1996 Porsche 993) // CL-3: 1. No. 60 Perry Mason (1981 Audi 80 Coupe), 2. No. 255 Robert Patterson (1988 BMW E30), 3. No. 83 Andy Januszewski (1988 Porsche 924s).

VARAC VINTAGE HISTORIC (TOP THREE): VH-2: 1. No. 64 Ivan Samila (1970 Lotus Super 7), 2. No. 23 Ted Michalos (1962 Lotus 23b), 3. No. 74 Brian Thomas (1965 Lotus 23b) // VH-3: 1. No. 310 Anselmo Beretta (1972 Porsche 911), 2. No. 9 Bob Eagleson (1967 MGB-GT), 3. No. 62 Phil Cooper (1974 MGB Roadster) // VH-4: 1. No. 95 John Kinnear (1972 MGB), 2. No. 58 Gavin Ivory (1970 Porsche 914), 3. No. 214 Gord White (1965 MGB) // VH-5: 1. No. 3 Randy Samson (1969 Lotus Elan+2), 2. No. 61 Claude Gagne (1967 Lotus Elan), 3. No. 49 Lino Baggio (1956 MGA). IT

InsideTrackNews.com 37

SUPER A PRODUCTION

CHALLENGE

Super Production and Production class champions Olivier Bedard (top) and Sylvain Laporte (above). Photos Courtesy Super Production Challenge

38 Inside Track Motorsport News

Story by J. Wally Nesbitt pandemic-related cancellation of the 2020 racing season left Super Production Challenge (SPC) competitors eager to return to action this in 2021. Over a 13-race calendar run at four distinct venues this year, 58 drivers notched point-scoring finishes in three separate classes and a dozen drivers earned class victories.

With an impressive field of both experienced and novice SPC competitors vying for racing success, early odds-makers may have noticed a trend with only one event on the schedule completed.

Recording wins in the season-opening tripleheader at Shannonville Motorsport Park, Olivier Bedard, Sylvain Laporte and the father and son Legris duo set the tone for the season, as each team would translate this early success into class championships following the season-ending event at Mirabel’s Circuit ICAR. SUPER PRODUCTION With three Nissan Micra Cup titles to his credit and dominating championship success in the Ontario-based Toyo Tires F1600 series, Terrebonne, QC’s Olivier Bedard returned to the Nissan brand in 2021, introducing the No. 96 Xtreme Motorsports Nissan 370Z to the Super Production Class.

Quickly coming to grips with the handling and power characteristics of his new mount, the 24-year-old Bedard would end the season with nine class victories in 13 starts, and in only one instance finished off the Super Production class podium (a fifth-place result at Trois-Rivières).

“I was challenging (Jimmy) Briere for the lead, but I guess I pushed too hard,” said Bedard. “I ran out of brakes with about four minutes left, so I coasted around for the last three laps, but I still managed a top-five finish.”

Rebounding from this mechanical issue, Bedard then went on a hot streak, taking the victory in the final race at GP3R and then rolling up back-to-back wins at ICAR. “We did all of our testing at ICAR, so the car was perfect,” said Bedard. “But I believe that it was our consistency that won us the championship this year. It was making the most at the tracks we were good at and taking what we could get when we were not so good that made the difference.”

A constant shadow of Bedard in the Super Production class title chase was Trois-Rivières’ Marc Heroux.

Aboard his No. 24 BP3D Competition Camaro LS, Heroux’s season started slowly as the Camaro could not take the green flag in two of three races at Shannonville. Digging out of this points-paying hole, Heroux quickly picked up speed with five top-four finishes taking him home to the GP3R. On his home track, Heroux notched his only win of the year and backed up that success with a pair of runner-up results. Two more second place finishes at ICAR allowed him to solidify his second place ranking in the Super Production class standings.

The No. 11 8-Legs Racing BMW 330i of Arek Wojciechowski and Eric Hochgeschurz carried the duo to third place in the year-end standings based on one race victory and eight top five results, their success tempered by a host of mechanical issues to close out the

campaign. Jimmy Briere (No. 12 Tradition Motorsports Hyundai) rode a race win at GP3R to fourth place in the final tally with CharlesAndre Bilodeau (No. 44 GT Racing Mustang) rounding out the top five point finishers. Eric Cote (No. 16 Solstice) and James Houghton (No. 83 Honda Civic) were also scored as Super Production race winners in 2021.

PRODUCTION When John Cooper introduced his Mini Cooper race car to the world in 1961, he could never have predicted that the second-generation version would still be winning races 60 years later.

But in 2021, no fewer than six of the Mini-brand scored points in the 17-car Production class, with five Mini examples ending the year within the top seven in the rankings, including the top three in the championship scoring. Case in point, all class race winners this year came from Mini Cooper drivers Besting them all to claim the 2021 Production Class crown was veteran racer Sylvain Laporte.

Aboard his No. 50 FixAuto Lapse Motorsports Mini Cooper Challenge, the Blainville, QC pilot recorded an amazing nine class wins in 13 starts. Coupled with a further three runner-up results and a single, season-low, fifth place finish, Laporte earned the champion’s laurels heading into the season finale at Circuit ICAR. “I already had the championship locked up, so I was able to go out and enjoy myself. In the last race of the season, I had a great race with Nick Wittmer and Alain Lauziere. I started in sixth spot with the inversion and Nick and Alain were in front of me. All I was thinking was ‘I want to catch those guys.’ I was able to get past them by half distance and then it started to rain. I just focused on driving smoothly and held on for the win.”

Despite his impressive season results, Laporte was never able to relax as he had a constant shadow in the form of Nelson Chan’s No. 45 Mini Cooper JCW lurking in his mirrors.

Notching three class wins, Chan had only two finishes off the podium, his consistent top finishes allowing the Richmond Hill, ON resident to outscore Yannick Lupien (No. 34 Mini Cooper JCW) for the championship runner-up spot. The only other driver able to crack into the Production class winner’s circle in 2021 was St-Guillaume’s Paul Gravel (No. 48) who led a Cooper one-two-three to the checkered flag in the middle race at the GP3R. COMPACT Although under-represented on the SPC grid in 2021, the Compact Class provided the competitors and the spectators with some exciting racing action.

Aboard their No. 23 Toyota Echo Cup car, the father and son driving tandem of Yves and Mathieu Legris combined for seven class victories and 11 podiums, sufficient to capture the 2021 Compact Class crown.

“It was a very competitive season,” said Mathieu Legris. “There were not many cars in our class, but we couldn’t take anything for granted, we had to race hard. With the Power-to-Weight ratio, it kept everybody close. We knew that we couldn’t have a bad weekend.”

In contention until the very final event, Patrik saw his championship hopes dashed when he was unable to take the green flag due to damage in his No. 93 Honda Fit. In his previous 12 starts, the Wittmer Family patriarch had totalled four wins, six runner-up results and no finish lower that fourth, but this wasn’t enough to hold off the perennial podium finisher, and SPC rookie, Marc-Andre Bourdages for second place in the final scoring. Although he was only able to

The father-son duo of Yves and Mathieu Legris (top) bested Marc-Andre Bourdages (above) to win the Compact class title.

Photos Courtesy Super Production Challenge

notch one class victory at Trois-Rivières, Bourdages never finished off of the podium, his second place finish in the season finale allowing the driver of the No. 95 Honda Fit to leapfrog past Wittmer and into second place in the standings.

“Marc-Andre and I were having a pretty good fight and we were both dealing with traffic at ICAR,” recalled Legris. “But he missed a braking zone and I got past him and that let us win our third race in a row.”

With the class championships secured and celebrated, the Super Production Challenge series concluded the 2021 campaign by recognizing several more individuals for their season successes.

For his fine ride to third place in the Compact Class, Marc-Andre Bourdages was named the Perry Performance Rookie of the Year and was also named as the Marcel Auger Award winner.

The Ron Ward Award for Crew Chief of the Year went to Martin Aubry (No. 50 LAPSE Motorsports Mini Cooper).

FINAL POINTS SUPER PRODUCTION (TOP 5): 1. No. 96 Olivier Bedard (1410 pts), 2. No. 24 Marc Heroux (904), 3. No. 11 Hochgeschurz/ Wojciechowski (729), 4. No. 12 Jimmy Briere (678), 5. No. 44 Charles-Andre Bilodeau (661).

PRODUCTION (TOP 5): 1. No. 50 Sylvain Laporte (1408 pts), 2. No. 45 Nelson Chan (1185), 3. No. 34 Yannick Lupien (1030), 4. No. 27 T. Murphy/ N. Wittmer (799), 5.

No. 4 Ghislain Theriault (782).

COMPACT (TOP 5): 1. No. 23 Y. Legris/ M. Legris (1407 pts), 2. No. 95 Marc-Andre Bourdages (1196), 3. No. 93 Patrik Wittmer (1118), 4. No. 71 Martin Husar (165), 5.

No. 81 S. Scala/ M. Husar (124). IT

InsideTrackNews.com 39

Story and Photos by Brent Martin he 2021 Sports Car Club of British Columbia (SCCBC) road racing season at Mission Raceway Park’s road course came to a close October 10 with several titles on the line. Once the season got started in June, there were four points-paying race weekends with three races each weekend. There was also a non-point paying race weekend at the beginning of the season with only local lower mainland racers attending due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in the province of BC. Once the real season got started all race weekends had good turnouts with lots of close racing all season long. A total of one hundred and 25 racers competed for championships during the 2021 season. Once again, American racers were unable to compete at Mission due to border restrictions. With border restrictions being lifted shortly the SCCBC hopes to welcome back their southern neighbours in 2022.

In Formula Ford, Alan McColl took home the class championship in his No. 03 Tiga FF after a season-long battle with Kelowna, BC’s Erle

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40 Inside Track Motorsport News

Archer, also in a Tiga FF. Keith Robinson from Abbotsford, BC in his Kodiak FF rounded out the top three. The Formula Ford class grew as the season progressed with a total of 13 drivers entered in this competitive class.

In Formula Vee, Braydon Arthur of Mission, BC in his No. 68 Protoform FV was a first-time champion, along with taking home the SCCBC Novice of the Year Award. Second place by only three points was Richmond, BC’s Derrick Moennick, followed by Tony Baldassare in third.

At the final race of the season, Burnaby, BC’s Al Ores announced his retirement from racing at the age of 88 and after 53 years of competition. He will be missed on the track but will be at all the future races supporting his two grandsons Robbie and Braydon, as well as son-in-law Scott. In 2022, there will be a new Formula Vee series, the Pacific Challenge Cup, that will run a seven-race series at six tracks in California, Oregon, Washington State and British Columbia. Visit pacificchallengecup.com for more details.

Speed-Fanatics driver Ricky Tam of Vancouver, BC took home the

The 2022 SCCBC season gets underway in April next year at the scenic Mission Raceway Park road course in Mission, BC.

2021 Formula Continental championship in his Van Diemen FC, with Ray Stec and Pierre John Cote finishing in second and third.

Vancouver, BC’s Scott Lin took home the Spec Miata title after a season-long battle with Vancouver, BC’s Rod Davison, who finished second, and Allan Harvey of Chilliwack, BC, who finished third. Fifteen drivers competed for the 2021 Spec Miata championship and with new cars and drivers coming into the series in 2022, it should be another great year of Spec Miata racing.

Another growing class at Mission Raceway is the PRO3 series, which is a spec series run at numerous tracks in the Pacific Northwest for 1987-1991 BMW E30/325is. This has become a very popular class in the area with some races at special events featuring more than 30 cars. Werner Berger from Delta, BC took home another PRO3 championship, followed by long-time rival and fellow Delta, BC resident John Gillespie in second and Erik Gerlof Kamloops, BC in third. The 2022 season is going to be even more competitive with several new cars scheduled to join the class being built or purchased over the winter break.

A new class for 2022 was the Civic Racing Series (CRS) for older 1988-2000 Honda Civic race cars. Taking home the first CRS championship was Pitt Meadows, BC’s Jason Wesson, followed by the husband and wife team of Kevin and Bonnie Wall of Port Coquitlam, BC. Other SCCBC championship winners were Lake Country BC’s Doug Morgan in his Porsche taking home the IP2 championship. 2nd Generation Racing team drivers Carlo Tesler-Mabe in his Honda Civic and Ryan O’Conner in his Acura Integra were first and second in the IPE-B championship followed by Speed-Fanatics Doug Morgan in his reliable Porsche Boxster.

The 2021 novice races had large entries which bodes well for the future of motorsport on the west coast. Several drivers were upgraded to senior licences during the season and with the SCCBC driver training programs always selling out early there will another new batch of racers joining the club next year.

In 2021, Speedy Goat Motorsports Club ran the Time Trials events at Mission Raceway and at the Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit. The series consisted of nine events and had a total of 112 entrants. Ryan Richman and his Speedy Goat Motorsports crew also ran several Autocross events in 2021 and is looking forward to running more events in 2022 along with Time Trials on Ice events at Barnes Lake in Ashcroft, BC. Two events that once again did not take place in 2021 were the Knox Mountain Hill Climb in Kelowna, BC and the BC Historic Motor Races at Mission Raceway Park. Both races are back on the calendar for 2022 and will be bigger and better than ever. The Vintage Racing club of BC were able to hold five vintage races in conjunction with the SCCBC race weekends. All races were well attended, with some of the biggest fields of cars in quite a few years, so the future of vintage racing in BC is looking good.

With new racers coming in and some drivers moving on up to other classes and building new race cars, the 2022 season is already looking like it will be super competitive again at Mission Raceway Park next April.

The SCCBC would like to thank Mazda Canada, all the corner marshals, the emergency/safety crew and all the volunteers who helped put on another great season of road racing on the West Coast. The SCCBC looks forward to seeing everyone again in 2022. For more information on the 2022 race season, visit sccbc.net. IT InsideTrackNews.com 41

SirFrank Sir Frank

Frank Williams left an indelible mark in motorsports and played a huge role in Canada’s F1 history

Story by Jeff Pappone n unrelenting passion, a never-say-never attitude, an unmistakable drive to win and a keen sense of humour thrown in for good measure, all combined to help Sir Frank Williams build a Formula 1 team that took on the world and won. And won. And won.

In all, his Williams Grand Prix scored 114 Formula 1 victories and 313 podiums, a record that delivered nine constructors' and seven driver's titles. His final title in 1997 also gave Canada its only world championship, scored by Jacques Villeneuve.

The last of the Formula 1 privateers, Williams died on November 28, 2021, in England. He was 79.

Sir Frank, as he was affectionately known, not only overcame the odds to survive and flourish in the Formula 1 paddock as a privateer, but he also beat personal adversity after being seriously injured in a car accident in 1986 and spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Before the accident and after, Williams was a force to be reckoned with in the paddock.

“Frank took on the ‘big boys’ and beat them at their own game,” said Ann Bradshaw, who ran Williams’ communications efforts for a decade beginning in 1985, witnessing all the outfit’s world championships save three. “I am not sure many could have done that, and

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42 Inside Track Motorsport News

certainly today it would have been even more difficult, but I would also bet on Frank achieving this no matter what obstacles were in his way. Almost every day of his working life – it would have been every day if the factory hadn’t closed for Christmas Day – he could be found round his beloved team and everyone looked forward to seeing him appear round the corner in his wheelchair to have a chat and see what was going on.”

Canadian Villeneuve joined the team in 1996, a year after winning the CART title in a season that included Canada’s sole Indianapolis 500 victory. Although he certainly knew the Williams pedigree by the time he joined the team, Villeneuve first encountered the name watching his father Gilles battle its Formula 1 drivers in a Ferrari.

“My dad was racing against them, Keke Rosberg was racing there and I remembered he used to be an opponent of my dad in Atlantics as well, so there's some memory there, but mainly I remember the [Nelson] Piquet years with [Nigel] Mansell,” said Villeneuve. “I was a big fan of Mansell, so I followed his championship-winning campaign.”

Interestingly, Villeneuve doesn’t remember his first meeting with Frank Williams, which happened at a test in August 1995. The Canadian flew to the England right after the CART Marboro 500 at Michigan International Speedway race and did his seat-fitting the

night before starting a three-day test at the Silverstone Circuit.

The tight schedule meant he had little time for anything else, and as he recalled, there wasn't much desire for any small talk anyway.

“In general, with Frank, [Williams co-founder and former technical director] Patrick [Head], and the whole team, all that mattered was the racing, so it wasn't a question of being social for two hours,” said Villeneuve. “Racing was why Frank was alive. He was a survivor, a fighter and nothing ever stopped him from pushing the team, figuring things out, and that situation gave him focus. There wasn't a minute when the team didn't come first. The conversations I had with Frank were always longer after I was done driving for Williams and when I was out of Formula 1.”

Williams’ connections to Canada run deeper than just one world championship winner. Including Villeneuve, the last three Canadians to make it to Formula 1 started their first race in a Williams car, with Lance Stroll in 2017 and Nicholas Latifi joining the team in 2020.

“He's someone we're going to miss very much,” said Stroll, who raced with Williams for two seasons. “I was fortunate enough to spend time with Frank off the track and he was someone I always had a lot of time for – great sense of humour, great guy. I have many great memories of my time at Williams and thanks to him, I had a chance of coming into Formula 1 and got my first podium with his team.”

For his part, Latifi insisted that he might not have been alive to see the team’s glory years, but he still understands the significance of driving for someone like Frank Williams.

“When you look at everything he achieved, I don't think there will be anyone or any team that will do something similar to that, literally from nothing,” said Latifi. “On a personal level, when I signed with the team back in the end of 2019, I knew then, and maybe still even now, I can't really appreciate the team I am racing for just because of all the history and legacy that was built before my time. But it is a huge thing.”

Interestingly, Williams’ first attempt at Formula 1 ultimately led to Canada’s maiden grand prix victory after Canadian businessman Walter Wolf rescued the floundering Frank Williams Racing Cars in 1976 and took control a year later. The single-car Walter Wolf Racing outfit won its maiden start, taking victory in the 1977 season-opening Argentina Grand Prix with Jody Scheckter at the wheel.

Williams started another Formula 1 outfit – Williams Grand Prix Engineering – almost immediately and ran one Cosworth-powered March in 1977 before fielding its first Patrick Head-designed Williams in 1978. The team competed under the family’s guidance until August 2020 when it was bought by US investment group Dorilton Capital.

Although the new owners kept the Williams name, Villeneuve feels it will never be the same because “the Williams team was Williams with Frank.”

And that Williams team with Frank was one that always reflected his drive and desire to win, and everyone working for it felt the everpresent pressure from the top.

“It really was a hard team where you needed to be psychologically strong to take it, because you took it on the teeth – it wasn't made for the meek,” said Villeneuve. “When things went right, okay you got a nice tap on the back and people were happy, but it wasn’t extreme, it wasn’t exuberant. But, after the tiniest mistakes or when things went wrong, you felt the weight – it was that kind of team, but that pushed you to perform.” IT (Opposite page) Sir Frank Williams (bottom, left) in the pits with 1992 Formula 1 World Champion Nigel Mansell. (Top to bottom) Jacques Villeneuve's 1997 Formula 1 World Championship was won in a Williams while fellow Canadians Nicholas Latifi and Lance Stroll got their Formula 1 starts in Williams’ race cars. Photos Courtesy of Formula1.com

InsideTrackNews.com 43

LEBLANC BROTHERS WIN CANADIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE AT SEASON-ENDING BIG WHITE RALLY

With Files and Photos from Carsrally.ca yle Tilley and Alex Gelsomino piloted their Fiesta R5 to a commanding win at the Big White Winter Rally, the final round of the 2021 Canadian Rally Championship. Finishing second at the event also secured André and René Leblanc the overall national championship title.

The Big White Winter Rally started under the cloak of darkness and heavy snowfall. Having never previously driven on snow, Kyle Tilley intended to use the event as a learning opportunity for next year’s winter season-opener in the US. The experienced road racer’s cautious approach to the early stages paid off, trailing Leblanc by just a few seconds after the first loop. When blowing snow reduced visibility on the second loop, he trusted the pace notes being called by Gelsomino and earned a 38-second lead at the end of the night. Tilley put the seal on the win with two stage wins to start Day 2 and never looked back.

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44 Inside Track Motorsport News

(Top) Reigning Canadian Rally Championship titlists André and René Leblanc. (Above) Eric Grochowski and Shayne Peterson won the 2WD class at The Big White Winter Rally.

Brothers André and René Leblanc came into the event with the championship lead, but still had to defend against Marc-Andre Brisebois, who had a mathematical chance at the title. Leblanc opened the event strong with two stage wins, but with the championship in mind drove conservatively when the visibility deteriorated and finished the opening day down in fifth overall. Unfortunately for Brisebois, his rally and championship hopes ended early after engine troubles. With the title secure and pressure off, Leblanc set his mind to climbing back up the leaderboard. By the end of the rally, Leblanc was back on the podium in second place.

Entering his first event in over six years, Canadian rally legend Frank Sprongl ran Leblanc’s second Subaru WRX in a championship support role. However, the six-time champion accompanied by championship-winning co-driver Alan Ockwell was quickly up to speed and showing his mastery on snow. With Tilley managing his lead out front, Sprongl and Leblanc enjoyed some inter-team competition, trading stage wins on Sunday. Sprongl and Ockwell rounded out overall podium in third place.

In the Two-Wheel-Drive class, Nick Wood and Jennifer Daly were dominating the class and posting top-three overall times in their 1971 Datsun 1200 through the first half of the event. However, on Stage 10 they slid off the road, losing over ten minutes in a snowbank. That promoted Eric Grochowski and Shayne Peterson to the class lead with Dave Clark and Jamie Willetts second. With Wim van der Poel and Bryan Lord retiring on Friday with a broken radiator, Peterson clinched the co-drivers’ National Championship. Grochowski held off Clark and a hard-charging Wood through the final stages to claim the Two-Wheel-Drive win and fifth overall.

In Production 4WD, David Barg and Matt Lunde put in an impressive drive, finishing fourth overall.

The Canadian Rally Championship returns for its 2022 season with an eight-event calendar, kicking off February 5 at Rallye Perce Neige in Maniwaki, QC. The full season calendar and additional information can be found at carsrally.ca. IT

(Top) Kyle Tilley and Alex Gelsomino won the Big White Winter Rally in preparation for the duo’s 2022 Rally America season. (Middle) Former CRC Champions Frank Sprongl and Alan Ockwell returned to the series to finish third overall at Big White. (Above) Nick Wood and Jennifer Daly were on the way to a dominant 2WD class win before losing time after sliding off the road.

InsideTrackNews.com 45

I NEWS

Dormant since 2015, the Pro Modified Racing Association brand is back in 2022. Photo by Brennan Shortall

PRO MODIFIED RACING ASSOCIATION Drag Racing Brand Returning in 2022 After Six-Year Hiatus With Files From PMRA n a blast from drag racing’s past, the former Pro Modified Racing Association (PMRA) is back in the news as several its former teams are set to take to the track at Empire Dragway, in Leicester, NY, for a Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association (NEOPMA) Challenge event, on June 17-18.

The event will be the first of two races headed up by the two Pro Modified groups from the Northeastern US and Southern Ontario. The other race is scheduled for August 5-6 at Leicester, with more than 20

I

SHANNONVILLE DRAGS Just prior to the end of the year, Shannonville Motorsport Park made an announcement regarding the rejuvenation of its drag racing program. Effective immediately, Shannonville Drags would partner with RaceWindsor Promotions to operate its drag racing program.

RaceWindsor is headed by Chuck Fram Sr., who quickly announced his intention to revitalize the bracket racing program at the track. This includes organization and promotion.

“Our plan is to revitalize the bracket racing program at Shannonville,” said Fram.

“We have really enjoyed the stories and pictures people have shared with us and the history of the facility. Each weekend will 46 Inside Track Motorsport News

Pro Modifieds set to compete.

Talking about the re-emergence of the PMRA brand – which hasn’t put on a race since 2015 – founder and Director of Operations Bruce Mehlenbacher said, “It’s extremely encouraging to hear from our teams after our time away. It’s exciting to come back to the sport.”

According to a January 5 press release on PMRA letterhead, several teams that previously competed in PMRA competition have shown interest in racing in the Empire Dragway, including Al Martorino of Xtreme

Motorsports Racing, Paolo Giust of Fine & Fast Motorsports, Mike Everitt of Everitt Racing and Jack Grainy of The Grainy Bros.

“The NEOPMA always welcomes our Canadian brothers to compete with us,” said John Mazzorana, of NEOPMA. “We have always wanted a friendly but competing alliance with the PMRA and this could be the beginning of this type of rivalry.”

For more info on these events and the two organizations, visit NEOPMA.com or lookup promodifiedracing for PMRA info, on Facebook. IT

highlight a different portion of our program.”

Fram confirmed a points program, with a “100 percent payback for those who enjoy season-long competition.”

For 2022, classes will include: Pro, Super Pro, Street, Bike/Sled and Nostalgia, with a possibility for Junior Dragsters to also participate.

Shannonville is partnering with RaceWindsor Promotions to The schedule will consist of bring back drag racing to the track. Photo Courtesy of SMP four event weekends, the first ations and one ‘buy back,’ time permitting. taking place June 18-19 is the All races will be on 1/8-mile in length.

Nostalgia weekend with the visiting ONDR For more information, visit shannonvilleseries. The others are July 16-17, August drags.ca or search for Shannonville Drags 27-28 and September 17-18. Each will on Facebook. – Special to ITMN IT include two time-trials, followed by elimin-

I NEWS

SPENCER HYDE Canadian Pro Mod Racer Makes Drag Illustrated’s ‘30 Under 30’ Story by Greg MacPherson he recent Performance Racing Industry tradeshow, in Indianapolis, was a hive of activity or the racing community. On December 12, the venue’s Media Center played host to a large press conference put on by Drag Illustrated.

Publisher Wes Buck and his team unveiled their latest issue, with a cover story on its top “30 Under 30” young guns. The piece featured 30 young members of the drag racing – most of them racers – to watch in the coming years. Included on the list was Canadian Pro Mod racer Spencer Hyde, who enjoyed much success in 2021, in spite of being forced to change his plans because of the ongoing pandemic and border closures.

Putting aside his plans to compete in the PDRA and Pro Mod action on the Mid-West Drag Racing Series (MWDRS), Hyde turned his focus to the Canadian scene and set a Canadian record for the quickest Pro Mod run in the country’s history and earning the FuelTech Pro Mod Drag Racing Series title in his ’69 Camaro.

“Someone threw my name in for the nomination and the guys at DI (Drag Illustrated) picked me as one of the ’30 Under 30,’ said Hyde, moments after the presentation at PRI. “I’m humbled as I’ve been watching that list and the people who have made it since it first came out in 2015. There were over 7,000 nominations for the ’30 Under 30’ awards, so to be part of it is pretty special.

T

Canadian Spencer Hyde (wearing Floracing Lanyard) was one of 30 young drag racers and community members honoured as part of Drag Illustrated’s ’30 Under 30’ at the recent PRI show in Indianapolis. To the left of Hyde is DI’s Wes Buck. Photo by Greg MacPherson

When word first got out, my phone started blowing up.

“We had a pretty successful season in Canada (in 2021). Obviously, we couldn’t cross the border with COVID going on, so we ran locally and set the Canadian Pro Mod record and won a few races, including the

ONTARIO GASSERS, ALTEREDS & DRAGSTERS After a successful first season, the Ontario Gassers Altereds and Dragsters (OGAD) is returning for 2022 with a five-event schedule.

New for this season, the Hot Muscle class will join the series’ five existing divisions (Gassers, FEDs / Altereds, Nostalgia Funny Cars, AA/Gassers and Exhibition).

All events will take place on 1/8-mile tracks and will feature index-racing on a .400 Pro tree.

The season kicks off May 14 at southwestern Ontario’s St. Thomas Dragway, which will also host the second race on the schedule, on June 11. On July 23, the OGAD heads to Toronto Motorsports Park, before returning to St. Thomas for its final two events, on August 6 and September 24.

The Nostalgia AA/Gassers Club will be on the card for the final four events of the OGAD season. In other series news, talented photographer Kenny Kroeker will be back shooting all the action. – With Files From OGAD IT

FuelTech championship at Napierville. They did an awesome job of giving us somewhere to race last season. It was competitive and they had a lot of good, local cars.”

Looking ahead to 2022, if all goes to plan, Hyde hopes to return to the US for some PDRA, NMCA and MWDRA races. IT

The Ontario Gassers, Altereds & Dragsters are returning in 2022 with a fiveevent schedule. Four events at St. Thomas and one at TMP. Photo by Kenny Kroeker

InsideTrackNews.com 47

CANADA HEADS UP

STREET CAR SHOOTOUT SERIES T

he Canada Heads Street Car Shootout Series wrapped up its season at St. Thomas Dragway as part of the Southern Ontario tracks series of season-ending events throughout September and October 2021. CHU crowned 11 champions in 2021 spread out over its 11 classes.

In Pro10five, Nick Agostino topped the standings with 63 points, five ahead of class runner-up Wade Stevens (58 points). Ed Szram and Frankie Doldo were the runaway class leaders in Super Street, 49 points ahead of their nearest competition, with Szram beating Doldo to the class title with 144 points to Doldo’s 124.

The EZ Street class saw the closest battle between title rivals in the whole series, with Vince Melao edging out Tyler Kranendonk to win the championship by a mere point, 128-127. Jeff Biro dominated the Street 275 class, topping the points with 129, 36 ahead of nearest rival Jay Gallant in second.

John Stornelli won the 5.50 Index class in a tight race with Frank Marchee and Ralph Aulacino, finishing the season with 70 points to runner-up Marchee’s 63 and third-place finisher Aulacino’s 58.

Mike Thompson and Jeremy Sicurella traded wins on the way to finishing first and second, respectively, in 6.0 Index, with Thompson earning 112 points to Sicurella’s 107. Jay Lightheart won the 6.50 index title with 133 points, 14 ahead of runner-up Jeff Gilbert.

Cole Ferri and Mya James were the only Junior Dragster competitors to break the century mark in points, with Ferri winning the class title with a whopping 172 points to James’ 101. Damian Tong (Stock Wheel Base), Murray Lonsbary (Crazy8s) and Jesse Vanbetlehem (KOTZ Bike) earned two-wheel titles in the bike classes.

For more information on the 2022 Canada Heads Street Car Shootout Series season, be sure to check ontariogrudgewars.com/ canada-heads-up/ for updates. IT

48 Inside Track Motorsport News

(Top) Pro10five champion Nick Agostino. (Above) Super Street champion Ed Szram. (Below, L-R) Jay Lightheart and Mike Thompson won the 6.50 index and 6.0 Index class titles. (Left) EZ Street champion Vince Melao. (Bottom, L-R) Bike class champions Damian Tong (Stock Wheel Base) and Jesse Vanbetlehem (KOTZ Bike) and 5.50 index champion John Stornelli. Photos by Peter Anderson and Blake Farnan

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I OPINION

LOOKING BACK

By Dave Mathers

BOB AND HELEN HARVEY

(Above) Keith Ridler presenting a trophy to Burt ‘Chilly Willy’ Strauss, with Bob Harvey on the microphone. Photo by W&F Hawley

F

or this story, I’m going to start by looking back, way back. When WW2 broke out, my father tried to enlist in the Army, but due to a bleeding ulcer that almost killed him, he was medically rejected. However, he was required to work for an ‘essential service.’

Thus, he quit his job as Regional Manager for Canada Life and became a superintendent on the construction of the new RCAF Training School south of St. Thomas (ON).

In that job, he visited Harvey Hardware in Sparta, ON on a regular basis. It was there that he became friends with Bob Harvey.

One day, Bob asked my father to come for supper on Saturday night and meet the local ‘school marm,’ the teacher at the Sparta Continuation School. That was my mother.

That was the beginning of a long-running connection between our two families.

Fast forward to Fall 1961 and the Gear Jammers Car Club lost the lease on one of the runways at the St. Thomas Airport.

This was due to a near miss of the tower by a federal aircraft carrying a federal minister, Ellen Fairclough, at 10:30 a.m. on a Monday morning. It had rained that Sunday.

50 Inside Track Motorsport News

Everybody left the track early and nobody remembered to tow the tower back into the cornfield beside the track.

Doug Kennington delivered dry cleaning to Bob Harvey for Towers Cleaners, and he approached Bob about building a drag strip.

Bob, being the moral Christian gentleman that he was, canvassed everybody in a twomile radius of the proposed track to see if there were any objections. There were none.

Bob and his wife, Helen, went with Doug and Charlie Rewbotham to Detroit Dragway to see what this sport was all about. He really liked what he saw. Deal! Using his own money – as well as an investment from his daughter, Judy – Bob bought the 100-acre farm across the road from his farm.

Construction started and not long after, Helen sat in a lawn chair and counted the many loads of gravel and asphalt that were delivered. On opening day, the place was more than full with estimates of nearly 10,000 spectators.

A plane landed on the track and out of it hopped the late ‘Beaky’ Stevens in a clown outfit! The 1960s were awesome for the

strip, with car counts approaching 500 every Sunday. The track ran Top Fuel and Top Gas every Sunday, with pairings made by a drawing in the Sugar Shack.

Regular T/F competitors included Scott Wilson, Lloyd Noxell, Bob Atchison, Don Swanson, Keith Ridler, Herb Rogers, Connie Kalitta and Dick LaHaie. Even Chris Karamesines dropped in once in a while.

Don Garlits was booked in almost every year, and to this day, he raves about the wonderful Maple Leaf hot dogs.

Bob’s problem – if it could be considered a problem – was that he was far too nice.

He would literally give away the farm to any racer with a sob story. If we turned away a car in tech, they would go to Bob. He would come over and say, “this guy runs at Detroit all the time, so he must be okay.”

After the following three incidents, Bob stopped using that line. A Prefect with a small block showed up with traction bars lower than the rim, so I turned him away.

Bob asked to let him run. The guy blew the right slick at about the 330-foot mark. The car dropped down onto the traction bars

and rolled through the ditch, hitting the push-out road, and flipped. The guy pulled the motor and trans – with the help of one of the apple trees – and junked the car.

A small block Gremlin, from Detroit, had a cool can in front of the rad cradle. No problem. But he was using rubber gas lines with no protection around the fan belt area.

I said ‘no.’ Bob said ‘yes’ and the car pulled into the burn box, revved high and threw the fan belt, knocking the rubber hose off. The electric fuel pump kept running and the car was basically an ash tray.

The last incident was a front-engine Top Fuel dragster from Detroit. The NHRA had come out with the rule mandating that all headers had to be joined together by some type of strapping. This car had none, so I suggested he just get some chain and some hose clamps to tie them together.

He went to Bob…and you know what happened. The guy launched, the right-rear header shook loose, fell off and went through the slick. The car turned upside down and went down track on the injector hat and the roll cage! Bob came to me and said, “Never again. If you guys say ‘no’ then ‘no’ it is!”

There was never a fatality during the Harvey era.

My favourite Bob Harvey story took place during our second Division III race, in 1967.

The previous year, Division II Director Bob Daniels had upset many of the track staff (and a lot of the local racers). At the start of racing, on the Sunday, Bob walked over to Daniels and said, ‘Bob, here’s a lawn chair.

Go down and sit by the ET booth and enjoy the racing. We’ve got this.”

I thought Div. III Tech Director, Marty Barrett, was going to blow a blood vessel from straining so hard not to laugh.

In 1972, Bob decided he was going to put on a tractor pull. Perfect! I had never seen one so, having the day off, I went down to watch. Bob ran over to me, in a panic, and said, “Their announcer is sick. Can you call the event?” I said I’d never seen one, but he insisted. I checked out the entries and was very impressed. At the end of the day, I came out of the tower to see nine men in suits standing in a semi-circle in front of the tower.

“Mr. Mathers, can we talk to you?” Oops. I must have upset somebody. Nope. “We are the executive of the Haldiman-Norfolk Agricultural Society and we sanction these pulls.

We really like your announcing and want you to be our announcer.”

I said, “I already announce here, as well as Nilestown Speedway and Delaware Speedway so I’m pretty busy.” Their next event was

(Top) Helen Harvey presenting a trophy to Doug ‘Hemi’ Brinjak. (Above) Bob Harvey talking to Wally Booth, with a young Frank Hawley looking on. Photos by W&F Hawley

at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto at the CNE. I did that event ended up doing about five years with them.

Another Bob story: One morning, he came over to me and said, “We’re going to have to cancel,” so I asked, “Why?” Bob said, “Foster (Burgess, Bob’s son-in-law) has to work and he’s the only one who can set up the clocks.”

I laughed and said, “I’ve got this.”

Setting up the clocks, I found that every photocell was set right at the very edge and not dead centre as required. A light came on for me, as every Sunday we would have to announce, “Foster to the tower…” as a sensor was out. We ran that day with no stoppages and Bob came up to me after the race and he was very mad.

“You mean we had no interruptions because of the clocks?” he asked. “Nope!” And I told him why. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for that meeting. We had very few ‘incidents’ after that.

Bob loved his farm and his farm animals and would often split his time on Sundays be-

tween the track and the farm. He also liked pretty women and would travel with Helen to the Playboy Club at Lake Geneva, WI. Bob’s rich legacy is that he was a very well-respected gentleman who had very few, if any, enemies. Helen’s legacy, at least in my mind, is that she was the business mind of the operation and kept a firm grip on the financial end. She was always dressed up and always a lady. Their daughter, Judy, was a huge help to the two of them, mostly by running the food operation very well.

Sadly, Bob died in 1984 and Helen passed in 2004. Judy still lives in the house right beside the track, on a piece of land that was severed off from the track in 1972, giving her the house and barn.

She tells me she has attended every banquet in the entire history of the track, which would be almost 60 of them. Helen and Judy sold the track to John and Sharon Fletcher at the end of the 1989 season. I bought the track off them in 1998. The Spriet Family are the current owners of the facility. IT InsideTrackNews.com 51

I OPINION

TOMAS TALES

By Erik Tomas

ALL YA GOTTA DO IS…ACT NATURALLY!

T

he 2021 Formula 1 World Championship was the hardest fought since we started Raceline Radio 30 years ago. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen beat the hell out of each other at every Grand Prix and were dead-even in points going into the finale at Abu Dhab, we didn’t declare a champion until just days before Christmas.

And then we witnessed a terrible sporting tragedy that wound up tarnishing a splendid season due to horrible officiating. Lewis Hamilton was vying for his record-breaking eighth championship, while Verstappen was battling for his first.

Paraphrasing a quote from former driver and current Sky Sports Formula 1 commentator Martin Brundle, “It should have been one of Formula 1’s finest moments. Instead it ended with anger and confusion.”

Martin is 100 percent bang-on. Race director Michael Masi used rules he has interpreted differently in the past to manipulate the finish of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that artificially awarded Dutchman Verstappen the 2021 title.

Masi was influenced by Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner and allowed Verstappen to do something he couldn’t do on his own for 57 of the race’s 58 laps – catch and pass a dominant Lewis Hamilton to win the championship.

That’s just plain wrong and unsporting in my opinion and experience. The fact Hamilton was a sitting duck on old tires and Verstappen had new tires is superfluous.

With a one lap shootout and the lapped cars in place, there was no way Max was going to catch Lewis, even if Hamilton had of been down to the rims.

Ironically, before the race, Masi implored both drivers to race clean and decide the championship on-track. Too bad Masi and Formula 1 didn’t follow their own directive.

An automobile race should be allowed to start, develop and finish naturally without adjusting the running order. If there are lapped cars between the leader and his pursuer, so be it!

That’s how the race evolved naturally.

Leave them there! Suck it up and get to work!

52 Inside Track Motorsport News

FIA Race Director Michael Masi is taking the lion’s share of the blame for the controversial finish to the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Photo Courtesy of Formula1.com

Getting around lapped cars was the task facing Verstappen until Masi, with Red Bull Racing’s Christian Horner prodding him on the radio to remove the lapped cars and Mercedes’ Toto Wolff pleading with Masi not to, interceded to instigate an unnatural finish and championship outcome.

Direct interference with the Race Director by teams during a race is ridiculous. I strongly dislike rules that allow the alteration of race fields and that includes IndyCar and NASCAR. NASCAR is especially guilty of manipulating results with their abhorrent practice of adding laps to get a green-flag finish, something clearly driven by those who emphasize the showbiz element as opposed to what’s fair.

And no automobile race, especially one this important, should be decided hours later in an official’s room awash in protests and second-guessing.

Mercedes contemplated protesting directly to the FIA, but decided against it, as Formula 1 says they will establish a commission to re-write some of the rules to prevent this type of on-a-whim injustice from happening again.

We can only pray changes are made.

But it’s too late for 2021. Verstappen and Red Bull Racing had a fantastic season and they’re full value for it, but I cannot congratulate Max on the championship because, in my opinion, he didn’t win it fair and square.

The officials had to fix it for him.

Now we are hearing rumours Hamilton may quit Formula 1 over what happened.

He was robbed of a championship in 2021, but I doubt he’ll quit before he scores that record-breaking eighth crown.

Formula 1 experienced a global explosion in popularity thanks in part to the Netflix Series Drive to Survive that played up the human element and drama. Fans latched onto the characters. Hamilton versus Verstappen. Christian Horner versus Toto Wolff.

It’s a shame all that lovely drama ended in discord with a manipulated finish and championship. Formula 1 fans, teams, drivers and sponsors deserved better.Much better.

TALE PIPES In 2022, The Raceline Radio Network celebrates our 30th season on the air as Canada’s National Radio Motorsport Authority! We look forward to celebrating with you!

As they say, the best is yet to come! IT

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THERMO-TEC HEADER MANIFOLD BLANKET

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This flexible heat shield simply clips into place on the upper portion of the header. The fabric side of the material should be facing the heat source and can withstand direct heat up to 537 degrees Celsius. The aluminized side, facing away, can handle radiant heat up to 1,093 degrees Celsius and offers protection from abrasion and harmful liquid spills.

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54 Inside Track Motorsport News

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FAST EV FORGED ALLOY WHEEL FOR TESLA CARS

F

ast EV, an alloy wheel brand owned by Fastco Canada, recently introduced its first forged alloy wheel designed for Tesla vehicles. The EV04 is a direct replacement fitment for all Tesla Model 3 and Model Y applications. Forged aluminum is ideal for applications where performance and safety are critical, but a lighter weight metal is needed for performance and energy efficiency. Built for speed and performance, forged wheels are extremely lightweight, very strong and exceptionally stiff.

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InsideTrackNews.com 59

(Above) Dave ‘DAW’ Williams played a key role in vehicle dynamics development at Multimatic for more than 20 years. Photo Courtesy Multimatic

ACTIVE

SUSPENSION O

nce again, I must sadly start with a tribute to an amazing friend and colleague who recently passed away. Dave Williams was one of the cleverest people that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and he made a major contribution to my career as a mentor, collaborator and highly valued member of Multimatic’s engineering organization. He played a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of the underlying science of vehicle dynamics behaviour during his 23-year tenure overseeing the company’s four post rig testing activities.

Dave (DAW) was best known for his concept of applying aircraft stability control technology to car suspension utilizing hydraulic actuators in place of conventional spring/dampers (“active suspension”), as realized by Lotus. For those curious about this incredible innovation I highly recommend delving into Race Car Vehicle Dynamics by Milliken & Milliken (the greatest all-encompassing book ever published on the science of vehicle dynamics…“Race Car” being a bit misleading, it’s actually a general handbook on the subject), specifically a piece in Chapter 13 (Historical Note on Vehicle Dynamics Development) entitled Peter Wright & David Williams, which ends with a statement that really says it all about Dave’s contribution (along with Peter’s) to Lotus technology back in the 1980s: “Thus it is that the work of Peter Wright and David Williams has added a dimension to vehicle dynamics technology of far-reaching consequences.” More on “active” later.

But it was DAW’s (we all used his initials in correspondence, him

60 Inside Track Motorsport News

included) innovative work in four-post rig characterization of vehicle dynamic performance that played a critical role in gaining Multimatic a significant competitive advantage in its suspension business. He had started using rig excitation of the four wheels of a car during the development of active suspension to “exercise” (his word) the prototypes, a controls / software / electronics glitch being less lethal on the rig than live on-track. When the active program ended, he began to use the four-post rig to compare the measured responses of conventionally suspended road cars to see if he could objectively identify the signature of vehicles that had been subjectively evaluated as good (and equally importantly, bad) from a dynamics perspective… and it turns out that he could. This led DAW to develop a frequency domain based approach using Bode plots (Magnitude and Phase) to evaluate the responses of the full vehicle when subjected to various vertical inputs at the contact patches of the four tires (where they meet the road). A simple swept sine input was used which, although less impressive to watch that actual track replay, is a massively effective way to extract the vertical mode response characteristics of a conventionally sprung / damped car. This approach became an incredibly powerful tool for matching road spring rate to tire side wall stiffness, optimizing damper levels, harmonizing the front to rear springs / dampers and sorting a host of other tuning variables that are difficult to separate when testing on track. We also use it as a first step in correlating our vehicle simulation models to the real

cars (if the vertical dynamics don’t match it only gets worse when lateral effects are introduced). All of this we owe to DAW. That aside, it was his technical influence on the dozens of young engineers that he interacted with during his time at Multimatic that built his most lasting legacy. We will all miss him greatly.

So, to something technical, but fully related. Back in 2015 I wrote a piece for this magazine in which I described, in a fair bit of detail, the function of a vehicle’s suspension from a first principles perspective. (ITMN Volume 19, Issue 09). It started with why suspension was conceived in the first place: providing isolation of the sprung mass (the bit the driver sits in) from the unsprung masses (the tires, wheels, hubs, brakes etc.) so that the latter can move relatively independently up and over bumps while allowing the former to remain reasonably undisturbed. This marked the invention of “ride comfort,” which led to the initiation of the death spiral of how that negatively affected “handling.” I then delved into the details of all the pros and cons associated with springs and dampers (“shocks”) which convolutedly wound up leading to an explanation of why active suspension was conceived and how Wright and Williams implemented it in both road car and Formula 1 applications. But where did it go?

Well, as I stated at the end of that article, although the FIA banned active suspension from racing in 1993, and most of the road car programs that Lotus had pursued with General Motors, Chrysler and Volvo ultimately petered out, the technology has lived on in various guises within the automotive world and is not far from finally realizing the ultimate performance dream of Peter and DAW. Yes, it’s been 41 years in the making, and that’s because the cost/benefit equation is a tough master in the automotive industry and despite the evident advantages of “Active” the price tag associated with the complexity of the full-house hydraulic actuator driven system was prohibitive. But a lot happens in four decades from the perspective of what our industry refers to as the “enabling technology”. That is the underlying constitutive elements that are required to realize a complex system that might not actually be available at the time of that system’s conception.

An example would be when Kelly Johnson (the boss of Lockheed’s “Skunk Works” division) came up with the idea for the SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3-plus reconnaissance aircraft. At that point in time many of the technologies that were required to realize the final product were far from in place. The entire airframe had to be manufactured from titanium, something that had never been done (some high temperature components had been, but never an entire aircraft) which required the development of a formable titanium alloy and the methods to do so (the corrosive effects being one of the biggest challenges). The cockpit canopy material was invented for the plane (quartz ultrasonically fused to the titanium frame) and the technology developed for the J58 Pratt & Whitney “turboramjet” to achieve sustained Mach 3 performance was incredible (and a bit beyond my comprehension)…all coming about due to the demands of the original aircraft concept.

And so it has been with Active Suspension. The original Lotus system relied on double acting hydraulic actuators fed by a pump and accumulators via a handful of Moog servovalves, all controlled by a digital processor, pretty cutting edge technology at that time.

Bill Moog had invented the first industrial servovalve in the early 1950s, the first commercial application for his eponymous company being for an aerospace missile. But by the early 1980s the cost of the technology still hadn’t reached the affordability required by the high-volume automotive industry, due to the demanding precision required in the manufacturing of the metering components.

A Lotus Esprit (top) and a Lotus 92 (above, driven by Nigel Mansell), both equipped with active suspension. Photos Courtesy Multimatic

Moog is globally recognized leader in this technology for aerospace applications that require precision motion control, but you still won’t find them in high volume road cars (although a Formula 1 vehicle is stuffed with Moog servovalves, as are many hypercars like the Aston Martin Valkyrie…that car using them for controlling both active suspension and aerodynamics). In fact, this “enabling technology” has not become viable for use in a high-volume active suspension in the ensuing 70 years since Bill invented it, so scratch the Lotus system as a viable approach.

There are active suspension enabling technologies that have been realized in the automotive sector since 1981, like Dave’s leading-edge use of a digital processor. They had been used extensively by that period in land based controlled systems as well as aircraft applications, but it was a nascent technology in the automotive world, born in the area of engine control in the 1970s. However, as the recent chip shortage has proven, a modern car is infested with the little buggers and can’t operate without them. Same with hydraulic pump technology, now far more affordable than back in the early 1980s. Some of these elements have been used in what I would refer to as “light” applications like active anti-roll bars, electronically adaptive dampers, anti-pitch and platform control (in service of the vehicles aerodynamics) and a host of other ways of tickling the dynamic handling behaviour of the car rather than taking full authority of it.

But in more recent times, very specifically at Multimatic, it has been recognized that trying to hold the entire car off the ground with an actuator really isn’t the hot setup from a power consumption perspective (think about it). Bose (the speaker guys) actually conceived a fully active system using linear electromagnetic motors at each corner of the car…at 25 percent of the power density of hydraulics they were ‘king big pieces (see picture) and consumed some serious energy. What finally occurred to us, after all these years, InsideTrackNews.com 61

was that a coil spring is a pretty cost-effective way of keeping a car off the ground and that by introducing an active element in parallel, or series, with a conventional spring could ultimately achieve the same thing as DAW’s hydraulic strut approach using a fraction of the power. The spring keeps the car in its static ride height position and then an actuator imparts the required control forces to achieve active suspension control. Consider how stupid that made us feel when we couldn’t figure out why there was no good reason for not doing it that way.

Of course, the active element still needs to have smoking fast response (high frequency, high bandwidth), which would require Moog valves in the case of a hydraulic actuator, or a pretty special servo electric motor (rotary or linear) if the ultimate goal was to be reached…modal control of the vehicle (pitch, roll, ride height etc.) and, the holy grail: provide synthesized damping (goodbye shock absorbers). Are we there yet? Yes, almost. We have chosen to introduce an electric machine in parallel to the spring, which is the most obvious choice, but still utilize a hydraulic damper (also, conventionally, in parallel to the spring) as we are not quite yet matching the frequency response of hydraulic dampers, although our next generation will. This contrasts with what Aston is doing on Valkyrie in which a hydraulic actuator, controlled via Moog valves (the car isn’t under the same cost constraints as most of the rest of the automotive world), works in series with the spring element (torsion bar) at the anchored end. See Figure 1 illustrating a conventional passive suspension arrangement for reference (a single corner of a car), and Figures 2, 3 and 4 for schematics of the Lotus / Bose approach (no spring, just an active actuator); Parallel active element; and Series active element systems.

We have a super trick mechanical configuration for imparting the electric machine’s (motor’s) authority on the corner of the car, pushing and pulling the spring from its steady state position, which I will not detail here because it would fill a couple of pages. A high-level operational description of the complete system goes something like this: a vehicle controller figures out what the car wants, lots of sensors and number crunching at eye-watering speeds involved in that, and then demands the electric machines to drive the corners to where they need to be, aided and abetted by the conventional springs. In this way you can make the car do anything your heart desires, even unnatural motion like pitching-up at the front during 62 Inside Track Motorsport News

(Left) Schematic representations of a conventional passive suspension and three different active arrangements. Bose active suspension (top) and an active anti-roll bar suspension (above).

Diagram by Larry Holt and photos Courtesy Multimatic

braking and banking into the corner rather than rolling outwards like a passive sprung vehicle. It turns out that both of those things feel so weird that most drivers completely freak out when it happens.

The challenge of the series arrangement (e.g. Valkyrie) in comparison to our parallel approach is that the actuator drives at the anchored, sprung mass end of the torsion bar but it is trying to control the motion of the unsprung mass at the other end of the spring, which is constantly being excited by the ground input, it requires a massively complicated controls approach to sort, especially considering that the ride height is not being directly measured to close the loop on the whole shemozzle (the tire sidewall stiffness is an open loop modelled parameter). At the core of the controls is an approach referred to as annihilator theory…if you don’t believe me, look it up.

However, although our parallel arrangement appears a little more straightforward, from a controls perspective, than what I just tried to describe, there is a complexity in that the friction, inertia and compliance (springiness) of the motor drive must be compensated. For example, if the electric machine is turned off its inertia completely upsets the ride comfort of the vehicle, so it must lightly drive itself to make the system feel passive. But once those compensation algorithms have been nailed (done), and the damper can be accurately emulated (coming), and the whole assembly made affordable to the higher volume automotive world (on its way in the next generation of our technology) then we will finally have fully realize DAW’s vision for how a vehicle’s “suspension” should really be controlled. IT

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