Hello Members, it’s took me nearly a week to catch up from last weekend. Unless you have been deleting club emails you’ll know many of us were in attendance to kick off the third running of the SMP Cup. Without St Lac’s volunteer’s this CASC regional race just wouldn’t be the same and I had many racers compliment me again this year on the outstanding role played by our organizers ( James and Pat take a bow) and the incredible support they received from all our St Lac volunteers throughout the weekend. We did an amazing job.
Recapping the weekend has to start with the weather. It was brutal. When I was racing, I always loved it when it was cool as throwing on a fire suit and a layer of Nomex underwear made racing in the cold comfortable. Not to mention the car made more horsepower and didn’t overheat on the mock grid; but I never appreciated the effect of the wind and the cold on the marshals, pit-lane crew and the individuals running the mock grid. So kudos again to all the members who kept smiling in the 10-12 degree weather and bitter north wind.
On the track Jeff Williams, our very own x superbike racer, picked up on his two wheel winning ways by taking victory in his Radical in the first race of the weekend in the Formula Prototype Challenge. Despite the small field Jeff’s consistency and smooth lines assured him of two additional second place finishes during Sunday’s races. Jim Brown has Jeff’s car running beautifully and it never missed a Hayabusa beat…
Next up was the 26-car grid for the Miata Cup. Now in its second year Pat can be proud to see his dream come true, the Miata series, with the strongest field out of the 85 entries. The inclusion of the Miata’s at the upcoming Molson Indy this summer speaks volumes to the excitement this cost-effective racing series provides. As mentioned, Ryder Brown, our 15-yr old protégé, did St Lac proud. The Saturday Race was a door banger from the start and late in the race Ryder got chopped entering into Allen’s corner and ended up spraining his wrist from the collision but still finished a respectable 8th place. Undeterred, with his wrist in a brace, Ryder ended up 4th on Sunday morning in another ding-dong battle. During the third and final race all eyes were on the foursome he was mixed up with where Ryder spent multiple laps in third place only to “send it” on the final lap while trying to regain the podium spot at corner 11- the fast right hander at the Fabi pit out. Most drivers would have lost control in the mega four wheels off but his comments to his dad were classic- it wasn’t a big deal dad -and in turn, Ryder wrapped up his weekend with his fans cheering his 5th pace finish. Owen Clark was the class of the field completing all three race wins in a dominant car. It’s worth noting though that Ryder first generation Miata runs a 1.6-liter engine vs. 1.8-liter motors in the faster cars so our “el presidenté” has some engine work to do.
The GT sprints were divided into two race groups with GT 1-2 together in the Pirelli Super Touring class and the lower speed classes of 3-4-5 all running alongside each other in the Grand Torring Class. St Lac was well represented in the Super touring class with Dan Corcorran and Mark Busscher running in GT1 and Pat Cyr running in GT2 and sporting the number 1 on his BMW after his series win last year. Both Mark and Dan ran into mechanical issues over the weekend, but Mark placed 5th in the opening race and had a long spell of keeping the veteran racer Rocco Marciello behind him in race 2 until late in the race to finish =0 again in 5th place. After overcoming a faulty alternator and an overheating issue Dan ended his weekend with a third place points finish behind Gary Kwok and Rocco in the last race of the weekend. Pat did his usual thing and won all three GT-2 races as we have come to expect, and I anticipate his winning trend to continue through the season.
Honorable mention goes out to BC Race Cars for bringing both their 2022 and 2024 Mustang Trans Am (TA2) cars out to play. Not running in the points series; but at the front of the pack with Misha Goikhberg displaying his GTD credentials Blaise’s cars were a pure delight to listen to and to watch running in the 142s on the long track and 104s on the pro track. Kudos to Blaise’s crew for getting the bent hollow drive shaft repaired in the number 10 car on Saturday evening so that Blaise could join in the fun on Sunday. Watching him progress from last to 2nd in race two, in just a handful of laps, speaks volumes to his race prep and engineering skills not to mention his handiness behind the wheel being only a second off Misha’s leading pace. Both Mustangs were a huge crowd pleaser with groups gathered around them after each race.
The grand touring class did not contain any St Lac racers, note to self I need to finish the Mk 2 Golf, but the racing among the top three drivers Daria Kachi, Michael Bos and Bruce Wylie was first class and the closest of all the touring car groups. throughout the weekend.
The final run group was the Formula 1600s. Starting this group I am very conscious of getting the green flag out as soon as possible so that the entry into corner one is as clean as possible, but it didn’t take long for the carnage to take place. Upon entering the fast left hander, corner 2 on the Pro track, the Janeteas brothers- Connor and Cole- touched under braking. From behind, Mike Lee avoided the collision, but Steve Bodrug had a dramatic launch off the back of Lee’s Van Diemen and cartwheeled over the top of the mele. From a distance it was a spectacular crash, and a broken bell housing was a testament to the forces involved with Steve’s car. Fortunately all the drivers were unharmed, and the race continued after the one Spectrum was removed from the track leaving the bent Van Dieman for collection after the race. The race itself started again once the pace car, driven by our very own Sergio Bidonist and spotted by Eric Brunner (our oldest member), got everyone back in order. The rivalry on track between Britain West and BGR (Brian Graham Racing) was as intense as usual with my favorite privateer, Henderson Knox, finishing second splitting the winning BGR driver, Christian Menzes, and Britain West’s Stewart Ross in third place after a controversial race. Race two was incident free with Henderson again coming in 2nd and Stewart gaining the top spot after BGR’s driver went off track in Allen’s corner. The racing was close and remained so in the third race with Ross winning for a second time in a row with Christian a close second. St Lac was pleased to be able to split Dr Chris Evans generous Race Medical cash prize ($950) to Stewart for the most points over the weekend and to Christian for the top rookie position. Chris himself had issues with the optical pick up in his distributor on Saturday but had a good race exchanging positions with Byron Leis during the Sunday races and finally with a smooth-running engine.
From my point of view the highlight of the weekend was taking Stephen and Johnny, two members of the Gladiators hockey team around the track at lunch. A huge shout out to Brain and Kelly from BGR for arranging for the whole of the special needs Gladiators team to get ride-alongs over the lunch hour. The smiles were wide, the hugs plentiful and the shared gratitude and fun was off the charts. This to me is what the club is all about. Giving back to our friends and sponsors and sharing our experiences on track with such an amazing bunch of individuals- thank you again to all the club drivers who assisted in this event. I Am sure you all felt the love. On behalf of all the volunteers a huge thanks to the membership for your ongoing support…see you at the track DC
