Racing a classic sports car or an open-wheel formula car from the 60s, the 50s or even earlier, is one of the fastest-growing and enjoyable forms of motorsport. And it can be quite affordable.
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By Bob English
How much fun could trundling around the track in a creaky old crock of a sports car or sedan be? And aren?t vintage racers just a bunch of snooty snobs play-racing with their expensive toys?
Well, according to Quebec-based auto journalist and recent vintage racing convert Amyot Bachand ? who is looking forward to starting his second season this spring in his 1963 MG Midget ? and Jeremy Sale of Ontario, who has been running vintage cars for about seven years now and is getting set to crank up the engine in his 1962 Lotus Super Seven for another season, racing vintage machinery is a blast and the people involved among the friendliest in all of motorsport.
Bachand, 59, was nerfed into going vintage racing by friend and fellow auto journalist Alain Raymond, who races a rare Fiat Abarth 850. His previous car competition had involved Solo 1 autocross, in which he ran a Miata for about five years and won two Quebec Championships. He also had two successive and successful runs in the Targa Newfoundland tarmac Rally in a Kia Rio and a Spectra5 fielded by the importer.
One year under his belts so far
?I wanted to do more,? Bachand says, ?but normal racing is very costly ? putting the Miata into race trim would have cost perhaps $20,000-$25,000. And I wasn?t sure I wanted to be banging fenders in every corner.? It was important to Bachand, as an auto journalist, not to have to rely on sponsorship, but he also had a budget to stay within. His race-ready 1963 Midget, including a trailer, set him back $11,000.
Amyot Bachand in his 1963 MG Midget on the Mont-Tremblant circuit ? Click to see the gallery (photo: Catherine Bernier)?What I like about vintage racing is that is takes all of a long weekend. You get there Thursday night or Friday morning, practice Friday, race on Saturday and Sunday.? This gives Bachand about six full immersions in the racing scene each year, which he estimates will cost about $15,000 in total (entries, car maintenance and improvements, tires and travel expenses) annually.
One aspect of vintage-style competition that particularly appeals is what he calls ?gentleman racing.? He says at Mont-Tremblant last year in the rain ?we were four wide going into a corner, but we made it through without touching. We had to learn to control ourselves.? Bending metal is a definite no-no in vintage motorsport.
Amyot Bachand duelling with friend Alain Raymond aboard his rare Fiat Abarth 850 on rain-slick Tremblant pavement ? Click to see the gallery (photo: Catherine Bernier)Bachand?s MG is powered by a tuned 948 cc four-cylinder engine making perhaps 65 horsepower at the rear wheels, but that?s enough to make it more than capable of providing exciting racing when scrapping with cars of similar displacement.
His advice to budding vintage racers is: ?go for engine reliability, not that last screaming horsepower, and take a buddy with you to help with things such as the hood pins when things are rushed?. He forgot to insert his at Mosport, resulting in an exciting moment or two when the hood popped up while running at top speed up the back straight.
No more door banging
Jeremy Sale is 62, lives in Mississauga, works as National Advertising Manager for the Metroland newspaper chain and got his start in racing back with the old Honda Michelin series in the early 1980s, but then left the sport until about seven years ago.
Mike Steplock in his Porsche 911 leads Jeremy Sale?s Lotus Super 7, a Porsche 356B and a MG Midget through Namerow corner at Mont-Tremblant ? Click to see the gallery (photo: Vic Henderson)?I wanted to get back into it, but didn?t want to race with the kids and be door-banging and all that kind of stuff,? he says. ?I just sort of stumbled across vintage racing.? He had been lured by a classified ad for a 1961 Bugeye Sprite that was pitched as being ?eligible for vintage racing.?
?I didn?t really know what that was at the time, but I thought the car was the greatest thing I?d ever seen and the price was right (about $10,000),? he says. ?I basically jumped in the deep end.?
His lack of knowledge didn?t last long. At his first race meet he ?found people just so unbelievably friendly and helpful. And this I?ve found is very typical of VARAC (Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada).
Gord Lowe?s similar Lotus Super 7 pacing the field at another event ? Click to see the gallery (photo courtesy Gord Lowe)It?s not about winning. It?s about participating, having fun, camaraderie and so on.? If you have trouble with your car, Sales says, word will spread around the paddock that you need a part and ?somebody will come up with it and three guys will appear and help you fix your car and get you out there again.?
This has been a big help to Sale who describes himself as ?absolutely clueless? when it comes to twisting wrenches. ?I can?t be trusted to do anything much more than put oil and gas in the car,? he says.
Trading up to a Lotus
Sale ?sort of managed to total? his first Sprite in turn one at Mosport, bought another and then sold that to acquire his current Lotus Super Seven, which is ?a helluva lot quicker.? More expensive too. at about $30,000. For Sale, vintage racing has become a big part of his life. He?s now an active member of the club having served on its board of directors and currently as editor of its magazine, The Vintage Racer.
Lowe after winning a race in that same Lotus ? Click to see the gallery (photo courtesy Gord Lowe)And he says the VARAC bunch is far from a group of wealthy dilettantes: ?We?re the opposite of snooty,? he says. ?It?s an incredible mix: People with no money, people with tons of money. You?ve got retired guys who can afford to buy the toys they want and the other end where you?ve got people who found a car in a barn and spent years restoring it.
A pair of exotic BMW M1s driven by Aram Tourikian and Markus Glarner lead Ian Lok?s Volvo 142 at Mosport ? Click to see the gallery (photo: Vic Henderson)We?ve got everything from engineers to bus drivers. You name it.? And the paddock reflects this with cars arriving on open trailers with their owners camping out in pup tents and others in lavish closed units attached to motor homes. VARAC is a very social club, but oddly enough doesn?t hold any meetings, says Sale. ?We hold just one banquet a year. But Saturday night at the track we do wine and cheese parties that everybody attends.?
Enthusiasm not money the key ingredient
Most people who have given vintage racing more than a passing thought have failed to pursue it because of the real or perceived challenges involved. But as Bachand and Sale?s experiences prove, a little enthusiasm goes a long way towards getting involved in this kind of racing.
Bachand?s clean, safe and solid MG in the paddocks ? Click to see the gallery (photo: Amyot Bachand)Money is usually the big stumbling block, but many of those who grew up wanting one of those 50s or 60s MGs or Triumphs or even cars of the 70s and early 80s (which are now eligible) are now at a stage in life when they can afford to indulge in a toy or two. And many are looking for an activity that will pump a little high octane adrenaline and get the heart rate bumping off the rev-limiter again.
In reality, running a vintage car doesn?t have to involve a second mortgage, selling your soul to the devil or even making a marriage-threatening time commitment.
Richard Poxon in his 1963 Ginetta G4 sports racer at Shannonville ? Click to see the gallery (photo: Bob English)The pressure-cooker atmosphere associated with modern racing isn?t part of the very grass roots vintage scene that doesn?t allow corporate sponsors or even sponsors? decals on the cars. And there?s nothing of value to win, except glory, of course, as you cross the finish line in front of a grandstand sparsely populated with wives and girlfriends. Winners will usually go home with a trophy, but not even that at some events.
And while there are plenty of events ? enough to race year round in North America if you?ve got the time and money ? vintage racers aren?t under any pressure to turn up at the track every weekend to keep a sponsor happy. They can race when they feel like it ? or afford it. Most VARAC members do five or six events a year.
Showing up for work Monday morning is important
Vintage racers? conduct is closely regulated to keep it as safe as possible, but it is real racing, with all its inherent thrills and dangers. You can get seriously hurt, even killed doing this, although major incidents are fortunately rare.
The roll bar, five-point belts and other mandatory safety equipment in Richard Poxon?s Ginetta G4 racer ? Click to see the gallery (photo: Bob English)VARAC makes very stringent efforts to keep things safe. The cars must be equipped with full protective equipment, fuel cells, roll bars or cages, fire systems etc. Drivers must wear flameproof suits and approved helmets and cars are rigorously scrutineered to ensure they are mechanically sound.
And, as mentioned earlier, while the racing can be highly competitive, absolutely no contact between vehicles is allowed. Bump a competitor and you might find yourself on probation. Do it again and you will possibly be suspended. As a result, some competitors race very hard, but carefully, others take it easier.
Unlike some U.S. clubs in which races can be nothing more than brisk parades, VARAC?s style of vintage racing means you can be as competitive as you want to be as long as you keep firmly in mind that it is definitely a non-contact sport.
Getting a driving suit, a license and? a car
To go vintage racing you have to be healthy and reasonably fit, but you don?t have to be a perfect physical specimen or even particularly athletic. The Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs (the organizing body under which VARAC runs its events) does insist on a full medical, however, to make sure you?re not a hazard to yourself or others.
To obtain a CASC license you?ll have to take part in a recognized training school track session, where you?ll learn the basics and get in some practice while being observed.
Mike Steplock?s Porsche 911 leading John DeMaria?s Austin Healey Sprite and Dave Morgan?s Mini Cooper through corner 3 at Mosport ? Click to see the gallery (photo: Vic Henderson)As for your race car, the type you choose depends on your interest, your budget and your bravery. There are many different classes so chances are your favourite sedan or sports car will find a home, although not every car is going to be competitive and capable of winning ? if that?s important to you.
The three main categories are: Vintage ? for post-war cars up to 1961 ? Historic ? for post-vintage up to 1972 ? and the fast-growing Group 70+ class, for post-1972 cars up to the early 1980s. The most popular cars are the production sports cars of the 1950s and 60s, but there are also classes for sports racers and open wheel formula cars.
Gord Lowe of Guelph Ontario in his 1982 Reynard Formula Ford at Shannonville ? Click to see the gallery (photo: Bob English)Finding a car won?t be a problem as there are many available and you can find them advertised in various motorsport publications and on VARAC?s web site.
And the price range is broad. A ready-to-race car Austin-Healey Sprite or other fairly common sports car ? MGs, Triumphs, Sunbeams etc. ? can be purchased for $10,000-$20,000. Of course, if you want something exotic, like a Ferrari or Aston Martin the sky?s the limit. Open-wheel Formula Ford cars cost $15,000 and up, and Volkswagen-powered Formula Vee racers can be had for under $10,000.
Odds and ends
To get your racer to the track you?ll need a trailer, which can cost anything from $500 for an open unit up to $5,000 or more for an enclosed model.
Of course, you can also get a multi-million dollar Ferrari 250 GTO to go vintage racing ? Click to see the gallery (photo: Marc Lachapelle)Dunlop vintage style racing tires cost about a $1,000 a set for the average sports car and can last two or three average seasons. Entry fees are a fairly stiff, at $350-$400 per weekend. Driving suit, boots, gloves, helmet etc. cost about $1,000-$1,500 and up.
About 60% of vintage racers do their own wrenching on their cars, with the rest employing the services of a group of companies that repair and maintain the cars for them. These aren?t cheap, but if you are in the do-it-yourself category there?s generally always plenty of help and advice available from club members.
Are vintage racers happy? See Gord Lowe waiting to get on track in his Reynard ? Click to see the gallery (photo: Bob English)For more information about vintage racing visit VARAC?s entertaining web site at <
www.varac.ca > and for some great racing photos visit <
www.harringtonphoto.ca >. If you are interested in seeing a vintage race live, a great introduction would be the 28th Annual VARAC Vintage Festival at Mosport June 22-24, which this year celebrates the 40th anniversary of Canada?s first Formula 1 race. It usually attracts some 225 cars from across Canada and the U.S.
