Our Big Healey Link to ‘Down Under’

24 Jan Our Big Healey Link to ‘Down Under’

Long time ‘Big Healey’ racer, Ivan Lessner (L) is charged by Stanton Guy with the custodial responsibility for the Austin Healey Owners Club of Victoria (Australia) car badge donated to the VRCBC by Les Mathieson at the 2012 BCHMR. Ivan is also ‘modeling’ a 2012 Sandown Historics T-Shirt from Les. – VRCBC photo

The VRCBC had some special visitors at our 2012 BC Historic Motor Races. Les Mathieson and his wife Zonda, Austin Healey enthusiasts from Victoria, Australia dropped by to cheer on our ‘Big Healey’ racers. They also presented the Club with an Austin Healey Owners Club of Victoria car badge. (Of course, they received a VRCBC car badge in exchange.)

The Club decided that Ivan Lessner was the obvious member to be charged with the responsibility for safeguarding the badge ‘for ever after’ on the Club’s behalf, and displaying it at all appropriate occasions – including on the track! Three time REVS Champion Ivan has been Vintage racing the same 1958 Austin Healey 100 BN6 every year since 1987! He was officially presented with the badge at the January 2013 Club meeting.

Les wrote about his adventures in western Canada and at the BCHMR in particular in his club’s magazine ‘Hundreds and Thousands’. Just click on the cover image below to open the PDF and go to page 9.

Thank you to Les, Zonda and all of the other members of the Austin Healey Owners Club of Victoria. We hope to see you again and also that some of us can visit Australia soon.

Les and Zonda Mathieson in their 1956 Austin Healey 100/6. (We resisted the temptation to invert the photo because they are driving ‘Down Under’!) – Les Mathieson photo