Vintage Racing Club of BC

The Spirit of Westwood Lives On!

April 8, 2019

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

Posted: April 8, 2019

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

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

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

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

April 8, 2019

 

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

Posted: April 8, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

 

December 18, 2018

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

Posted: December 18, 2018

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

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

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

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

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

Posted: October 16, 2018

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

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

See you at the track next year!

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October 11, 2018

Larry Sandham bends his Mini Vauxhall around a turn at the Knox Mountain Hill Climb in Kelowna earlier this year; no doubt practicing for Maryhill! – Jim Moody photo

Posted: October 11, 2018

VRCBC member Larry Sandham took his well-known Mini Vauxhall down to the Maryhill Hill Climb in Goldendale Washington over the October 6-7 weekend. The Maryhill Hill Climb is no pushover; this is what our friends in the SOVREN vintage racing club say about it:

“It’s a unique experience for any motorsports enthusiast, as very few hill climb events are still available anywhere in the world. Driving it at speed is a dizzying ascension not for the faint of heart, with long drop-offs just a few feet away all the way to the top.”

This is what Larry had to report:

“Unfortunately, only 19 cars took part in this year’s event, which was down a little on the usual 30 to 40 but a good time was had by all nevertheless. The cooler than normal temperatures kept the times down a bit but I still managed to get a fourth overall despite having the wrong gearing in the car. The event even includes the opportunity to drive your racing car down the public highway to a car show at the Maryhill Museum on the Saturday, which is always a lot of fun. Heck, where else do you get to do that! No helmet, no insurance, no muffler and a ‘liberal’ speed limit make for a fun drive.”

You can watch Larry pretend to be Don Quixote charging the windmills in this short video.

Larry even took some time out from looking for windmills to take a few photos of some of the other interesting cars at the event. Thanks Larry; we look forward to your 2019 report!