Vintage Racing Club of BC

The Spirit of Westwood Lives On!

June 18, 2011

VRCBC President Stanton Guy with Bill Sadler and the 1959 Sadler Formula Junior - VRCBC photo

The VRCBC was very pleased to have legendary Canadian race car designer, builder and driver, Bill Sadler, as their Guest of Honour at the 2011 BC Historic Motor Races. Bill has had a fascinating career with both race cars and innovative aircraft design and construction. (See the story in the BCHMR program here.)

Bill drove the 1959 Sadler Formula Junior (seen above) for the first time in about 50 years during a lunch time, on-track demonstration with Merrill Faulk in the thundering Burnett Mk 2 Can Am car. (Bill was good enough to let Merrill go by, so he could lead a few laps as well!)  This Sadler Formula Junior (known as “Aunt Marge”) has a long history with VRCBC members. It was owned, initially restored and raced by long-time member Bob Smith. It is now owned by member Myles Winbigler, who has just completed another restoration and continues to race it.

In addition to meeting many of the those attending the event, Bill was an active participant in the traditional Saturday night barbecue entertainment. Thanks for coming Bill; we very much enjoyed having you as our special guest.

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June 16, 2011

Don't forget to torque them, Jack! - VRCBC photo

The folks hanging around Vintage Racing seem to be steadily aging, funnily enough, about one year older every twelve months. (In many cases, the cars seem to be doing much better.) If Vintage racing is to continue growing into the future, younger generations have to be recruited as the oldtimers hang up their wrenches and helmets.

Someone who understands this very well is Alan McColl, well known racer and the first winner of the Pete Lovely Memorial Award at this year’s BC Historic Motor Races. There is no ‘free ride’ with Alan however! Seen above, working hard on grandpa’s TIGA Formula Ford is Alan’s grandson Jack, who has signed on as an apprentice race mechanic. (We understand he works for room and board.) The future of Vintage Racing will be assured if every racer gets their own ‘Jack” started in racing as a member of their pit crew.

Of course, being a race mechanic is not all glory – it can be pretty tiring – but the dreams are great!

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June 13, 2011

 

Merrill Faulk gets ready for a demo run in the Burnett Mk2. - VRCBC photo

The 2011 edition of the BC Historic Motor Races is now in the books. There was some excellent racing, the weather was perfect and everyone had a great time. There will be stories and photos online very soon, but thanks to the hard-working folks at Timing & Scoring, the final results are already available. You can check them out under the BCHMR 2011 menu or go there directly by clicking here.

June 2, 2011

Mini Mountain Climber - Geoff Tupholme - Photo by Aaron McVey

Geoff Tupholme won the Vintage Class at the 2011 edition of the Knox Mountain Hill Climb on the May 21-22 weekend, setting a new personal best time of 2:07.544. He led fellow VRCBC stalwarts, Roger Flescher (Sunbeam Tiger) and Evan Williams (TVR Grantura) across the line. All three will be at the BCHMR – and thoroughly warmed up from the looks of it!

The full results and links to other photos are available at the Knox Mountain Hillclimb web site: http://www.knoxmtnhillclimb.ca/

 

May 20, 2011

The 2011 All British Field Meet (ABFM) – otherwise known as the  Greatest Show on British Wheels – was held Saturday, May 21st. (Click here for more information.)

The ABFM began in 1985. Since then it has grown to become the largest of its type in Canada and the Pacific Northwest, overflowing the magnificent lawns of Vancouver’s VanDusen Botanical Garden with some 600-plus classic cars and motorcycles, and more than 6,000 enthusiastic visitors. 

 The VRCBC had its usual booth just inside the main entrance. In spite of the damp (genuine British?) weather, we had many enthusiasts drop by and pick up information on the Club and the BC Historic Motor Races. Club members Al Harvey (MGB), Mark Brown (Lotus Super Seven) and Ralph Zbarsky (MGA Twin Cam) exhibited their vintage British racing cars next to the booth. They had a great time answering questions about their cars.

VRCBC Booth at 2011 ABFM - VRCBC photo

MGA Twin Cam, Lotus Super Seven, MGB at VRCBC Booth - VRCBC photo