OSCC Calabogie Summer Classic at Calabogie Motorsports Park – August 22 to August 24 Race Report

The Enhanced Performance, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team had a problematic race weekend at the Ottawa Sports Car Club (OSCC) Summer Classic held at Calabogie Motorsports Park (CMP).  We were placed in the Formula Classic/Formula Libre/F1200 race group, we had registered our #77 Formula Mazda in the Formula Classic FC90 class. There was a total of 22 cars in our race group including four Formula Renault’s, four Formula Mazda’s and a mix of other cars including F 1200s and various other open wheel race cars. The weather during the race weekend as warm and sunny with temperatures upwards of 32°C. 
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Over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were on track a total of 7 times; 3 times on the Friday test day, 1 qualifying session and one race on Saturday and two races on Sunday. Due to the highly abrasive nature of the CMP track surface, we used three sets of Hoosier RB35 tires, one used set with 8 heat cycles for the test day and two sets of new tires for the qualifying session and the three races.

Our best lap time for the test day was a 2:12 on used Hoosier RB35 tires. We chose not to practice on the Saturday to save our two sets of new Hoosiers RB35’s for qualifying and the races. During our afternoon qualifying session, our best lap time was 2:12.331, which placed us 6th on the grid and 1st in our class. Prior to our first race, we put on a new set of Hoosier RB35’s so we could maximize our tire performance. During Race 1, we passed the #5 Formula Renault at the start to take over P5 (5th place), and developed a reasonable gap only to lose the position when we encountered slower lapped traffic and the #5 Formula Renault passed on the inside of Corner 12A using the slower cars as a pick. We finished in P6 in our race group and P1 in our class with a best lap time of 2:12.172
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The weather on Sunday was bright and sunny, the daytime high was in the upper 20’s. During Race 2, once again, we passed the #5 Formula Renault at the start to take over P5, and we passed the #201 Formula Renault on lap 2 to take over P4 but we struggled with grip and the lost both positions to finish P6 in our race group and P1 in our class with a best lap time of 2:14.228. Prior to Race 3, we put on our qualifying tires as they only have one heat cycle, once again to maximize our tire performance. We started Race 3 well, in P3 by Turn 2. Sadly, we missed the corner exit in Turn 8, with our rear wheels touching the grass. This caused the race car to spin, crossing the track, contacting the Armco on drivers left with the right rear of the race car. Our race was over, and we spent the rest of the race watching from the marshal’s stand. Overall, a disappointing end to our race weekend ☹.

We have our work cut out for us to get ready for our last race of the season on the 19th, 20th and 21st of September at the BEMC Late Summer Trophy Races. Stay tuned for daily updates.

A special thank you to Bill Vallis and Bill Davis of Vallis Motor Sport for their trackside support during the OSCC Summer Classic and to Calabogie Motorsports Park for hosting such a fantastic, safe event!!  And last, but certainly not least, we want to thank our long-suffering family which allows us to continue to race……….