The official newsletter of VARAC - see our BEMC Race Report

Videos from the CASC Celebration of Motorsport at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park – October 2nd to October 4th

Photos from our race weekend at the CASC Celebration of Motorsport at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park
​

​The STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team had an outstanding final weekend of the shortened 2020 racing season. The event was the CASC Celebration of Motorsport, held at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP). We were placed in the Formula Libre/Formula 4/Radical/VARAC Formula 90 Race group. We had registered our #77 Formula Mazda in the VARAC Formula 90 class. There were a total of 11 cars in our race group including, 5 Radicals, a Reynard, an F2000 and three Formula 4’s.  The weather ranged from cold and raining, to a beautiful sunny fall day with temperatures ranging from 4°C to the upper teens. 

Over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were on track a total of 9 times; 4 on-track practices during the Friday test day, followed by one qualifying session, Race 1 on Saturday and Races 2 & 3 on Sunday. Our race class included some very nice open wheel race cars.

On the Friday test day, the weather was mostly cloudy with some sunny breaks and a high of 13°C. Obviously, it took a long time for our race tires to reach any kind of reasonable temperature to provide good adhesion. Our best lap for the test day was a 1:25.211 – pretty respectable lap time with older tires on a cold racetrack. 

Saturday morning, the weather was mostly cloudy with sunny breaks and again very cool with a high of 11°C during the day. We discussed in our race tires during the practice session in the morning with a respectable 1: 25.239 lap time. During qualifying, we set a lap time of 1:26.159, placing us in P6 in our Race Group and 1st in class. Prior to our 1st race, we discovered that our clutch pedal felt a little soft so we bled the clutch slave cylinder to remove any residual air in the system. During Race 1, we battled with a few Radicals and Bob Long in his Formula 4 and lost our clutch at the midpoint the race. In the end, we finished in P6 in our race group and 1st in class with a best lap time of 1:23.576 – we were well on our way to our theoretical best lap of 1:22.832.

​The weather on Sunday was dismal with misty rain on and off during the day and a high of 11°C. Once again, our clutch pedal was not cooperating and we had to bleed the clutch before the beginning of Race 2. Three race cars in our group did not start because of the damp weather and the intermediate racetrack. Luckily, we very much enjoy racing in the rain resulting in a P3 and 1st in class finish on a very wet track with racing slicks and a best lap time of 1:30.216. Once again, we lost our clutch at the beginning of the raised. 

Prior to the start of Race 3, we bled our clutch once more to allow us to leave the mock grid in 1st gear. The race track was dry in some spots and damp in others as we began our race. We started in P3 and maintained our position during the entire race (the track was progressively more challenging as the racing surface change from dry to damp). Fortunately we were able to maintain a very respectable race pace with a best lap time of 1: 25.075 (without rain tires) finishing in P3 and 1st in class. All in all an excellent ending to our shortened 2020 racing season.

A very big thank you to our sponsors; STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions and to Bill and Shirley Vallis of Vallis Motor Sport and to our biggest fan Teddy Subject Murdoch. 

Click here for more photos from this race weekend.
​
A very big thank you to Canadian Tire 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……….

Some video fun from the past race weekend!!!

Photos from our race weekend at the BEMC Late Summer Trophy Race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park - special thanks to Richard Coburn for these amazing photos - he is a true artist with a camera.

The STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team had a great  weekend at our second race weekend of the truncated 2020 racing season.  The event was the BEMC LATE SUMMER TROPHY RACES, held at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP). We were placed in the Formula Libre/Formula 4/Radical/VARAC Formula 90 Race group. We had registered our #77 Formula Mazda in the VARAC Formula 90 class. There were a total of 15 cars in our race group including, Radicals, a Reynard, an F1000, an F2000s and three Formula 4’s.  The weather was absolutely perfect for the entire race weekend, with beautiful sunny fall days, ranging from the upper 10's to the low 20’s Celsius. 

Over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were on track a total of 8 times; 5 on-track practices during the Friday test day, followed by one qualifying session, Race 1 on Saturday and Race 2 on Sunday. Our race class included some very nice open wheel race cars.

With our Mazda 13B rotary engine rated at 200 horsepower and weighing in at 1350 pounds, we were very much underpowered compared to the Formula 4’s, the Radicals and the F1000 – we had our work cut out for us.

As this was our 1st race of the 2020 season at CTMP, we spent quite a bit of time on the test day ensuring that the #77 Formula Mazda set up for the track. The race car performed beautifully during the test day as a result of careful preparation and the ideal chassis setup. We were using test day tires from our race at Shannonville in August, so we weren’t really trying to set a race pace. Our best lap for the test day was a 1:26.355 – pretty respectable lap time on older tires.  During the last test session of the day, we scuffed in our new race tires for the weekend.
​
Saturday morning the forecast for the day was expected to be sunny and cool – it was quite cool at 7:30 am when we arrived at the track. During qualifying, we set a lap time of 1:26.717, placing us in P11 in our Race Group and 1st in class. During Race 1, we battled with a few Radicals and Bob Long in his Formula 4. In the end, we finished in P9 ahead of Bob Long and we finished in P1 and 1st in class with a best lap time of 1:23.144 – we were well on our way to our theoretical best lap of 1:22.495.

​The weather on Sunday was simply stunning clear, sunny and cool.  After Saturday’s race, we had removed the rear tires and had them de-mounted and flipped on the rim, putting the inside edge of the tire on the outside and vice versa. 

We had a tremendous start in Race 2, making our way to sixth place by mid-race. Sadly, our header failed at the flange. Insert broken header photo. We retired from Race 2 in lap 10 of a total of 18 laps finishing in P14 with a best lap time of 1:24.830. Unfortunately, we were unable to repair the exhaust system in time for the start of Race 3, so we were finished for the weekend.

Overall, an awesome race weekend and a terrific showing for the STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team for our 1st race at CTMP of the shortened 2020 race season. A very big thank you to our sponsors; STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions and to Bill Vallis and Bill Davis of Vallis Motor Sport and to our biggest fan Teddy Subject Murdoch. 

Click here for more photos from this race weekend.
​
A very big thank you to Canadian Tire 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……….

We had an article published in the August 2020 issue of the Pit Signals, the VARAC club magazine. Enjoy!!!

​Photos from our race weekend at the SMP Cup at Shannonville Motorsports Park

The STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team had an outstanding  weekend at our first race weekend of the delayed 2020 racing season.  The event was the SMP Cup, held at Shannonville Motorsport Park. We were placed in the Formula Libre/Formula 4/VARAC Formula Classic Race group. We had registered our #77 Formula Mazda in the VARAC Formula Classic A class. There were a total of 7 cars in our race group including, Formula Ford’s and three Formula 4’s.  Formula 4 (Canada) race cars are motorcycle powered, open-wheel, open-cockpit formula cars with wings and slicks. The cars are light and very quick because of their inherent power to weight ratio.  The weather was perfect for the entire race weekend, with a mix of both rain and sunny days, ranging from the upper 20's to the low 30’s Celsius. 

Over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were on track a total of 10 times; 4 on-track practices during the Friday test day, followed by one practice session, one qualifying session, Race 1, Race 2 and Race 3. Our race class included some very nice vintage open wheel race cars.
With our Mazda 13B rotary engine rated at 200 horsepower and weighing in at 1350 pounds, we were very much underpowered compared to the Formula 4’s with 140 hp and weighing in at 850 pounds. Fortunately, the weather and the technical layout of the Shannonville Motorsports Park racetrack played to our advantage.
​
As this was our 1st race of the 2020 season, we spent quite a bit of time on the test day ensuring that the #77 Formula Mazda set up for this particular track. The race car performed beautifully during the test day as a result of careful preparation and the ideal chassis setup. We were using test day tires from the previous 2019 racing season and we were bedding new brake pads, so we weren’t really trying to set a race pace. Our best lap for the test day was a 1: 47 flat – pretty respectable lap time on old tires.
Saturday morning the forecast for the day was expected to be warm and sunny so we put on the new race tires that we would be using for the balance of the race weekend. The racing during Saturday would be carried out on the long track at SMP (this track is 4.03 km long with a total of 14 turns). During practice, we scuffed in the new tires (not really being concerned with setting a race pace lap speed) setting a best lap time of 1: 52.732. During qualifying, we set the P1 lap time of 1: 45.977, 1.33 seconds ahead of the car in P2. In Race 1, we battled with 2 of the Formula 4 race cars, having a protracted battle with Jim Morton, whose car is blazingly fast. In the end, we prevailed over Jim and finished in P1 and 1st in class with a best lap time of 1: 45.279, 0.617 seconds ahead of Jim’s car.

​Sunday morning brought the threat of rain at some point before noon. Additionally, racing would be carried out on the pro track at SMP (this track is 2.47 km long with a total of 9 turns). As it happened, we ended up with a 1 hour rain delay during the late morning. By the time we were supposed to be on track for Race 2, the track was fully wet without a lot of standing water. We elected to stay with slicks as the aggressive nature of our rain tires required lots of standing water on the racetrack. During Race 2, we were outclassed on the track by Doug Beatty in an F1600 Formula Ford with treaded tires – we finished in P2, 2nd in class with the best lap time of 1:29.142.

For Race 3, the weather improved substantially with mild temperatures and a sunny day. Jim Morton managed to develop a sizable lead during the course of the race. We finished P2, 1st in class with the best lap time of 1: 08.846 – in the end, our tire choice coupled with the challenging racing surface at SMP was our biggest challenge. Overall, an awesome race weekend and a terrific showing for the STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team for our 1st race of the shortened 2020 race season.

Our race car performed beautifully during the entire event - a very big thank you to our sponsors; STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions , to Bill & Shirley Vallis of Vallis Motor Sport and to our biggest fan Teddy Subject Murdoch. 
​
Click here for more photos from this race weekend.

A very big thank you to Shannonville Motorsport Park for hosting such a great event!!  And last, but certainly not least, we want to thank our long suffering family which allows us to continue to race……….