VARAC 41st Vintage Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park – June 16th to June 19th Race Report6/26/2022 The Enhanced Performance, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions, STANMECH Technologies, Melanoma Canada #77 Formula Mazda Team had an outstanding weekend at the VARAC 42nd Vintage Grand Prix, held at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP). We were placed in the Formula Classic Race group (Group 6). We had registered our #77 Formula Mazda in the VARAC Formula Classic group. There was a total of 31 cars in our race group including, Formula Fords, F2000’s, F1200’s, a Super Vee and several Formula Mazda’s as well as a few other historic open wheel cars. The weather ranged from raining to beautiful sunny days with temperatures ranging from 20°C to 27°C. Over the course of Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were on track a total of 9 times; 3 on-track practices during the Thursday test day, followed by one practice and on qualifying session on Friday, Race 1 & 2 on Saturday and Races 3 & 4 on Sunday. Our race class included some very nice open wheel race cars.  Tom Pixley's 1978 Wheeler Super Vee On the Thursday test day, the weather was mixed with some sun in the morning and some amazing rain in the afternoon with a high of 20°C. Take a look at this YouTube link !!!! Our best lap for the test day was a 1:24 – pretty respectable lap time with older tires from our 1st race weekend of this year. Friday morning, the weather was quite nice for the majority of the day – we went out for practice on sticker tires with the objective of scuffing them in, so we weren’t really looking to set a very fast time. As a result, we set a time of 1:29.132, which was still the best time for the session of all the other cars. During our qualifying session, we ended up with a fair qualifying time of 1:24.654, placing us in P1 in our race group and 1st in class. The weather on Saturday was sunny and quite cool with a high of just 17°. During Race 1, we installed another new set of tires to scuff those in for the weekend. We pulled away comfortably from the field on the first lap, we finished P1 in our race group and P1 in our class with best lap time of 1:27.274. During Race 2, once again we pulled away from the field on the first lap and finished P1 in our race group and P1 in our class with a best lap time of 1.25.535. The weather on Sunday was just beautiful with sunny skies and a high of 23°. During Race 3, we set a best lap time of 1:24.879 finishing P1 in out race group and P1 in our class. During Race 4, the lead from flag to flag setting a fast lap time of 1:24.454, finishing in P1 in our race group and in our class. All in all, a superb race weekend! This is our 1st race weekend raising money for Melanoma Canada, we are proud to say that we collected $420 on behalf of this charity. Please click on this link for more information regarding our partnership with Melanoma Canada.  A special thank you to our guest crew chief for the weekend Jack Brokenshire.  And thanks to Bill Davis & Shirley Vallis of Vallis Motor Sport for their trackside support during the VARAC VGP and 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……….
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Please give what you can to our very worthwhile cause, Melanoma Canada by clinking on this link SUBJECT MOTORSPORTS | Melanoma Canada (crowdchange.ca)
During the past few weeks, we have been customizing our racecar trailer - here is a video update for you to enjoy!!! The Enhanced Performance, STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Ridout & Maybee, Gabo Solutions, Melanoma Network of Canada #77 Formula Mazda Team had an awesome race weekend at the BEMC Spring Trophy Races held at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. We were entered in the newly formed Formula Classic/Formula Libre race group. There were a total of 19 cars in our race group including, ten F1200’s, three Formula 4’s, two F1600’s, one Historic Formula Ford, one Formula Junior, one Formula Renault and one Reynard F2000. The May weather was absolutely stunning with temperatures ranging from 16 to 18° C. Over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were on track a total of 8 times; 4 on-track practices during the Friday test day, followed by qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday, Race 2 & 3 on Sunday. Our race class had some beautiful open wheel race cars including Jim Morton’s unbelievably fast Gamma Tercero F4.  Our best lap for the test day was a 1: 23 flat on old Goodyear race tires from the previous year, pretty impressive for old race tires.. Saturday morning, the weather was perfect – about 17°C and a clear sky. We scuffed in our race tires during our last test session on Friday. We set a reasonable P2 qualifying time of 1:24.949. During Race 1, we diced back and forth with Jim Morton, finishing in P2 with an overall best lap time of 1:23.470. The weather on Sunday was sunny, beautiful, and perfect for racing at about 18°C. We had a great start at the beginning of Race 2 right behind Jim Morton gapping the rest of the pack quickly. We finished the race in P2 with a best lap time of 1:22.845, setting the fastest lap in the race. We were working our tires hard, so we flipped them on the rims. We started Race 3 in P2 and diced with Jim Morton for the first few laps. Sadly, Jim was able to get away from us using lapped traffic, we were never able to catch up him. We finished in P2 with a best lap time of 1:23.395, once again setting the fastest lap in the race. A special thank you to guest Crew Chief, Jack Brokenshire, who once again learned what is was like to work on a real race car  And a big thank you to Bill and Shirley Vallis of Vallis Motor Sport for their trackside support during the BEMC Spring Trophy Races and 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……….
 Subject Motorsports is pleased to partner with Melanoma Canada to promote melanoma awareness. Melanoma Canada is the leading national organization dedicated to the elimination of melanoma and skin cancer. Through patient, caregiver, and physician education and public awareness, our goal is to reduce the incidence of the disease and improve overall patient outcomes. Melanoma Canada offers patient and caregiver support services to those newly diagnosed, and helps those affected navigate their cancer journey by way of Certified Patient Care Specialist and Cancer Coach, Peer2Peer Support Programs, and Group Support Services. Please give generously to the Subject Motorsports/Melanoma Canada Contribution Page!!!
Watch for us promoting Melanoma Canada and sun safety this summer at each race weekend we attend!! In the Meantime, Practice Sun Safety!!! The leading cause of melanoma is over exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or artificial sources. Overexposure to the sun and other sources of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) are known to cause harm to the skin, eyes and immune system. How To Stay Sun Safe SEEK SHADE between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. when UV radiation is at its peak. WEAR SUN PROTECTIVE CLOTHING that covers as much of your body as possible. WEAR A BROAD-BRIMMED HAT that shades your face, neck and ears. WEAR UVA/UVB wrap around SUNGLASSES. APPLY SPF 50+ broad spectrum water resistant sunscreen generously to clean, dry skin, at least 30 minutes before sun exposure, and re-apply every two hours. We were very fortunate to win the 2021 VARC Club Championship, the VARAC Formula Classic Championship and the CASC-OR Formula Libre Championship!!! See the coverage in Inside Track Motorsport News!!!        It has been a busy winter for the Subject Motorsports team. We have spent time rebuilding the race car during the off-season as well as securing partners for the 2022 season. We are proud to announce that all of of our promotional partners from 2021, STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Ridout Maybee and Gabo Solutions have rejoined us for 2022. We are equally excited to announce that Enhanced Performance Inc. has joined us our lead promotional partner in 2022. For more information regarding each of promotional partners, please click here for our promotional partners page.  Additionally, we are pleased to announce that Subject Motorsports will be supporting Melanoma Canada to build awareness of melanoma as a serious concern for the racing community, for both spectators and racers alike!! During this racing season, we will be promoting melanoma awareness this summer at each of our race weekends. Please give generously to the Subject Motorsports/Melanoma Contribution Page. BEMC Late Summer Trophy Races at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park – September 17 to 19 Race Report10/18/2021 The STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team had an awesome race weekend at the BEMC Late Summer Trophy Races held at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. We were entered in the Formula Libre race group. There were a total of 7 cars in our race group including, four Formula 4’s, one Formula Renault and one Reynard F2000. The weather was absolutely stunning with temperatures ranging from 20 to 25° C with the humidex. 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 practice, qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday, Race 2 & 3 on Sunday. Our race class had some beautiful open wheel race cars including Jim Morton’s unbelievably fast Gamma Tercero F4.  Our best lap for the test day was a 1:24 flat on Pirelli radial tires that were left over from the CASC-OR Summer Classic Race weekend at Calabogie Motorsports Park. We had lots of fun learning to drive the Pirelli’s on the high speed Grand Prix track at CTMP. Saturday morning, the weather was perfect – about 20°C and a clear sky. We scuffed in our race tires during practice. We set a reasonable P1 qualifying time of 1:24.128. During Race 1, the track became oiled down due to an engine failure with Mike MacNeil’s car, necessitating black flag all ending the race at lap 6. We finished in P1 with a lap time of 1:24:054. The weather on Sunday was sunny, beautiful and perfect for racing at about 21°C. We had a terrible start at the beginning of Race 2 due to improper gear selection dropping us to 3rd place. Fortunately, we were able to regain the lead by lap 5 and finish the race in P1 with a best lap time of 1:24.109. Clearly, we were working our tires hard, so we flipped them on the rims.  We started Race 3 in P1 and diced with Jim Morton for the first 3 laps. We cleared Jim on lap 4 and led the remaining 15 laps in P1 with a best lap time of 1:24.092 with a 40.5 second lead over Bob Long.  A special thank you to guest Crew Chief, Jack Brokenshire, who learned what is was like to work on a real race car  And a big thank you to Bill and Shirley Vallis of Vallis Motor Sport for their trackside support during the BEMC Late Summer Trophy Races and 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……….
CASC-OR Summer Classic 2021 at Calabogie Motorsports Park – August 20 to August 22 Race Report10/11/2021 The STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team had a great race weekend at the CASC – OR Summer Classic, held at Calabogie Motorsports Park. We were entered in the Formula Libre race group. There were a total of 16 cars in our race group including, a Formula Atlantic, a Radical three Formula 4’s, two Formula Renaults, several Formula Mazda’s and assorted other open wheel Formula Libre race cars. The weather was unbelievably hot and humid with temperatures ranging from 35 to 42° C with the humidex. Over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were on track a total of 9 times; 5 on-track practices during the Friday test day, followed by qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday, Race 2 & 3 on Sunday. Our race class had some beautiful open wheel race cars including Marcel Lafontaine’s unbelievably fast Formula Atlantic. Our best lap for the test day was a 2:06 – on fresh, scuffed in tires. When compared to previous trips to Calabogie, we noted that the track had become much more abrasive than what we had previously recalled, and we expected that were going to have tire wear issues during the course of the race weekend.  Saturday morning, the weather was very warm, with a substantial amount of humidity. We deliberately did not participate in practice as we didn’t want to cause any unnecessary tire wear. We set a reasonable P4 qualifying time of 2:09.141. During Race 1, we managed to gain one spot finishing in P3 with a lap time of 2:07.884. Bill Vallis and I spent quite a bit of time working on chassis set up to improve the tire wear, however we were already struggling to minimize the impact that the track was having on our tires. And unfortunately, this one set of tires was going to have to work for us during the entire race weekend. The weather on Sunday started out very warm and humid. During Race 2, we experience rapid degradation of the tires resulting in a P5 finish with a best lap time of 2:11.105. Sadly, our tires were a mess after the session and we found some kind of tire defect in our front left tire. This problem created a huge issue for us as we did not have another set of tires that we could change to. As a result, we had to buy a fresh set of Pirelli radial race tires for the #77 Formula Mazda. This tire change resulted in a complete suspension setup change to accommodate the radial race tires. It is important to note here that we have never driven the #77 Formula Mazda with radial tires, so this was going to be quite an experience. We started Race 3 in 4th position and quickly made our way to P1 by lap number four. Mike MacNeil challenged us for the lead in corner 5 on lap eight by trying to pass on the outside but was unable to complete the pass as he ran out of racetrack. Huw Leahy, in his Radical, managed to pass us on the last lap in the braking zone of 12a, however we were able to regain the position in the last corner before the checkered flag (corner 20) finishing in P1. An outstanding race with a best lap time of 2:09.050!  The experience running on Pirelli racing radials was very interesting. Normally, we run on Goodyear bias ply tires. The #77 Formula Mazda reacts very well with Goodyear tires, responding instantaneously to changes in steering inputs. The Pirelli radials, on the other hand, experienced an infinitesimal lag in response during changes in steering inputs. As a result, we had to modify our turning points for most corners to accommodate for that small lag in response. It was a very interesting experience in terms of the change in handling of our #77 Formula Mazda and we are looking forward to future opportunities of trying these Pirelli radials at other racetracks.
A special thank you to Bill Vallis and Bill Davis of Vallis Motor Sport for their trackside support during the CASC-OR Calabogie 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………. The STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team had a very nice race weekend at the Summer Classic, held at le Circuit Mont Tremblant. We were placed in the Formula Libre 2 Race group. We had two change the number of our car to #177 as there was already another car registered with that number in our class. There were a total of 10 cars in our race group including, two Formula Renaults, five Formula Atlantics F2000’s, a Radical and a Formula Ford. The weather ranged from raining to beautiful sunny days with temperatures ranging from 20°C to 27°C. Over the course of Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were on track a total of 9 times; 4 on-track practices during the Thursday test day, two practice sessions on the Friday, followed by qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday, Race 2 & 3 on Sunday. Our race class had some beautiful open wheel race cars including the unbelievably fast Formula Atlantic racecars. On the Thursday and Friday, the weather was beautiful with a sun cloud mix and a high of 20°C. Our best lap for the test day was a 1:40.3 – a career-best lap time, especially on older tires from the previous race weekend at CTMP. Saturday morning, the weather was very nice. We installed new tires for qualifying and set a reasonable P9 qualifying time of1:41.545. During Race 1, we managed to gain three spots due to retirements and shunts finishing in P6 with a lap time of 1:42.962. Bill Vallis and I spent quite a bit of time working on chassis set up during the past three days. We definitely learned a lot about the adjustments we have available to us on the Formula Mazda, and we will be applying the things we’ve learned to future suspension setups. The weather on Sunday started out cool and damp as it had been raining most the evening before and the track was, at best, intermediate. Our race group was scheduled to be out at 9:20 AM, so tire choice was going to be an issue. We chose to stick with slicks as we believed the track would dry over the course of our race. Unfortunately, number for the drivers in our group chose not to go out on track as they were concerned about the slippery race conditions. Fortunately for us, our tire decision proved to be correct as we finished in P4 in Race 2 will lap time of 1:41.340, and within sight of the Formula Atlantic in P3. By 11 AM, the weather changed substantially with sunny skies, lots of humidity and a high of 29°. During Race 3, we managed to finish in P5 with a best lap time of 1:42.529. A great race weekend in a beautiful location!!!  A special thank you to Bill & Shirley Vallis of Vallis Motor Sport for their trackside support during the Summer Classic 2021 and to le Circuit Mont Tremblant 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……….
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