Returning to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the BARC‑OC Open Wheel Invitational felt like coming home. CTMP has always been a place where the Enhanced Performance, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda comes alive, and after the heartbreak at the VARAC Vintage Grand Prix, I was more motivated than ever to get back behind the wheel and put down the kind of laps this car is built for.

The last outing hadn’t gone the way any racer hopes. An engine failure before I could even take the green flag hit hard. Months of preparation, tuning, and planning evaporated in a moment, leaving me standing in the paddock with a silent car and a weekend that ended before it began. But racing has a way of reminding you that resilience is part of the job description. We rebuilt, re‑prepped, and refocused.

The Invitational proved to be the perfect place to reset the season. BARC‑OC created something special with this event: a true celebration of open‑wheel machinery, from Formula 70 and Formula 90 to F2000, Formula Atlantic, and everything in between. The class structure placed Formula Mazda right where it belonged—among fast, capable cars that rewarded precision and bravery. With more than 115 minutes of race‑weekend track time, plus an optional 2.5‑hour test day, there was no shortage of opportunity to dial in the #77 and push hard.

Here are some images of some of the wonderful race cars that were on track during the Invitational weekend.

I had strong runs here before. Winning Race One in Group 6 during the inaugural Invitational reminded me how well the Formula Mazda suits CTMP’s rhythm. The Grand Prix circuit rewarded commitment, and the rotary engine’s punch out of the corners made the car a joy to drive. Coming back with fresh power and a clean slate, I was eager to see what we could do against a deep and competitive Formula 90 field. Although, the engine was still experiencing a power loss, as it had before, careful RPM management allowed us to win our three races, P1 on our class.

There was something energizing about rolling into the event with unfinished business. The #77 was ready. I was ready. We closed out the weekend with fast laps, good racing, and a renewed sense of momentum.
I have some more work to do to find the source of our power loss, but I am confident that that will happen prior to our next race weekend.

Here is a link to the complete Google photo album from the weekend, the drone photos were particularly coo!! – https://photos.app.goo.gl/QUJdjcSwevRJGfQC8 – enjoy!!!

And last but certainly not least, special thanks to my long-suffering family, who continues to encourage my addiction to racing. 

The Enhanced Performance, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team had an excellent Saturday at the 2025 Peter Jackson Trophy Races at Shannonville Motorsport Park. We were placed in the Formula Classic Race group. There was a total of 10 cars in our race group including several F1200’s, Michael Cross’s F2000 and Mike MacNeil’s F1000.  The weather was sunny and hot with temperatures in the low 30’s °C. 
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Over the course of the day, we were on the Shannonville Pro Track a total of 4 times; 1 practice, 1 qualifying session in the morning, followed by Race 1 & 2 in the afternoon. Our race group included some beautiful open wheel race cars.

During practice, we set a fast lap of a 1:09.666, during qualifying, we set a fast lap and of 1:09.038, placing us P3.  
During Race 1, we battled with Michael Cross and Mike McNeil, finishing P2 in our race group with best lap time of 1:10.948. During Race 2, we battled with Mike McNeil, finishing P2 in our race group with a best lap time of 1.11.373.

All in all, a superb race weekend!

A special thank you to VARAC for putting on the 2026 Peter Jackson Trophy Races and to Shannonville Motorsport 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 Enhanced Performance, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team had an unfortunate race weekend at the VARAC 46th Vintage Grand Prix, held at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP). We were placed in the Formula Classic Race group. There was a total of 33 cars in our race group including, Formula Fords, F1200’s and several Formula Mazda’s as well as many other historic open wheel cars.  The weather was beautiful with sunny days and temperatures ranging from 20°C to 25°C. 

Over the course of Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were on track a total of times; 4 on-track practices during the Thursday test day, followed by one practice and on qualifying session and the on Friday. Our race group included some beautiful open wheel race cars.

On Thursday test day, the weather very nice.  Our best lap for the test day was a 1:24.00 – a pretty respectable lap time as we were breaking in a new engine, however off from our typical lap times in the 1:22’s. 
Friday morning, the weather was quite nice – we set a time of 1:30.783 (way off our normal lap times because of the number of cars in our race group). This lap time was the best time for the session of all the other cars. During our qualifying session, we ended up with a qualifying time of 1:29.568- once again way off our normal lap times due to the large number of race cars on track coupled with our inability to put together a clan lap. Luckily, everyone else in our race group had the same problem- as a result we qualified P3 in our race group and class. Unfortunately, during the Ludwig Heimrath Open Wheel Challenge, we experience what we thought was a rotor seal failure – the engine lost power on the back straight at high RPM. We medially pulled into the pits and went into our paddock area where we heard quite a noise from the engine will we shut the engine off. Sadly, that was the end of our weekend.
For the balance of the race weekend, I worked in scrutineer and helping to tech cars and working on pit lane. Although it was lots of fun, it was not nearly as much fun as I would’ve had in the racecar.
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Only afterwards, when we got back to our shop after the race weekend, did we realize that we had a bad plug which caused the same effect as having lost a rotor. Once again, our Formula Mazda teaches us a lesson on how to be more thorough in our problem-solving.

Always lessons to be learned at the racetrac,!!!

And a big thank you to my very patient family for putting up with my fun at the racetrack……….

​Unfortunately, the Enhanced Performance, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team did not have a good race weekend at the BEMC Spring Trophy Races held at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. We did not turn a wheel due to a transmission problem that we discovered during the Friday test day. As it turns out we had a two problems with the transmission, a newly designed and built shifter fork did not perform as designed and the 4th/5th slider rail that has been in the transmission since we obtained our Formula Mazda in 2010 failed via fatigue.

​The good news is that we have repaired the offending parts and will live to fight another day!!!

In any event, a big thank you to the British Empire Motor Club for staging the BEMC Spring Trophy Races and to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for hosting such a fantastic event!!  And last, but certainly not least, we want to thank our long-suffering family who allows us to continue to race……….

Our latest article "How Should Race Car Drivers Train In the Off Season" has recently been published by our colleagues at Inside Track Motorsport News. From local grassroots racing to Canadian touring series and the Canucks who compete on the international stage, Inside Track Motorsport News is the leader in terms of timely, in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the motorsports that matter to Canadians. Here is a link to the article.  We also have the complete article available for download on our Resources page. Enjoy!!!

There is a lot going on at the Subject Motorsports garage! Check out our YouTube channel for the latest updates. Here are a few samples:

The Enhanced Performance, 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 from the 19th of September until the 21st. We were entered in the Formula Classic/Formula Libre race group. There were a total of 18 cars in our race group including, eight F1200’s, three CF Crossle’s, three FC90 Formula Mazda’s, one FC90 1999 Van Diemen, one FL Formula 4, one FL 2004 Van Diemen and one FL 2004 Exford.
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The weather was absolutely beautiful and sunny Friday, Saturday and Sunday with temperatures ranging from 20 to 25° C.

Over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were on track a total of 6 times; 2 on-track practices during the Friday test day, followed by qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday, Race 2 & 3 on Sunday. Our best lap for the test day was a 1:24.267 on new Hoosier RB60’s.

Saturday morning, the weather was perfect – about 23°C and a clear sky. We decided to forgo practice on Saturday and prepared for qualifying. We set a reasonable qualifying time of 1:25.003 – P1 in our class, P3 in our race group behind Jim Morton and Mike MacNeil. During Race 1, we lost touch with Jim and Mike – we finished P1 in our class and P3 in our race group with a best lap time of 1:24.464.

The weather on Sunday intermittent sun and cloud, with a temperature about 24°C.  We made a slight adjustment to our rear track bar to transfer some load to the front tires and give us better overall grip. We had a reasonable start at the beginning of Race 2, Michael Cross in the #29 1999 Van Diemen, we were able to clear Michael on the first lap and worked on chasing down Jim Morton and Mike MacNeil. We did get close when they encountered lapped traffic, but we were not able to be close enough to execute a pass. We finished in P3 and P1 in our class with a season best lap time of 1.23.062.

We started Race 3 in P3, we passed Mike MacNeil when his gearbox failed, finishing P2 in our race group and P1 in our Formula Classic class with a best lap time of 1:25.000 (we could have pushed harder for a better lap time, but given that this was the last race of the day and for our season, we chose to cruise to our class victory, and not make any high risk moves passing lapped traffic).

​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, and safe event!!  And last, but certainly not least, we want to thank our long suffering family which allows us to continue to race……….

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……….

The Enhanced Performance, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions, #77 Formula Mazda Team had great weekend at the BARC Canadian Touring Trophy Races, held at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (CTMP). We were placed in the Formula Libre/Formula Classic race group). We had registered our #77 Formula Mazda in the VARAC Formula Classic 90 class. There were a total of 15 cars in our race group including, 7 F1200’s, 3 Formula Mazda’s, a Formula Ford, an F2000, an F1000, Rich Kenworthy’s beautifully restored vintage Radical ProSport and Jim Morton’s blazingly fast.  The weather was quite warm throughout the race weekend. It was very hot and sunny on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday with temperatures during the weekend ranging from 30°C to 35°C. 

​Over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were on track a total of 7 times; 3 on-track practices during the Friday test day, followed by Practice, Qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday and Race 2 & 3 on Sunday. As always, our race class had some very nice open wheel race cars including a number of blazingly fast open wheel racecars.

On the Friday test day, the weather was very warm with a sun cloud mix and a high of 30°C.  Our best lap for the test day was a 1:24.05 – pretty respectable lap time on new Hoosier RB35’s. 
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Saturday morning, the weather was very nice. We set a best practice P3 time of 1:26.051. We set a qualifying time of 1:25.023, putting us P4 on the grid, P1 in our class - In the afternoon on Saturday, we started in P4 and maintained our position – we pursued the leaders for the entire race but was unable to maintain contact with them as they moved through lapped traffic. We finished P3 with a best lap time of a 1:25.030. The weather on Sunday was very warm with a mix of sun cloud and a temperature of 35°C. We started Race 2 in P3 and chased the leaders for the entire race. We finished Race 2 in P3, P1 in our class, with a best lap time of 1:25.712. We started Race 3 in P3 and began to track down the leaders, once again, we lost track of them in lapped traffic. We finished P3, P1 in our class with a best lap time of 1:26.712, about 12 seconds behind the leaders. A great result, as we maximized our VARAC Drivers Championship results!!

​A special thank you to Bill Vallis of Vallis Motor Sport for his awesome trackside support during the BARC Canadian Touring Trophy Races and to Canadian Tire Motorsports 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……….

The Enhanced Performance, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team had an excellent Saturday at the 2025 Peter Jackson Trophy Races at Shannonville Motorsport Park. We were placed in the Formula Classic Race group. There was a total of 14 cars in our race group including, 2 Formula Fords, one FV, a several F1200’s, one F2000 and Mike MacNeil’s F1000.  The weather was sunny and hot with temperatures in the low 30’s °C. 

Over the course of the day, we were on the Shannonville Pro Track a total of 4 times; 1 practice, 1 qualifying session in the morning, followed by Race 1 & 2 in the afternoon. Our race group included some beautiful open wheel race cars.

During practice, we set a fast lap of a 1:09.666, during qualifying, we set a fast lap and pole of 1:09.038.  

During Race 1, we pulled away comfortably from the field on the first lap, we finished P1 in our race group with best lap time of 1:11.330. During Race 2, we pulled away from the field on the first lap and finished P1 in our race group with a best lap time of 1.11.685. All in all, a superb race weekend!
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A special thank you to VARAC for putting the 2025 Peter Jackson Trophy Races and to Shannonville Motorsport 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……….