Although a shortened season due to COVID 19 - we were very successful!!

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……….

​Our 2020 racing schedule has been radically altered by the COVID 19 pandemic, as the majority of our races in the first part of the season were either cancelled or postponed.  We have planned some new events in September and October, both at our home track at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.  Stay tuned for more scheduling news!!!

​Our 2019 racing schedule features a six race vintage themed program which will take place at some of the most exciting and picturesque race tracks in North America.  We start off our first race of the season in March at the SVRA Road Atlanta Grand Prix at Road Atlanta Raceway. In June, the #77 STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions Formula Mazda is at our home track of Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for the VARAC Vintage Grand Prix.  In July, the Subject Motorsports Team visits Le Circuit at Mont Tremblant for the Le Sommet des Legends hosted by HMR and HMSA.  In August, we will be competing at the Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Lastly, in September, we finish our season at Watkins Glen International at the SVRA U.S. Vintage Grand Prix. 

The STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team had an amazing weekend at the SVRA U.S. Vintage Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International.  We ran in Group 9 – Monoposto Wings and Slicks.  The weather was perfect for the entire race weekend, with a mix of both sunny & cloudy cool days, ranging from the 10's to the mid-20’s Celsius. Over the course of Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were on track a total of 9 times; 4 on track practices during the split Wednesday/Thursday test day, followed by one practice, two qualifying sessions, Race 1, and Race 2.  During both qualifying sessions, our race group was combined with Group 5a and Group 7 – there were a total of 29 race cars on the track fighting for a good qualifying time – it was very hectic!!  There was a large speed differential within the qualifying group!!  We definitely had our work cut out for us, as most everyone in our group had much more horsepower than we did. As an example, here is a list of the cars in our second qualifying session:

In the first qualifying session, we qualified 16th of 29 race cars, 1st in our 9F2 class. In the second qualification session, we qualified 18th of 29 race cars, 3rd in our class. For Race 1, our race Group 9 included 16 amazing high powered open wheel race cars, including 4 Lolas, 2 Ralts, 2 Swifts and more – the competition was stiff for the diminutive Formula Mazda.  We finished in 14th position, 3rd in class with a career best lap time of 1:57.289; we were faster than the 2nd place race car by 64 hundredths of a second, but we were unable to unable to make up the distance as our race was shortened to 6 laps. In Race 2, we started in 12th and managed to finish in 8th position, once again 3rd in class. We set our fastest lap time of the weekend, a 1:56.859!! Our race group featured some unbelievable vintage formula cars - it was a pleasure to be on track with them.  Our car performed flawlessly during the entire event - a very big thank you to our sponsors; STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions , to Bill and Shirley Vallis of Vallis Motor Sport for their excellent track side support.

Click here for more photos from this race weekend.  A very big thank you to the SVRA for hosting such a great event!!  And last, but certainly not least, we want to thank our long suffering and tormented family which follows us from race track to race track allows us to continue to do the racing thing……….

The STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team has an amazing weekend at the HMSA/HSR 2018 le Sommet de Legendes at Circuit Mont-Tremblant. We ran in Group 5 – Monoposto Classic & Formula Libre.  The weather was perfect for the entire race weekend, with a mix of both sunny & humid days, ranging from the 20's to the mid-30’s Celsius. Over the course of Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were on track a total of 11 times; 5 on track practices during the Thursday test day, followed by one practice, two qualifying sessions, Race 1, a 15 minute warm up session and Race 2. Our race class included some amazing open wheel race cars, here is a partial list:



Additionally, a few more 2 litre Chevrons were moved into our race group.  Here is a Facebook video link of some of the race cars in our group. In the end, there were a total of 16 cars in our run group – we definitely had our work cut out for us, as most everyone in our group had much more horsepower than we did. In the first qualifying session, we qualified 10th. In the second qualification session, we qualified 8th, however a number of the faster cars from the previous qualifying session did not both the run the second qualifying session, so we were gridded to start in the 10th position for Race 1. We finished Race 1 in 10th position, unable to make up any significant ground on the high horsepower field. Before the warm up, we elected to scuff in a new set of tires for Race 2. Fortunately, we had an amazing start and made up three places at the green flag. We were able to maintain our position for the duration of the race and we set our fastest lap time of the weekend, a 1:40.276!! Our race group featured some unbelievable vintage formula cars - it was a pleasure to be on track with them.  Our car performed flawlessly during the entire event - a very big thank you to our sponsors; STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions , to Bill Vallis of Vallis Motor Sport and to Ken Ferrell, our race engineer. 

Click here for more photos from this race weekend. A very big thank you to the HMSA and HSR 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……….

A very sad weekend for the STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team. Although we had a stellar performance winning all four of our races, our weekend was forever changed by the death of F5000 driver Jeff Green.  We worked with the entire F5000 race group throughout the VARAC 2018 VGP to help them become familiar with the track and to optimize their performance.  Unfortunately, during the F5000 race on Saturday afternoon, Jeff’s race car left the racing surface at the exit of corner 8 resulting in heavy contact with the tire barrier.  Jeff passed away as a result of his injuries. https://racer.com/2018/06/17/former-pro-mazda-driver-green-killed-in-ctmp-vintage-crash/

We have waited to post our race report from this past weekend to let some time pass after this catastrophe and out of respect for everyone that Jeff’s life touched.  Additionally, we needed to process what this tragedy meant to us, particularly on a personal level as a race car driver and as a coach. We can tell you that, without reservation, this tragic event has affected a great many people associated with the racing community – family and friends, drivers and crew, first responders and volunteers.  All of us have needed the time this past week to console and support each other.  One thing we know without a doubt, Jeff raced because he loved it, as all of us do.  In that spirit, we will continue to race because racing is an integral part of our life.  Every race car driver understands the inherent risks each time they strap into a race car – this risk is accepted in exchange for the pure joy one feels driving a race car at the limit.  And each time we strap into our race car we will take a moment to remember Jeff Green – rest in peace Jeff – his family and friends will forever remain in our hearts.
​
With respect to our VARAC 2018 VGP race weekend, we raced in the Monoposto group. The weather was perfect for the entire race weekend, with a mix of both sunny & humid days, ranging from the 20's to the mid-30’s Celsius. Over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we were on track a total of 6 times; one practice, one qualifying session, and 4 races. The car performed flawlessly in both practice and qualifying - we were fortunate to qualify first in our class. We managed to finish in 1st place in each of our four races, an outstanding accomplishment!!  Our race group featured some unbelievable vintage formula cars - it was a pleasure to be on track with them.

A heartfelt thank you to the VARAC for hosting the event!!  And a big thank you to our sponsors, STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions, to Bill Vallis of Vallis Motor Sport and to Ken Ferrell, our race engineer.  And last, but certainly not least, we want to thank our family which continues to allow us to race, especially during this most recent, emotionally challenging weekend.

The STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions #77 Formula Mazda Team attended the 2018 SVRA Spring Vintage Festival at Road America this past weekend - May 17th through 20th.  The weather was a mix of both sunny & beautiful to foggy & cold, ranging from the 70's to the 40's (Fahrenheit, of course).  The car performed flawlessly in both practice and qualifying - we were fortunate to qualify first in our class. Our race group featured some unbelievable vintage formula cars - it was a pleasure to be on track with them.

We finished P1 in class for both the race on the 19th of May and again on the 20th (because of the mix of race cars in our race group, we finished 4th and 5th respectively!!  A fantastic weekend at Road America - a huge thank you to the SVRA for hosting such a great event!!  And a very big thank you to our sponsors, to Bill Vallis of Vallis Motor Sport and to Ken Ferrell, our race engineer.  And last, but certainly not least, we want to thank our race weary family which allows us to enjoy this amazing pastime.

Click here for more photos from the weekend.

Our 2018 racing schedule features a four race Vintage themed program which will take place at some of the most exciting and picturesque race tracks in North America.  We start off our first race of the season in May at the SVRA Spring Vintage Festival at Road America.  In June, the #77 STANMECH Technologies, Good Cars Only, Gabo Solutions Formula Mazda is at our home track of Canadian Tire Motorsports Park for the VARAC Vintage Grand Prix.  In July, the Subject Motorsports Team visits Le Circuit at Mont Tremblant for the Le Sommet des Legends hosted by HMR and HMSA.  Lastly, in September, we finish our season at Watkins Glen International at the SVRA U.S. Vintage Grand Prix.