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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.
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