Tag Archive for: Canadian Historic Grand Prix

CHGP Wraps Up for 2016

We can’t thank you enough for coming to the 2016 VARAC Canadian Historic Grand Prix!

The feature for the 2016 CHGP was “Flat 6 vs V-8”, Porsche versus American muscle so VARAC welcomed Trans-Am Champion Ludwig Heimrath as Grand Marshall for the 2016 Canadian Historic Grand Prix. In addition to the Canadians the CHGP was well supported by US based racing clubs such as Friends of Triumph and MG Vintage Racers. Three full days of exciting racing involving packed grids for all Vintage and Historic racing machines from Minis to Mustangs, Canada Class to Formula cars. There were nice big fields for six groups of cars including the F1600 and Formula Vee Spectacular , Monoposto, Small Bore Vintage & Historic Cars (under 1.3 litres), Big Bore Vintage & Historic Cars (over 1.3 litres), Wings & Slicks (purpose-built racing cars running on slick tires), and a big field of more than 60 of the Canadian “Classic Group 70-90 cars, (cars from 1973 to 1989 including Alfas, Corvettes, Porsches, Mustangs and many others.)

See this story and the accompanying pictures & highlights here:

2016 CHGP Wrap Up

Friday opened with practice, qualifying and races for all grids and finished not with the previously traditional VARAC “Pot Luck Dinner” but with a new wrinkle, the Steam Whistle Brewing Paddock Tour. This independent Canadian beer company is justly proud of producing a Premium Pilsner and the tour involved three Whistle Stops. The concept is simply to move people around the paddock, to get them to mingle and meet, talk about their cars, and eat some dinner. Competitors, crew, and volunteers were all welcomed. The first Whistle Stop was hosted by club members Tom and Carol Burge, assisted by the MG and Triumph folks, serving chicken wings from Simply BBQ. Black Prince Winery offerings were also available. Whistle Stop Two was hosted by the good folks at Move Motorsports, assisted by the F1600 and Monoposto competitors, serving up Subway Sandwiches. Then it was on to Whistle Stop Three for dessert and coffee hosted by the VARAC board. There are wrinkles to be smoothed out to be sure, but it was a great move forward, well done to all concerned.

On Saturday racing continued with more great weather and some really full grids, breaking at lunch for Can-Am demonstration laps. “Mini Meet North”, the largest assembly of Mini’s in Canada, provided an avenue for owners of this popular marque to gather together and show off their cars all weekend, and they also had an opportunity to lap the track on Saturday.

Awarded on Sunday afternoon after the last session of the weekend, the Group 44 Inc. Award was presented to Jeff Govert (Spitfire #12) by last year’s recipient, Henry Frye. The fastest large bore Triumph went to Henry Frye with his TR-250. Fastest small bore Triumph was Russ Moore in Spitfire #49. Fastest small bore MG was Nick Pratt in his very fast Midget. The fastest large bore MG was Joe Lightfoot, MGB.

The Victory Lane Magazine “Spirit of Vintage Racing” trophy was awarded to Dr. Lee Talbot. Many thanks to Doug Kurtin for again giving us really beautiful trophies to take home. Much appreciated, Doug!

It was a superb weekend all round, blessed by great weather and tons of track time. Many, many congrats to VARAC’s CHGP Director Ted Michalos and his great team of volunteers! There were tons of people who pitched in, far too many to name, thank you all!

We tried a number of new things this year and we’d appreciate hearing back from you how we did – the good and the not so good – it is only with your feedback that we can make improvements for next year. Send your comments to [email protected] – thanks in advance for taking the time to let us know how things went.

VARAC’s CHGP Supports #ProstateCancerCanada #PlaidForDad on Friday June 17th

Bowmanville, ON – The VARAC Canadian Historic Grand Prix which will be held June 17 -19 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is proud to be supporting Prostate Cancer Canada’s Wear Plaid For Dad initiative at the track on Friday, June 17.

“Many of our member’s have been directly or indirectly impacted by Prostate Cancer at some point in their lives”, says Ted Michalos, event director for VARAC’s CHGP, “it is with great pride that VARAC’s Board of Directors is pledging to Wear Plaid For Dad on our first day of our race weekend, we hope that all the competitors will join in with us and the paddock will be alive with plaid!”.

Prostate Cancer Canada is expecting thousands of Canadians to put on something plaid to help raise awareness and funds to protect men from prostate cancer this Friday. Celebrity and high profile greats such as Don Cherry, vice Admiral Norman, Dave Thomas, Premier McNeil, Eric McCormack, Chief Saunders and John Catucci have backed this initiative and social media is alive with the support.

It’s a fun and easy way to help protect men from prostate cancer.

Join us and pledge to wear plaid  www.wearplaidfordad.ca on Friday June 17th!

A Spectator’s Delight at the Canadian Historic Grand Prix

Come one, come all – if you haven’t been a spectator at a racing event for a while then we may have the perfect weekend for you!

June 17, 18 and 19, 2106 at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is the Canadian Historic Grand Prix.  We have over 200 entries running on 6 grids that include:

  • Monoposto cars – historic single seat race cars.  Formula Juniors, Club Fords, Sport 2000, and even more powerful open wheeled cars from the past
  • Vintage Historic Small Bore – 50 cars from the 50s and 60s including Minis, Sprites, Midgets, Triumphs, Alfas and a couple of MG Ts
  • Vintage Big Bore – another 50 car grid including  MGBs, MGAs, Triumphs, Alfas, Porsches, BMWs and many, many more
  • Classic – again over 50 cars from the 70, 80s and 90s including Porsches, BMWs, Corvettes, Mustangs, and Datsuns just to name a few

The Toyo Tires F1600 Championship is also running a 25 car grid.  This is some of the best racing you can watch anywhere!

New this year is the Formula Vee Spectacular which has drivers from two F1200 Series competing.  The Challenge Cup Series is a cross-border Formula Vee groups is being joined by CASC-ORs Millers Oils F1200 Championship.  We expect 6, 7, 8 car trains drafting up the back straight.  If you like to watch close racing – these guys are it!

Off track on Sunday (Fathers’ Day!) there is the Field of Dreams Car Show by corner 8, as well as the Legends of Motorsport discussion panel that is open to the public at noon in the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Conference Centre.  Bring your lunch and meet some of Canada’s greatest motorsport personalities.

The final on track session for the weekend is the VARAC Grand Prix open to any and all Vintage and Historic cars, as well as Classic cars weighing less than 2500 pounds.  We expect this to be a grand finale indeed!

What more do you need?  The weather will be beautiful.  The racing outstanding.  Come and watch 200+ drivers compete for glory under the summer sun…”

 

VARAC Announces Ludwig Heimrath as 2016 CHGP Grand Marshall

The Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada (VARAC) is gearing up for what promises to be the biggest, most exciting and best-attended event in its history.

Our Grand Marshall is one of the most famous names in Canadian auto racing, Ludwig Heimrath, who won the Canadian Sports Car Racing Championship (later known as the Canadian Driving Championship) in 1961, which was the first year the title was awarded, and again in 1964. He was the first runner-up in ‘62, ‘63 and ‘65.

Ludwig Heimrath

He was the first Canadian to drive in Formula 1 when he was entered by Porsche, in Pau, France in 1962. He won the SCCA Trans- Am championship twice.  He was an expert long-distance racer and teamed up with such champions as Johnny Rutherford and Craig Hill in entering the Sebring 12 Hours and the 24 Hours of Daytona. He was a USAC IndyCar competitor in ‘68 and ‘69 and raced in the Canadian and Continental Formula A division in 1970. Heimrath raced touring cars until 2000, before retiring at the age of 66.

Join Ludwig Heimrath at “Legends of Mosport Racer’s Reunion”

Toronto Star Wheels Editor, Norris McDonald will host this “Meet the Fans & Press” session Sunday morning with Ludwig Heimrath and other champions like Bill Brack, Eppie Wietzes, and more.  Open to all at no cost.  Mix with old friends, racers and champions.

Ludwig Heimrath

The Canadian Historic Grand Prix is one of the most prestigious events on the Vintage and Historic Racing Calendar in North America and it is the largest and most popular event of its kind in Canada and counted as a “Major Spectator Event” at Mosport since 1999. More information at www.varac.ca

Can-Am Roars Again at VARAC CHGP June 17-19, 2016

TORONTO, ON (May 20, 2016) – Mosport will echo once again to the powerful sound of four Can-Am cars doing demonstration laps at the Canadian Historic Grand Prix, June 17-19, 2016.

“The Spirit of Mosport” Can-Am cars will include a McLaren M8E, a McLaren M1B (tribute car), a Lola T70 and a Chaparral 1. These fabulous cars will do laps on all three days and fans will also be able to get up close and personal at “The Spirit of Mosport” static display in a large tent on the west side of the upper paddock.

VARAC Can-Am

The Canadian Historic Grand Prix is one of the most prestigious events on the annual vintage and historic racing calendar in North America and it is the largest and most popular event of its kind in Canada, counted as a major spectator event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) since 1999.

Feature Race
This year we are featuring “Flat 6 versus V8 Muscle”, which will be a race between Porsche and American horsepower. Fitting, we have invited well known Porsche driver and 1977 Trans Am Champion Ludwig Heimrath to act as Grand Marshall for the weekend. He will be joined at “Legends of Motorsport” event by another Trans Am Champion, Eppie Wietzes, winner in 1981 driving for Corvette.

Racers from across Canada and the United States will be competing in cars such as Porsche, Formula Ford, MG, Triumph, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Lotus, Mini, Corvette and many more, racing on the world famous Mosport Grand Prix Circuit, one of only three true historic Grand Prix tracks in North America, along with Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant in Quebec and Watkins Glen in upstate New York.

Fans will enjoy three full days of exciting racing for six groups of cars including Monoposto (single seat open-wheel vintage & historic race cars), Small Bore Vintage & Historic Cars (under 2000 cc), Big Bore Vintage & Historic Cars (over 2000 cc), Wings & Slicks (very fast purpose-built racing cars running on slick tires), G70+ and G90 Cars, (cars dating from 1973 to 1994 including all kinds of Alfas, Corvettes, Porsches, Mustangs) and a host of others.

This year VARAC celebrates our 40th anniversary! The club was founded in 1976 and now has more than 220 members. Approximately 100 of those members are active racing drivers, who compete in vintage and historic racing events across North America and abroad. Our club is made up of racing enthusiasts from all walks of life. If you are interested in historic race cars we invite you to join us, on the track or as non-racing members! As you will see this weekend, VARAC members know how to enjoy their racing!

For more information see event information or contact [email protected]

Race Fan Registration Open for 2016 CHGP Events

Registration is now open for the many “race fan” experiences that occur at VARAC’s annual Canadian Historic Grand Prix.   This year’s event is being held June 17-19 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and has so much in store for the fans!

Sign Up Now for:

  • Track Touring Sessions: Twice on Saturday and Sunday. Sign up now to receive early-bird pricing.
  • Legends of Motorsport: Meet and mix with Canada’s greatest all-time racing legends like Bill Brack, Eppie Wietzes, Ludwig Heimrath, Gary Magwood and more! The session will take place Sunday morning at 10:30 in the “New Tower” building. Toronto Star Wheels Editor, Norris McDonald will MC the gathering and interview the drivers. Bring your cameras and autograph books. Don’t miss out on this!
  • Field of Dreams Car & Motorcycle Show: Join the Field of Dreams Car & Motorcycle Show! It is free with your SPECIAL RATE gate pass. Just show the GATE attendant that you have registered for the car show and get a reduced rate pass.
  • Field of Dreams On-Track Parade: Join in Canada’s largest race day on-track parade! The parade makes up to two laps of the course (depending on available time). A favourite of our guests for years.

More information on the CHGP including race registration is available here.

VARAC Announces The 2016 Canadian Historic Grand Prix

Mark your calendars – the date for the 2016 Canadian Historic Grand Prix has been set: June 17- 19, 2016 on the iconic Grand Prix Track at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, just outside Bowmanville, Ontario.

For those that are interested, a comprehensive test day is available on June 16 for an additional nominal fee.

On Friday at the end of racing, VARAC will be hosting the new Paddock Crawl – three different stations of food and beverages designed to provide teams and track workers with a chance to meet and mingle.

By popular demand, this year’s Saturday Grand Feature will be “Flat 6s vs V8s”.  A 30 minute “extra” race pitting Porsche finesse vs raw North American Power!  New for 2016, following the feature, VARAC will be hosting a reception in the beautiful Conference Centre at CTMP – “Brats and Dogs”, both German and North American foods for competitors and track workers.

Sunday is all about racing – a session for each group in the morning and then the trophy races in the afternoon:

  • 3 Vintage Historic grids (small, medium and big bore)
  • The Classic grid for G70+ and G90+ cars (cars built between 1973 and 1995)
  • The Monoposto grid, including wings and slicks
  • The Toyo Tire 1600 Championship for modern Formula Fords will also be featured as our guests

We hope you will be able to join us in 2016… we look forward to hosting you!

Click here for more information.