2011 VARAC Festival @ Mosport. June 17th through 19th the Mini's dominated the Group B class at Mosport, with a very healthy entry of 13 Mini's and two Mini - powered variants (a Marcos & a Canada Class special).
The entry list included the "usual" suspects, Dave Morgan, Larry Coste, Dyrk Bolger, Terry Milnes, Bob Polack, Mack McCormack, Bob Seneshen, Tom Burge, Tara & Tracy Christensen, and us of course. Richard Paterson was competing for the first time in his newly rebuilt track car. Long distance award went to Dave Dartt all the way from Lake Wales, FL. Jake Kinsman piloted the very unique Mini - powered Canada Class special, which looks somewhat like a miniature Lotus 7. Entries were down overall, resulting in ample track time for all groups throughout the event, and un-crowded pit areas.
The weather was absolutely fantastic, with just a short burst of rain on Thursday night, which resulted in lots of fog on Friday morning. The weather cleared however, and there was no delay for the first practice sessions. The remaining days were clear with low humidity and a nice breeze to keep things comfortable.
Friday there were 3 sessions of untimed practice, with several problems developing. Terry's car had clutch issues and required the installation of his spare engine. He was able to make the second practice however. Mack also had clutch issues and was out of the event after the first practice. Fortunately, VARAC has a reasonable refund policy and he was able to get a portion of his entry fee refunded. Richard developed a timing seal leak (during the Thursday test day) which was easy to repair, and he was on track again without missing any Friday sessions. Both #921 and #68 were running very strong and needed no adjustments.
Saturday we were on track first thing for qualifying at 9:15. #68 was running and handling very well post change out to dry suspension and weight loss, and I qualified 25th out of 40 cars. Andy qualified 12th, despite having a brake line failure at 5A and only doing 4 laps of qualifying. We changed out the brake lines in #921 before the afternoon race. Terry also had brake failure, missing afternoon race, and Bob Seneshen had clutch failure and was out the rest of the weekend. The top Minis were Dave Morgan, Larry Coste, Richard Paterson, Dyrk Bolger, Terry Milnes, Andy, & Dave Dartt. After qualifying finished, Dave Dartt's fuel cell packed it in, ending his weekend.
Saturday pm race started great for us, and very unfortunately ended in #921 going into the tire wall at turn 2 at a high rate of speed due to a racing incident with a Midget. #68 was working perfectly and I managed a 15th place finish overall, and 5th in class shaving several seconds off my previous best time. Richard Paterson won the race, hotly pursued by Dave Morgan and Dyrk Bolger, setting up for an exclusive Mini P1 - P2 (Pratt's Midget was P3 & Richard was P4). Andy was taken to the medics post crash, and had no injuries. We are so pleased that we chose to upgrade our safety gear this year to include the HANS device, as he experienced no soreness or pain post crash. The car was not so well preserved however, needing all new front sheet metal, and likely many other components.
Andy was obviously done for the event in #921, but I offered up #68 for him to drive. After receiving approval for the driver change, we moved the seat and mirrors and he was good to go for Sunday races.
After the last race on Saturday afternoon, we held the sponsor prize draws. We had fantastic sponsor support, and there was a prize for every Mini racer.
Top prizes were as follows:
GLO CV joints donated by Mike Kearney, Seven Enterprises was won by Dave Dartt; HANS Clock donated by Dyrk Bolger, Classic Motor Works was won by Terry Milnes; Redline Oil & Filter pack donated by Craig Hunter, Hunter Classic Sports Cars was won by Mack McCormack; Swiftune Billet Oil Filter adapter donated by Nick Swift, Swiftune Engineering was won by Andy Nelson; a portable air compressor unit donated by Larry Coste, Compressor Engineering was won by Tom Burge. There were many more prizes given out, including race wear (Bob Seneshen), billet temp sender adaptors & MDS mounts (Jet Motors), valve springs (Classic Motor Works), books, etc. In addition to the great prize draws, Mini racers received goodie bags with cool stuff like hats, stickers, t-shirts, etc. BOBB was also attending the event and gave every Mini racer a custom one-of-a-kind gearshift knob. A second thank you to Dyrk for organizing the Hoosier hats and goodie bags. THANK YOU Sponsors!!!!
After the day's racing, we all attended the VARAC banquet. The guest speaker was a track medical doctor, who had been very involved in track and race car safety developments, having started his medical career at Mosport in the 1960's. Very interesting speech, certainly make you think how far safety has come over the decades and how many dedicated individuals worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make that happen for the betterment of all racers & spectators. Also the prize draw of the evening was a $3500.00 BRM custom Gulf watch, which regrettably none of the Mini racers won!
Sunday we were again on track first thing. Andy was starting at the back as he changed cars and my time from Saturday was not transferable. Terry also started at the back of the pack due to missing the first race on Saturday with brake issues. Larry Coste stared at near the back due to not finishing the first race. I had not had an opportunity to watch a Mini race for a long time, since mostly I am involved in racing myself. The wanabees (those of us who no longer had a car to drive) watched eagerly from turn two. On the second last lap, directly in front of Andy and Dyrk, a Midget spun between turn 9 and 10 (causing a red flag finish). Andy & Dyrk got past unscathed, with Dyrk winning the race, closely followed by Paterson and Morgan. Andy made his way up to 16th overall and 7th in class.
For the final race of the weekend, it was an a very exciting race, with an all Mini top 5 finish! Morgan, Bolger, Paterson, Coste, & Nelson. The top three cars were glued together for the entire race, frequently changing the lead which delighted the spectators, and those Mini racers on the fence watching. On the very last lap, Richard's shifter broke and he finished the race in 3rd place with only 3rd & 4th gear! Congrats to Dave Morgan for a stunning drive and winning the feature race, to Dyrk Bolger for running a very strong second, and to Richard Paterson for finishing on the podium on the car's inaugural race weekend in spite of the shifter failure! Dyrk & Richard swapped the lead several times during the race until Dave took ultimate possession of the lead to win. Well done!
As usual, the VARAC Festival at Mosport is a fantastic event, a world class track, and the largest Mini entry in N.A. We are looking forward to the 2012 Festival!
