Often, one expects a lot from a big event and less so from a smaller program. Sometimes though, the little guy blows the big guy out of the water! When I visited the launch of one of Toronto’s biggest racing events last month, I felt let down. No cars, no flash, no excitement. There has been so much going on lately that I almost backed out of last night’s launch party for the new Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship. What a mistake that would have been!
Continue reading →

Well, it’s been a busy day so this will be a quick tease. I took the new camera to Remy’s in Toronto’s ritzy Yorkville area for the launch of the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship. I took a ton of photos, which I’ll try to get posted tomorrow. For now, have a peak after the break to see friend of The Garage Perry Ianuzzi with Katie the Castrol girl.
Continue reading →

Hello and thank you for the warm welcome. If there’s one thing automotive that I do know a thing or two about it’s quality auto blogs that truly have something worthwhile reading. Having said that I must say it is an honor to be included in The Garage.

It seems everyone has his or her own feeling as to what they personally find appealing when talking cars. On the other hand I have found that those who truly have a love affair for all things automotive find everything and anything to do with cars fascinating and interesting. After all, if it were not for the likes of Henry Ford and Louis Chevrolet how interesting would the history and rivalry of the automobile be? Oh sure, there used to be a day when you wouldn’t dare tell someone his Chevrolet couldn’t beat your Ford or vise versa and if you did you had better be ready to draw a line in the sand because you were about to get it on. Fortunately, today I find more and more of that way of thinking taking a back seat to those who truly love the heritage of all makes and brands. Today it’s not uncommon at all to see two gentleman standing side by side admiring the late model cars that have the flavor of older vintage rides but with late model technology under the hoods and suspension to match. It’s great to reminisce with others without fear of someone being offended and at the same time being able to share stories… “Hey, Let me tell ya about the time I was running down Highway 101 when this Chevy tried to pass me…”
Continue reading →

It seems like it’s been a long time since we’ve heard from Ashley Taws. Ontario race fans and their kids will recognize her as the popular pilot of the Barbie Car. Here in The Garage, our 13 year old racer still has one of Ashley’s fan cards in her room. Taws took Ontario grassroots open wheel racing to heights it had never seen with the successful partnership with Walmart and Barbie. Sadly, Miss Taws was a passenger in a serious road crash that caused sever injuries. A return to racing was short lived, as the ongoing pain prevented her from driving.

That is all in the past now. On Thursday, Ashley Taws announced a two pronged attack on the racing world. Not only will she be road racing in the Canadian Touring Car Championship Super Touring Series in a BMW E30, but Ashley will also tackle the Ontario Sportsman Series in a Dodge Charger. That’s right, the Barbie Car is going stock car racing! This is going to be great.

Press release after the break
Continue reading →

As a kid, the opening scene from Gumball Rally were burned into my brain. What could be better than a secret society of oddball characters in hot cars racing across the land without a care for local speed limits?

The modern version is called Gumball 3000 and it’s a lot more organized and a tiny bit more lawful, but it still exudes the same excitement. The star studded 2007 edition kicks off this Sunday in London, England before making it’s way to Asia and then back to London.

Thanks to Team Warrior Heart for the following promo video
Continue reading →

This weekend is the first ever Canadian Motorsports Expo, hosted by Glenn Butt who most enthusiasts know from his involvement with Mosport. With a many Canadian racing stars coming by for autograph sessions, it looked like a promising day, so I took a couple of the kids out for a walk around.

For the first year of the show, I think Glenn and friends did a great job putting together a nice gathering in a really great venue. While the show is still small, there was a bit of something for everyone. There were open wheelers, stock cars, race bikes, showroom stock sedans and even an off road race truck and buggy. The line up of racing stars is incredible, with names like Ron Fellows, Scott Maxwell, Pete Shepherd, J.R. Fitzpatrick, Shane Jantzi and even Chris Economaki.
Continue reading →

Spring 2007 seems to be the season of the big budget promo video. We’ve had high end shorts from Ferrari/Shell, Red Bull F1 and now Audi is getting in on the action with a pair of shorts for the upcoming A8 supercar.

Shot over 6 days in Mexico with 1050 extras, the films cover Audi’s motorsports heritage from each of the past 7 decades. Shot in HD by veteran camerman Ian Foster, this promises to be a great ride. The spots will debut in Germany on April 6th during the first airing of Will Smith’s I Robot on the RTL Channel.

Full story from Audi after the break
Continue reading →

Here in The Garage, we’re all about the history. Most manufacturers realize the value of their heritage and Audi is no different. This year they are celebrating 75 years of the four rings as the company symbol. It’s been 75 years since 4 manufacturers joined forces to become Auto Union AG. This combination of Audi, Horch, Wanderer and DKW produced the second largest auto manufacturer in Germany. If you’re lucky enough to be in Essen from March 29 to April 1, be sure to spend some time at the Techno Classica show, where Audi is showing a number of vehicles from all 4 partners.

Read all the details from the Audi press release after the break
Continue reading →

We’ve got some big news here in The Garage. Occasional contributer and part of The Garage family, Petri Ranta has joined the Cameron Motorsports team as Operations Manager at Mosport. Petri will be joining Wrex Roth, who will continue on as the guru of all things technical.

Petri brings close to 30 years of karting experience as a driver, tuner and data acquisition specialist, not to mention 3 Canadian national karting championship wins.
Continue reading →

The Austin Healey Sprite and MG Midget twins have long been known as Spridgets. From it’s beginning as the Bugeye (frogeye in the UK) in 1958 all the way until the rubber bumper cars of the Eighties, the Spridget has been a favourite of Brit car fans and road racers all over the world. Here in The Garage, Grandpa Bud began his racing career in a Bugeye. He was actually the first ever Ontario Sports Car Racing Champion, winning the Alitalia Trophy driving none other than a Mk II Sprite, way back in 1967. I even made an aborted attempt to restore a 72 Spridget in the late Eighties. I gave up, vowing one day to buy an H-Production Sprite some day. I still don’t have one.
Continue reading →