While Saturday was a rainy, nasty mess at Mosport for the 2009 VARAC Festival, Sunday was bright and beautiful. A perfect day to for vintage racing. Over the past few years, my racing galleries have been mostly pit lane and paddock stuff as I just couldn’t seem to get the knack for using the manual focus on my point & shoot camera. It seems like the practice has paid off, as I can now take passable on track shots. This set was taken at the top of the hill on the Mario Andretti Straight, where the big cars like the Mustangs would be traveling somewhere north of 160 mph.

The classes here are what VARAC terms Historic Production Sedans & Sports Cars and Vintage Sports Racers.

Huge gallery after the break
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Perhaps the best part of a vintage festival, both for competitors and spectators is the incredible collection of wonderful cars and the people who own them. Just like any local cruise, car owners and drivers are always happy to talk about their cars. Not only do many tell stories, but often they learn more about the history of their car from someone who saw it race (or even raced it) back in the day. There is a great feeling of community, where everyone just feels comfortable and appreciative of the day.

After the break, we’ve got a huge gallery of images from the paddock at the 2009 VARAC Festival at Mosport
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VARAC’s Group 70+ class is basically a run what ya brung home for race cars from 1970 onwards that don’t meet the traditional classes that VARAC layed out oh so many years ago. It has also become home to some of the older traditional cars that don’t quite fit the profile of the other classes. Take Ian Lok’s Volvo 122S in the picture above: you are looking at an under 2.0 liter Trans Am car. As such, Group 70+ seems to be the perfect home for it.

Ian has owned and raced this car for a long time now and has been know to pull off some pretty incredible feats of driving. Things that just aren’t done. Today, in the pouring rain, Ian made a pass for the lead at the bottom of Mosport’s infamous Corner 2. Only 2 laps from the end, he made the pass stick and won the race.

Now, follow the break and check out the huge gallery of machines that little old, 4 cylinder, normally aspirated Volvo dominated. Mr Lok should be very proud, while perhaps some of the big budget guys should hang their heads in shame.
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I had nothing to do with the death of this poor little guy, but I just couldn’t help but take his photo to make all of you happy.

I managed to grab 442 photos today during my rain soaked visit to the 2009 VARAC Festival at Mosport. It will take a while to edit all of those, but for now this shot pretty much sums up the day.

The 2009 VARAC Festival got under way at Mosport yesterday under sunny skies. Today promises to be rainy all day, but for tomorrow should be bright and sunny again. What better way to celebrate Father’s Day that to check out some beautiful scenery and wicked old race cars!

Warwick Patterson was at the track yesterday and has already posted a bunch of photos including the one above. I’ll be joining him at the track shortly for day 2. Also at the track today is Andre Rousseau from 124racer.com, you can find him at the top of the Andretti Straight by looking for his blue Triumph GT6.

See you at the track!

While big pro race events are always fun, there really is no better way to immerse yourself in motorsports than to visit (or compete in) a vintage festival. Here in Ontario we are lucky to play host to one of the best festivals run by VARAC at Mosport each June. Its hard to believe that this will be the 4th year in a row that we’ll be bringing our readers along for to our favorite event of the year!

Whether you are a grizzled veteran or have never been to a race before, the VARAC Festival is the place to be in southern Ontario next weekend. The paddock is open and spectators are free to wander among the incredible machinery. Most drivers are more than happy to meet the fans and talk about their car and if they play their cards right, the kids will probably be asked if they want to sit in a car or 5.

Over the weekend, there is lots of activity: a Mini only race to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the little car, the German Joust for Teutonic racers, a classic car show and MiniMeet North

We might even set up a command post for readers of The Garage depending on how the week goes.

Regular readers might recognize the name AndreGT6 from his comments here in The Garage. Andre’s post name comes from his mint ‘68 Triumph GT6. His pride and joy. Until now that is. Last summer, Andre made the mistake of going to the annual vintage race at The Glen and fell in love with vintage racing. The search was on for a suitable ride. This past weekend, the new toy came home and the poor GT6 has been relegated to the driveway. I have offered to keep an eye on the little coupe, but for some reason Andre isn’t responding!

Given my past with Fiats of the 124 Coupe and Special variety, I am feeling some pangs of jealousy over this nice Spider. I just commented to Mrs. G that this would be the perfect car for us. It is far from being a show winner, but looks perfect from a distance. Not overly fast, so moments of brilliance stupidity behind the wheel aren’t likely to prove too damaging. Reliable. Mrs G just rolled her eyes. She is used to me coveting every car I come across.

Along with the new car, comes a new web site. 124racer.com may not be fully up and running yet, but Mr. Rousseau has already loaded up tons of pictures of the wee beastie. He has even posted a quick video from the driveway, which you can find after the break.

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As a wee lad, I remember watching a bunch of NASCAR races on TV. As an impressionable young boy, the roundy rounds of the early Seventies were pretty neat stuff and that Petty guy was just too cool. As I grew up, NASCAR lost it’s luster for me and I lost all interest. The cars from a decade earlier never really became more than the tiniest blip on my radar.

Lately though, as I learn how many of those early oval track drivers also got involved in open road races like La Carrera and how many of the cars were sort of multi use, I’m starting to notice these cars a lot more. There is a whole new element of automotive cool that I’ve just never really exposed myself to.

At the 2008 VARAC Festival at Mosport, I came across what might have been the coolest car I’ve seen in years, David Strachan’s 62 Ford Galaxie. That’s a pretty strong statement for a clone car in a paddock full of Can Am cars, but it is the truth. Strachan’s machine is a period correct copy of the Holman Moody Galaxie’s from the early Sixties. David and the team went to great lengths to use as many original bits as possible. The shocks are true old Holman Moody pieces, as are the wheels. Great care was taken to replicate trick pieces like adjustable front shock mounts. The car is powered by a big honkin’ 427 cubic inch V-8, just like one would expect to find.
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