VARAC VINTAGE GP PREVIEW

43rd Annual Event, Presented by eBay Motors, set to kick off on June 15 at CTMP

Story by Greg MacPherson

OnJune 15-18, at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP), VARAC will host the 43rd annual VARAC Vintage Grand Prix (VGP). Presented by eBay Motors, the event is one of five big dates on CTMP’s Major Events Schedule for 2023.

Each year, the VGP has a different theme, featuring a different marque. For 2023, the theme of the VGP is ‘Mazda Vs. The World.’ According to Lambrinos, the VARAC board member serving as the Director of the VGP, Mazda will be in the spotlight, with almost two dozen Mazda racing vehicles in action. New and vintage Mazdas are welcome and will have their own feature race as well as the ‘Rudy Bartling Mazda Vs. The World’ race on Sunday, June 18.

The on-track action includes the following eight grids of classes: Vintage Historic A, 1, 2, 3A and 3B; Vintage Historic 4A and 4B; Vintage Historic 5 and 6, Classic 3, 4, 5 and 6; VH over 2500, Classic A, 1 and 2; Formula Classic All; Toyo F1600 Championship; and NA Vintage S2000. In all, more than 200 racing vehicles are expected for the event.

The lapping day, on Thursday, June 15 –in addition to the three days of racing (June 16, 17 & 18) makes for an intense four days of on-track activity at the VGP.

And according to Lambrinos, the off-track schedule will be busy, as well.

“On Thursday night (June 15), we’ve added a band and a BBQ for all the competitors and track workers. And on Friday night (June 16), after racing, we have the John Greenwood Banquet at the CTMP Conference Centre. After that, we have our local band, Fun Comes Fast, which is made up of a bunch of

“And on Saturday night (June 17), we have our renowned Paddock Crawl, which has three stations. One has subs with Publican House beer. Another has wings and ribs with Publican House beer. And the third one is the Mud Men, at the top of the hill. They’re a Celtic rock band and there will be Publican House beer available to the racers and all the CTMP workers throughout the weekend.

“During the lunch-hour breaks, on Saturday and Sunday, there are parade laps happening. The first is being done with Mini Meet North, on the Saturday. The second one, on the Sunday, is with Field of Dreams, which Mazda will be participating in.”

Lambrinos is especially excited about this summer’s VGP given that all of the restrictions associated with the pandemic – specifically those related to crossing the Canada-US border – have been lifted.

“Because of COVID and issues crossing the border, last year, there were still many Americans who were skeptical or nervous about coming to Canada. In the end, a lot of Americans chose not to participate. This year, however, things have relaxed. The Americans are welcome and they’re coming. We expect at least 50 or 60 cars from the US. The S2000 racers are also coming from the States, with as many as 25 cars.”

CTMP is a co-sponsor of the VGP and is responsible for securing eBay Motors as the title sponsor of the event. The facility’s participation means that VARAC, CTMP and eBay Motors are all actively involved in promoting the VGP.

VARAC is the biggest historic racing organization in Canada. Beyond the Vintage Grand Prix, VARAC is very active throughout the season, hosting other special events and participating in all CASC-OR race weekends.

Lambrinos continued, “VARAC participates in all the local CASC events, the BEMC and BARC events, and the CASC ‘end of the year’ Celebration. There are also events at Calabogie and Mont Tremblant that VARAC participates in. VARAC also puts on a oneday event at Shannonville, on the August long weekend.

“And our new event for this year is the Pumpkin Spice Runs at Grand Bend Motorplex on October 20.

“This is something we’re doing to thank the racers for being part of the VARAC and CASC events this year.”

Racers and fans looking for information about the VARAC Vintage GP can go to VARAC.ca as well as the CTMP and eBay Motors websites. IT