British Columbia Historic Motor Races

August 30, 2024

Steve Van Meel (1975 Chevrolet Camaro), Ian Wood (1969 Volvo 142S) and Peter Valkenburg (1969 Porsche 911) leading a group through Turn 5 during a Closed Wheel Group B race at the 2024 BCHMR. – Brent Martin photo

Updated: October 1, 2024

The 2024 edition of the BC Historic Motor Races is now in the history books. It was a great event with perfect (almost – Saturday was a ‘little warm’) weather and lots of good racing. A few unlucky entrants had mechanical issues with their cars but overall everybody had a good time. A big Thank You to our presenting sponsor Titanium Ford , our friends from SOVREN, and to everybody who helped out.

Update: Read Brent Martin’s BCHMR reports in the online editions of Inside Track News (here) and Victory Lane – pages 27 & 28 (here).

 

The official results are posted under the Results menu (here). Watch this website for more stories about the event. In the meantime, check out some of Brent Martin’s photos of the on-track action below. Thanks Brent! Brent has many more of his photos available on his website.

 

The VRCBC’s BCHMR Committee is already planning for the 2025 BCHMR! It is scheduled for the August 16-17 weekend. Mark your calendars now and stay tuned!

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August 29, 2024

Posted: August 29, 2024

The BCHMR was very pleased to host one of the 2024 West Coast Sprite Midget Challenge races. Austin Healey Sprites – including the fan favourite Bugeyes – and MG Midgets were probably the most popular way for drivers to get started in amateur road racing in the late fifties and throughout the sixties. They were nimble, quick, relatively inexpensive to modify and race, and most of all, a lot of fun! That is all just as true today and ‘Spridgets’ are still being raced by devoted enthusiasts around the world. The Challenge was the final race on the first day of the BCHMR. There were several VRCBC members right in the thick of the action.

 

Check out the full story of the race and some excellent action photos on the West Coast Challenge’s own web site (here). We hope to see you all back again in 2025!

 

August 17, 2024

Tom Johnston (foreground) with (L to R) the JM2 sports racer, and the JM3 and JM6e Formula Atlantic cars. In the background are former and current drivers (L to R) Tony Carruthers, Ian Thomas, Ross Bentley and Marty Knoll. – Gerry Frechette photo

Posted: August 17, 2024

Tom Johnston is a Vancouver area mechanical engineer and long-time racer, constructor and motorsports supporter. He is a member of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame and the Greater Vancouver Motorsport Pioneers Society, an author, and was for many years the chairman of the BC Historic Motor Races. For this year’s BCHMR, we asked Tom to organize a demonstration of three of the cars he had designed and built during his spare(!) time from running his successful engineering company, during the 1970’s and 1980’s.

 

The three cars are the JM2 sports racer now owned by Ian Thomas, the JM3 Formula Atlantic car now owned by Marty Knoll, and the JM6e Formula Atlantic car now owned by Jim Keller. Both Ian and Marty had entered the JM2 and the JM3 to race in the Open Wheel / Sports Racer class and the plan had been for all three to do some parade laps at the lunch break on Sunday. However the racing gods intervened. It was impossible to get some rare engine parts for the JM6e in time and a rear suspension part on the JM2 broke during Friday’s practice session. So it was left to Marty to fly the flag alone during the races and the parade.

 

You can read Tom’s full story about his cars (and drivers) in the Program, which you can download as a PDF from the link on the right (or click here.)

 

 

 

August 17, 2024

The ‘Driver’s Edge Autosport Spec Miata Challenge’ podium! (L to R) Marcel Zhao (third place), Daniel Friedman (first place), Frank Micucci of Driver’s Edge Autosport and Mark Nickel (second place) – Hayley Spooner photo

Posted: August 17, 2024

The Mazda Miata has been a very popular amateur road racing car, particularly in North America, since it was first introduced in 1989. For many racers, it is the ‘spiritual’ successor to the Austin Healey Sprites and MG Midgets of the late fifties and early sixties.

 

 

Driver’s Edge Autosport of Burnaby has long been a very important supporter of local motorsport, including the BC Historic Motor Races. Because Miatas are such a popular racing car with area racers, including VRCBC members, Driver’s Edge offered to sponsor a challenge race for all Spec Miatas as the final race of the 2024 BCHMR.

 

Let the battle begin! The Miatas lined up in Pre-Grid. Grid positions were drawn from a hat at the Saturday night banquet, which resulted in some interesting ‘passing opportunities’ during the first few laps! – Hayley Spooner photo

 

This ‘all-comers’ challenge was a great way to close out our big weekend! The official results are posted under the Results menu (here). Maybe a repeat performance in 2025?

August 16, 2024

The Grand Opening ribbon cutting in front of our title sponsor Titanium Ford’s Mustang pace car! From left to right; Craig Larsen (SOVREN president), Pam Alexis (MLA for Abbotsford – Mission), Grand Marshal Ross Bentley (with the snips), Paul Horn (mayor of Mission) and Mike Bailey (VRCBC president) – Brent Martin photo

Posted: August 16, 2024

It is a VRCBC tradition to hold an opening ceremony during the Saturday lunch break at every BC Historic Motor Races. In keeping with the overall fun atmosphere of the BCHMR, this is always a very informal event.  We usually ask our special guest to snip a chequered flag ribbon, which is supported by the MLA for the area and the mayor of Mission, as well as the president of SOVREN, our ‘Vintage racing cousins’ from south of the border, plus our own president.

 

As you can see from the photo above, this year’s Grand Marshal Ross Bentley did the honours, with the help of local MLA Pam Alexis, Mission Mayor Paul Horn, SOVREN president Craig Larsen and our very own president, Mike Bailey.

 

We were very pleased to have well known local racer Ross Bentley as our Grand Marshal. You can read about Ross’s racing history and his more recent coaching activities in our 2024 program. Click the link to the right to download a PDF copy.

May 25, 2023

Our title sponsor, Titanium Ford’s Mustang Pace Car leads a ‘Faster’ Closed Wheel field around Turn 5 on the way to the Start / Finish Line and the green flag! – Brent Martin photo

Updated: May 29, 2023

We had a big surprise this year. The only time slot available to hold the 2023 BCHMR at the Speed-Fanatics Motorsports Circuit  turned out to be the May 13th-14th weekend. We had to scramble to get everything organized in time. The much earlier date than usual did impact our number of race entries, but (fortunately) the weather cooperated very well and a good time was had by all.

 

The results for all of the classes and groups are available online at MyLaps (here).

 

Our dedicated photographer Brent Martin has provided us with some of his photos of the action. Thanks Brent! Check them out below.

 

Remember, you can see all of Brent’s photos of the BCHMR weekend and for many, many other events at Mission Raceway Park, and elsewhere on Brent’s website (here).

 

Update: Our friend Steve Frye attended the BCHMR and also took some great photos. Here is a link to his album with some of the action in the two Closed Wheel groups. Photos of the other groups will be added soon! Thanks Steve!

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August 26, 2022

Traffic Jam in Turn One! Just two examples of the close competition during the 2022 BCHMR.

Updated: August 28, 2022

The weather was hot and so was the racing at the 2022 BC Historic Motor Races! There was action throughout the entire August 6th-7th weekend at the Speed-Fanatics Motorsports Circuit at Mission Raceway Park.  The results for all of the classes and groups are available online at MyLaps (here). More detailed results by race group in PDF can be downloaded from this website here:

Closed Wheel A          Closed Wheel B          Exhibition and Formula Ford          Formula Vee

Our dedicated photographer Brent Martin has provided us with some of his photos of the action. Thanks Brent! Check them out below.

And remember, you can see all of Brent’s photos of the BCHMR weekend and for many, many other events at Mission Raceway Park, and elsewhere on Brent’s website (here).

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August 11, 2022

L to R: Brad Shinn (SOVREN President), Pam Alexis (MLA for Abbotsford-Mission), Paul Horn (Mayor of Mission) and Mike Zbarsky (VRCBC President). _ Brent Martin photo

Posted: August 11, 2022

It is a tradition at the BC Historic Motor Races to hold the opening ceremonies half way through the second day of the weekend’s racing! Don’t ask; we just do it that way! This year we were honoured to have two special guests, Pam Alexis, the MLA for Abbotsford-Mission and Paul Horn, the Mayor of Mission. With majestic Mount Baker in the background, they jointly snipped the ‘ribbon’, which was held by fellow Vintage racers, Brad Shinn, the President of SOVREN and Mike Zbarsky, the President of the VRCBC.

Before and after the ceremony, they spoke with many racers in the Paddock. It was very enjoyable and we plan to welcome them back next year!

November 30, 2018

Posted: November 30, 2018

SOVREN, our Vintage racing friends from just south of the border publish an excellent magazine, Vintage Drift. Their current November issue features a report on the 2018 BCHMR from our favourite photo-journalist Brent Martin.

You can check out the story in ‘jpeg format’ here (page 1, page 2, page 3) or better yet contact SOVREN to see if you can get a hard copy when you order your subscription!

See you in August!

September 16, 2018

Posted: September 16, 2018

Vintage Road & Racecar magazine – The International Authority on Classic, Historic and Vintage Racecars and Roadcars – has published a report on our favourite race by our favourite photojournalist, Brent Martin.

“The 31st running of the B.C. Historic Motor Races (BCHMR) once again took place at the Mission Raceway Park Road Course in Mission British Columbia, under hot and smoky conditions due to the over 500 forest fires burning all over British Columbia. 93 vintage and historic racers from B.C., Alberta, Washington and Montana all came together for the two-day event put on by the Vintage Racing Club of B.C. (VRCBC).

There were four race groups this year ………. ”

You can read the rest of Brent’s article here; thanks to Vintage Road & Racecar and (as always) thanks to Brent.

August 29, 2018

Michael Deilke (1969 BMW 2002) and Dennis Repel (1974 Camaro) leading this section of the Closed Wheel grid to the green flag for one of the starts at the 2018 BC Historic Motor Races. – Brent Martin photo

Updated: September 16, 2018

The latest edition of the BC Historic Motor Races was a great event. The weather cooperated – although there was a persistent haze due to forest fire smoke, there were many full grids with excellent racing throughout, many enthusiasts participated in the Field of Dreams car show and parade laps, and our ‘charity of choice’ the Mission Hospice Society raised a lot of funds to support their work with children.

Ann and Al Ores in the Pre-Grid at the 2018 BC Historic Motor Races – Brent Martin photo

One big highlight of the weekend was the celebration of 50(!) years of racing by Al Ores, BC’s most admired, respected and loved road racer. Formula Vee racers came from everywhere to participate in a race in his honour, and to have a lot of fun at his expense at the Saturday night dinner.

Ian Wood demonstrating Dann Boeschen’s 1966 Porsche 906 at the 2018 BC Historic Motor Races. – Brent Martin photo

We were also very pleased to have Dann Boeschen bring his beautifully restored 1966 Porsche 906 for paddock display and demonstration laps by local veteran Ian Wood and former Porsche factory racer Kees Nierop. This very car had raced at the legendary Westwood track in the sixties in the hands of Lew Florence.

Guest of Honour John Randall cuts the ‘racer tape’ in front of Dann Boeschen’s Porsche 906 to officially open the 2018 BC Historic Motor Races. Dann (L) and the VRCBC’s Tom Johnston (R), a member of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame, assist. – Brent Martin photo

Our 2018 Guest of Honour, another Westwood legend, retired racer John Randall, was all smiles as he watched one of his favourite racing cars of all time in motion again.

The full weekend’s results are available on MyLaps Race Monitor (here).

Check out some of Brent Martin’s photos of the action below. There are even more on his web site for both Friday Practice Day / Saturday  (here) and Sunday (here).

Update: We have links to even more photos from three other guest photographers.

  • Ken Ballweg (simple registration required): here
  • Alwyn Slabbert: Closed Wheel (here), Open Wheel (here)
  • Stephen Frye: Closed Wheel Group A (here), Closed Wheel Group B (here)

Thanks guys; great photos – much appreciated!

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November 4, 2017

Posted: November 4, 2017

Probably the best story at the 2017 BCHMR was the reunion of local racing legend Laurie Craig with the Corvette Sting Ray in which he won the 1966 Player’s Pacific at Westwood. Laurie hadn’t seen or heard of the car since he sold it in 1967. David and Stephanie Lambdin had no idea of the history of this ‘Vette when they bought it – sight unseen – in Anchorage of all places!

The story of how David and Stephanie did all of the research, eventually tracked down Laurie and then were able to get the Corvette to Mission (just!) in time for the BCHMR is worthy of a Hollywood movie script! And you can read all about it here.

Laurie had a chance to do some demo laps in his favourite racing car with David in the passenger seat. It was a great experience for everybody and we were very pleased to be the ‘host’.

 

October 2, 2017

A proud(?) Tom Leeming poses shortly after being awarded the Battered Cup in recognition of his dismal luck at the 2017 BCHMR. The guilty party, Tom’s beautiful 1973 Alfa Romeo GTV is trying unsuccessfully to hide behind him. – Roger van der Marel photo

Posted: October 2, 2017

At every BC Historic Motor Races, the VRCBC awards (probably not the best word for it) The Battered Cup to ‘the driver, car or crew that has suffered the most battering or generally inhumane treatment from the evil spirits of motor racing‘. We have had some very deserving recipients in the past but our 2017 ‘winner’, Tom Leeming has probably set the threshold at a new height (or maybe it is depth?).

The 2017 BCHMR was to be Tom’s first time at the Mission Raceway Park Road Course and he thought it would be a good idea to enter the Friday Practice Day to learn the track before the racing started on the weekend. So he drove the 1,260 km from his home in Ennis, Montana to Mission and was ready to go first thing Friday morning. However, after only a few laps, his Alfa’s engine began overheating. A quick diagnosis identified a blown head gasket and possibly more serious issues that could not be fixed in time so Tom loaded up the trailer and headed back the 1,260 km to home, never even having had the chance to ‘turn a lap in anger’.

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September 22, 2017

Look out, here they come! Turn One at the start of one of the very competitive races at the 2017 BCHMR. – Brent Martin photo

Updated: September 28, 2017

Well, that was a lot of fun! The weather was excellent, most of the grids were full and there were many competitive battles throughout the fields.

Here are the results by race group:

  • Vintage Closed Wheel A (Fast) Group (here)
  • Vintage Closed Wheel B (Faster) Group (here)
  • Vintage Open Wheel / Sports Racer / Exhibition (here)
  • All-Japanese Group (here)

The results are also available by individual race group and session on the 2017 Race Results page on this web site (here).

Thanks very much to the SCCBC Timing & Scoring team and Marc Ramsay in particular.

Update: See some of Brent Martin’s photos below and his BCHMR report in the online edition of Vintage Racecar / Vintage Roadcar magazine (here). Thanks Brent!

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August 25, 2017

Our guest of honour at the 2017 BC Historic Motor Races was David Ousted, from our presenting sponsor Key West Ford. – Brent Martin photo

Posted: August 25, 2017

We were very pleased to have David Ousted, the very popular goalkeeper of the Vancouver Whitecaps and Key West Ford‘s official representative, on hand to perform the official ribbon (well, tape) cutting ceremony at the 2017 edition of the BC Historic Motor Races presented by Key West Ford.

The ‘ribbon’ was held by VRCBC president Stanton Guy and long time SOVREN racer and BCHMR supporter Charly Mitchel of Tacoma.

David did such a great job that he was awarded one of our famous Morris the Mission Moose, which are traditionally reserved for drivers who put on an excellent display during a race.

(L to R) Stanton Guy, VRCBC president, Liz Smith, VRCBC Life Member and keeper of the Mission Moose, David Ousted of Key West Ford, Morris the Mission Moose, Charly Mitchel, Vintage racer and winner of several Moose over the years. – Brent Martin photo

Just the first of many big awards this year we trust David; good luck to you and your team mates this MLS season!  There are more photos of David’s fun day at the track, including his ride in the very fast Key West Ford Mustang, here.

Thanks to both David and Key West Ford for helping us promote and celebrate the BC Historic Motor Races!

August 29, 2016

A classic British sports car 'David and Goliath' battle perfectly illustrates why Vintage racing is so much fun. Karlo Flores and his 1959 Austin Healey 'Bugeye' Sprite chase Gunter Pichler and his 1964 Jaguar XKE. - Brent Martin photo

This classic British sports car ‘David and Goliath’ battle perfectly illustrates why Vintage racing is so much fun. Karlo Flores and his 1959 Austin Healey ‘Bugeye’ Sprite chase Gunter Pichler and his 1964 Jaguar XKE during the 2016 BCHMR. – Brent Martin photo

Posted: August 29, 2016

The 2016 BCHMR was another fun event! Racers, officials and spectators all had a great time and – except for it being a ‘little(!) warm’ on the Saturday, the weather was perfect.

Vancouver Canucks hero Kirk McLean did the honours at our Sunday grand opening ceremony on behalf of our presenting sponsor, Key West Ford. Kirk was ably assisted by two legends from the world of Canadian motorsport, Bill Sadler and Al Ores.

Kirk McLean cuts the ribbon to officially open the 2016 BCHMR. Canadian Motorsport Hall of Famer Bill Sadler (L) and BC road racing legend All Ores (R) 'pick up the pieces! - Brent Martin photo

Kirk McLean cuts the ribbon to officially open the 2016 BCHMR. Canadian Motorsport Hall of Famer Bill Sadler (L) and BC road racing legend All Ores (R) ‘pick up the pieces! – Brent Martin photo

And to top it all off, almost $5,000 was raised for the VRCBC’s ‘Charity of Choice’, the Mission Hospice Society, through the generosity of spectators, our sponsors – particularly ADESA Richmond – and individual Club members.

Our very own Brent Martin had his BCHMR race report published in Vintage Racecar / Vintage Roadcar magazine within days!

2016-08-29_12-33-08

Click here to read his full report. Well done Brent; thank you!

In other news! :

  • Results: The full weekend on-track results and trophy and award winners, are posted on this web site under the Results menu. Click here.
  • Photos & Videos: There are many photos and several on-board videos posted on this web site under the Photos & Videos menu. Click here.
  • Facebook: And if you follow social media, you can find the 2016 BCHMR Facebook page here.

 Next time!

August 24, 2015

After many years of competition in the Pacific North West, Doug Yip is retiring his well-known 1967 Sunbeam Tiger Mk 2 from the race track. The Tiger went out with its customary flourish at the BCHMR. - Brent Martin photo

After many years of competition in the Pacific North West, Doug Yip is retiring his well-known 1967 Sunbeam Tiger Mk 2 from the race track. The Tiger went out with its customary flourish at the BCHMR. – Brent Martin photo

Updated: September 2, 2015

The 2015 BCHMR is now in the record books. The weather was perfect and the cars looked great!

Results:

The complete results for the weekend are now available on this web site. Go to the ‘2015 Results‘ page under the Results menu above, or just click here.

Photos: 

We have received literally hundreds of photos from many photographers. (Thank you!) A lot of them will eventually be posted on this web site but in the meantime, check them out on the VRCBC Facebook Group (here) and the BCHMR Facebook page (here).