The 34th running of the “Titanium Ford” B.C. Historic Motor Races (BCHMR) took place under fantastic weather conditions at the Speed-Fanatics Motorsports Circuit, Mission Raceway Park in Mission British Columbia. Vintage & historic racers from B.C. and Washington state all came together for the two-day event (May 13-14, 2023) put on by the Vintage Racing Club of B.C. (VRCBC) and hosted by the Speed-Fanatics Motorsports Club.
There were four race groups this year consisting of Group “A” (Fast Cars, pre 1980), Group “B” (Faster Cars, pre 1980), Group “C” (Vintage cars from 1980-1998) and an Open Wheel/Sports Car group.
The BCHMR featured lots of exciting racing in the Group “A”, Group “B” and Group “C” divisions for closed wheel vintage production & improved production cars. Group “A” had four races with Richmond B.C.’s Paul Haym in his 1969 BMW 2002 taking home the first win, Lake Tapps Washington’s Stephen Newby in his 1959 Austin Healy Sprite taking home wins in races two and three and Byron Meston from Maple Ridge B.C. in his 1969 Datsun 510 taking home the other class win.
There were also four races for Group “B” with Don Benson from Chilliwack B.C. in his 1974 Porsche RS taking the race one win followed closely by Brett Payne from Cultus Lake B.C. in a 1972 Porsche RSR, In race two and three Brett Payne took home the wins followed by Don Benson. Pat Hall from Nelson B.C. took home the final Group “B” win followed by Brett Payne. The Group “3” race one winner was Brad Zimmerman of Maple Ridge B.C. in his beautiful 1995 Nissan 240SX, the final three races in group “3” were all won by White Rock B.C.’s Georges Kreuzkamp in his reliable 1990 Acura Integra. The final race of the weekend for the combined group “A”,”B” and “C” cars was won by Brett Payne, followed by Georges Kreuzkamp and Pat Hall.
The Open Wheel/Sports Racer group also had five races over the weekend with Erle Archer from West Kelowna B.C. in his 1967 Lotus S3 taking a clean sweep with all five wins. A couple of the highlights of the open wheel group was the first outing of Langley B.C.’s Doug Seal and his beautiful 1967 Lotus type 41 and Leigh Manyk from Kelowna B.C. in his 1963 Lotus 23B sports racer.
Once again this year several SOVREN racers from Washington State make the trek up to Canada to battle for double SOVREN points and enjoy some great Canadian hospitality as well as make some new friends. This year the SOVREN Canada Cup was presented to Frank DiMiceli from Renton Washington who came north with his 1990 Mazda Miata and was recognized for his unbridled enthusiasm for vintage racing. The VRCBC was grateful for their participation and they all had nothing but great things to say about the event (a few of them even told the mayor of Mission how much they loved coming up to Mission year after year)and were planning on coming back in the future & bringing more SOVREN members with them.
The other trophies for the weekend were the Pete Lovely Memorial Award for the best prepared car of the weekend & this year’s recipient was Rich Newman from Tacoma Washington in his 1960 Austin Healey Sebring Sprite. The SCCBC award for spirited driving was presented this year to Stephen Newby and his 1959 Austin Healey Sprite. The Battered Cup which nobody wants to win was awarded this year to Maple Ridge’s B.C.’s Peter Strachan in his 1972 Datsun 510 who won on a tie breaker (most oil on the track). The final award for the weekend was the Chairman’s award that this year was presented by event chairperson Gayle Baird to Byron Meston in his #510 1969 Datsun 510. (Gayle as usual did double duty during the weekend racing both her 1991 Honda Civic and 1964 Formula Vee).
At the end of the weekend everyone went home happy and excited about returning next year for the 35nd running of this great event. The VRCBC would like to thank all the participants, volunteers, course marshals & emergency crew for making this year’s event another great success. VRCBC would like also to thank the B.C. Historic Motor Races title sponsor “Titanium Ford” and associate sponsors Speed-Fanatics, Province of B.C., IWE Rear Ends Only, the Sports Car Club of B.C. & all the other program sponsors for their continued support.
For information on the 2024B.C. Historic Motor Races visit vrcbc.ca or bchmr.ca
Photo Gallery
