MISSION, BC – The 37th running of the “Titanium Ford” B.C. Historic Motor Races (BCHMR) took place under beautiful weather at the Mission Raceway Park Motorsports Circuit in Mission, B.C. Over 100 vintage and historic racers from B.C., Alberta and Washington State came together for the two-day event (August 8-9, 2026), which was organized by the Vintage Racing Club of B.C. (VRCBC) and hosted by the Sports Car Club of British Columbia. This year’s race weekend also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the VRCBC.
The BCHMR was extremely fortunate to have Comox, B.C.’s Nicole Havrda serving as grand marshal this year. Nicole competed in the F1 Academy last year and is currently racing in the IMSA VP Racing Sports Car Challenge.
PHOTO GALLERY: Photos by Brent Martin. Story continued below…
There were four race groups this year consisting of Group “A” (Fast Cars, 1980 and older), Group “B” (Faster Cars, 1980 and older), Group “C” (Vintage Cars, 1981-2001) and an Open Wheel/Sports Racer group, which also included the B.C. Legends cars.
The BCHMR featured plenty of exciting racing in the Group “A,” Group “B” and Group “C” divisions for closed-wheel vintage production and improved production cars. Group “A” had five races, with Lake Tapps, Washington’s Stephen Newby in his 1959 Austin-Healey Sprite taking home the wins in races one and two. The race three winner was Mark Hansen from Mount Vernon, Washington, in his 1961 Austin-Healey Sprite. The winner of race four was Pritchard, B.C.’s Geoff Tupholme in a 1970 MG Midget, while Loren Campbell of Issaquah, Washington, took home the race five victory in his 1959 Austin-Healey Mk. I Sprite.
There were also five races for Group “B,” with Steve Van Meel from Langley, B.C., in a very quick 1975 Chevrolet Camaro taking home wins in races one, two and four. Burnaby, B.C.’s Malcolm McQueen, driving a 1972 Datsun 510, captured victories in races three and five.
In Group “C,” Ryan O’Conner of Vancouver, B.C., in his beautiful 1985 Chevrolet Camaro took home victories in races one and five. Races two and four were won by Maple Ridge, B.C.’s Brad Zimmerman in his 1995 Nissan 240SX. Jason Wesson, in his reliable 1990 Acura Integra, took home the race three win on Saturday. The final closed-wheel race of the weekend, the Jim Latham Memorial for the combined Group “A,” “B” and “C” cars, was won by Malcolm McQueen in his Datsun 510.
The Open Wheel/Sports Racer group also had five races over the weekend, with Brett Payne from Cultus Lake, B.C., taking home all five wins in his 1980 Van Diemen RF80 Formula Ford after battling all weekend with Robert Fraser from Langley, B.C., in his 1991 Citation Formula Ford. The feature race for the group, the Abbotsford Trophy Race, was also won by Payne for a clean sweep of the weekend.
The B.C. Legends Series was invited back again this year to join the weekend with its 1934 and 1937 Ford- and Chevrolet-bodied Legends racers. Wayne Goodwin from Chilliwack, B.C., in his 1934 Ford Legends car was the overall winner for the weekend. The series once again put on a great show, and fans enjoyed checking out the cars in the paddock area and talking with the drivers.
This year also included a round of the West Coast Sprite-Midget Challenge Series, which featured a Le Mans-style start. This year’s Group “A” winner (1,245cc) was Bill Okell of Victoria, B.C., in his 1968 MG Midget, followed by Geoff Tupholme (1970 MG Midget) and Stephen Newby (1959 Austin-Healey Sprite). The Group “B” winner (1,098cc) was Martin Maggio in his 1963 MG Midget.
The “Drivers Edge Autosport” Spec Miata race once again provided a great battle, and in the end was won by Peter DeVido of Langley, B.C., followed by Mark Nickel of Surrey, B.C., and Brian Harvey of Kelowna, B.C., with all three drivers finishing within half a second of each other.
Once again this year, several SOVREN racers from Washington State made the trek north to Canada to battle for SOVREN points, enjoy some great Canadian hospitality and make new friends. This year’s SOVREN Canada Cup was presented to Roger Flescher, who came north from Bellingham, Washington, with his beautiful 1967 Sunbeam Tiger and was recognized for his unbridled enthusiasm for vintage racing.
The VRCBC was grateful for their participation, and the competitors had nothing but positive things to say about the event. Many were already planning to return in the future and bring even more SOVREN members with them.
Other trophies presented during the weekend included the Pete Lovely Memorial Award for the best-prepared car, which went to Fedrick Wong and his Crosslé 45F Formula Ford. The SCCBC Award for Spirited Driving was presented to Cody Paris of Woodinville, Washington, in his 1973 Elden Mk. 10.
The Battered Cup, the event’s hard-luck award, was presented to Anthony Nadalin of Woodinville, Washington, who broke the transmission in his 1965 FFR Challenge during race one and was sidelined for the remainder of the weekend.
The Abbotsford Formula Vee Trophy was presented to Aaron Robins and his 1994 Crusader FV, while the Westwood Formula Ford Trophy was won by Brett Payne and his 1980 Van Diemen FF.
The final award of the weekend was the Chairman’s Award, which was presented by event chairperson Gayle Baird to VRCBC president Mike Bailey in recognition of his tireless efforts, along with Gayle’s, in organizing another successful event. Gayle, as usual, also pulled double duty during the weekend, racing both her 1991 Honda Civic and her 1964 Formula Vee.
At the end of the weekend, everyone went home happy and excited about returning next year for the 38th running of this great event.
The VRCBC would like to thank all participants, volunteers, course marshals and emergency crews for making this year’s event another great success. The club would also like to thank B.C. Historic Motor Races title sponsor “Titanium Ford,” associate sponsors IWE Rear Ends Only, Drivers Edge Autosport and the Sports Car Club of B.C., along with all of the program sponsors for their continued support.
A special thanks also goes to Five Roads Brewing Company for supplying all the beer at the Saturday night banquet.
For information on the 2027 B.C. Historic Motor Races, visit vrcbc.ca or bchmr.ca.
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