The 44th annual VARAC Vintage Grand Prix, one of five major events on the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) calendar, will once again feature a busy line-up of both on-track and off-track activities.
VARAC competition will be split into Vintage Historic (VH), Classic/Modern Classic (CL) and Formula Classic (FC). These three categories are further divided into classes, which then race together in various groups.
VH classes with lap times under 1:47.5 will race together in Group 1/2A, while VH classes with lap times over 1:47.5 will race together in Group 2B/2C. The age cut-off between Vintage Historic and Classic has been updated for this season, with VH including models up to 1979, such as MG, Triumph, Lola, Mini and Ginetta.
CL classes with lap times under 1:35, plus VH cars weighing over 2,500 pounds, will race in Group 4, while CL classes with lap times over 1:35 will race in Group 3. CL cars feature models from 1980 to 2006, including Porsche, Mazda, BMW, Audi, Ford and Toyota.
Formula Classic splits into classes based on vehicle year and type, with all cars racing in Group 5A. These open-wheel cars feature models from 1966 to 2000, such as Van Diemen, Lola, BRD and Lotus.
In addition to the VARAC competition, there will be a pair of touring series taking part in the Vintage Grand Prix. The Toyo Tires F1600 Championship will be the one exception to the vintage rule, with the entry-level series featuring modern-day open-wheel cars. F1600 is a step on the racing ladder, with some aspiring talent found in its ranks.
Meanwhile, the Formula Ford Challenge Series features first-, second- and third-generation Formula Ford cars from 1967 to post-1981. This is the only Canadian stop on the series’ 2024 schedule, with other events taking place in the northeastern US.
Porsche is the featured marque this year and will be highlighted in a pair of special races on Sunday afternoon. The All Porsche Race will have drivers pitted against each other, before they team up to battle competing manufacturers in the Rudy Bartling Nation’s Cup. The top-ten finishers are scored in the Nation’s Cup (winner gets 10 points, second-place gets 9 points, etc.), with the highest scoring team (Porsche or the field) taking top honours.
There will be three other special races held during the Vintage Grand Prix. The MG-Triumph Challenge will see the top MG and Triumph, plus the overall winner, awarded; joining that contest on Friday afternoon will be an All Volvo Race. And the Ludwig Heimrath Open Wheel Challenge will conclude action on Saturday.
Over 200 cars are expected to take part in the Vintage Grand Prix. With vintage racing being front-and-centre on one of Canada’s most storied circuits, the annual tradition is often circled on drivers’ calendars as one to win. With fans camping and coming for the day, the atmosphere is something worth noting.
“We want to have people come out and enjoy the racing,” said Vintage Grand Prix director Peter Lambrinos. “We have the car shows, the Mini Meet North. We want people to enjoy that and see vintage vehicles all weekend. The fans can tour the paddock areas, where all the cars are, and talk with the drivers and look at all the classic and vintage cars that are out there.”
The passion on display at the Vintage Grand Prix is something that stands out to Robert Offley, who drives a 1972 Porsche 911 in the Classic category.
“It’s the main event of the year…you spend most of the winter focused on it and getting ready for it,” said Offley. “Once you’re there, you can really enjoy the whole atmosphere, the smell, the people, the racing, it’s just a very upbeat, high-energy event.”
There will be plenty to see and do off-track for fans and competitors alike. Saturday will feature Mini Meet North, a meet-up of car clubs, with Austin Minis, Mini Cooper and Cooper S models. The group will run parade laps around CTMP during the lunch break.
On Sunday, the Field of Dreams car show will feature a variety of performance vehicles at turn eight, with the many spectacular rides then parading the ten-turn road course during the lunch break. Last year saw 192 cars in attendance, with 100 lapping the track.
Publican House Brewery, from Peterborough, ON, will return to provide beer and barbeque for the festival atmosphere that happens after the track goes silent. For early arrivals on Wednesday, there will be food and the band Who Stole the Cookies? in the lower paddock. Thursday’s barbeque and band will feature Fun Comes Fast, a group made up of racers.
The John Greenwood Reception & Dinner will be held in the CTMP Conference Centre on Friday evening, before a party in the lower paddock, with the band Dramazoid. The ‘CPS Paddock Crawl,’ sponsored by CPS Flooring, will have food stations set up in the paddock, along with Publican House beer, on Saturday. Working alongside the track safety team to provide live entertainment, the group Mudmen will perform during a party on the hill.
With off-track activities throughout the entire event, the Vintage Grand Prix hopes to provide something not found at other races.
A BIG SOCIAL EVENT
“We look at it as a big social event,” said Lambrinos. “I’ve gone to a lot of races in the States and they may have a banquet and that’s it, whereas we want to encourage people to come and enjoy the whole weekend; day racing, evening camaraderie – the music, the beer flowing, the food’s there, just to get everybody involved…a lot of people from out of town, who aren’t part of our club, love that because they don’t get that in the States or out east or out west.”
There are limited breaks in a schedule that goes from racing during the day to party at night; the non-stop nature of the event is something that Offley enjoys.
“There’s a huge amount of track time, but to me, it’s far more than that,” said Offley. “You’re out on the track or you’re meeting fellow drivers or you’re talking to spectators and I think it’s just a great event for everyone to come out and recognize vintage racing…to me, it’s connecting, friends on and off the track; enjoying competitive racing but also taking the time to enjoy the connections and the people.”
For the on-track schedule, practice and qualifying will make up the majority of Friday’s itinerary, with the first Formula Ford Challenge Series event and a pair of special races to follow. Racing action resumes at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, continuing until about 5 p.m., while Sunday’s on-track activity will run on a similar schedule.
The exact timing and duration of the races are subject to change, depending on factors such as weather and wrecks. Trophies will be presented to the podium finishers of each class after the special and feature races; the feature races are the last events for each group.
