January 2004

Happy New Year! It’s only three months until Spring Fling and I can just imagine the flurry of activity in garages and shops (oh yeah… it’s already 2004 and the racing season is just around the corner!) Personally I’ve embarked on restoring my Datsun’s engine bay (the first part of what I’m sure will become a multiple year restoration adventure) – 32 years of racing history has put enough dings, dents and holes to warrant some serious TLC. I’d love to hear what everyone else is up to…

G70+ Activity

The first feelers sent out for Group 70+ produced a great response! Jon and I have heard from many interested drivers and we were able to find a significant number of the ‘most wanted’ – it’s shaping up to be a great series. Our racing list of eligible cars has just hit the 40 mark! And we're still looking for more to find a good base for all the races. Thanks to all of those who have passed around the news. January starts a full on promotional blitz – watch for articles in your local club newsletters and websites. If you’re interested in contributing, just let me know! Thanks to Bruce Farrow who has released an article on the Porsche website, and an upcoming article in PCA’s Provinz magazine. (www.pcaucr.org)

G70+ Racing Schedule

Racer’s feedback for the upcoming season was very positive (21 responses from an initial 25) – thanks for your input! For the overall ‘wish list’ a few dates were no-brainers – the VARAC festival (June 24– 27), the CRDA/VARAC mini-festival (Sept 4/5) and CASC Celebration (Oct 2/3). There was insufficient interest to run a Shannonville event but more interest in a date near the beginning of the season, then another in mid-summer (between the festivals). Over half of the participants are committed to making it out to all of the Group 70+ races, the others are more occasional participants, opting for the more popular dates. VARAC will now negotiate these race dates with CASC and the host clubs. We’ll send out a final schedule as soon as it’s confirmed. (Should be in two weeks)

Racing Numbers

Group 70+ will be administering it’s own set of racing numbers. If you’re already a VARAC member and have registered your racing number, then you will maintain the same number and don’t need to contact me (unless you’d like it changed for the G70+ grid). Otherwise, please email me your preferred race number. This was done for a couple of reasons. VARAC has a significant number of cars registered and has reached some duplication in historically significant numbers. As well, some Group 70+ cars will be running in other series (in Canada or the U.S.) and already have registered numbers in these series. VARAC regulations place Group 70+ cars onto a separate grid than any other VARAC cars (speed differential and safety measures), so there exists an opportunity for us to minimize the headache of changing race numbers. My apologies to those of us who’s primary role was to make sure that the extra duct-tape was added to change numbers between sessions last year – do you believe there was another #13 on the grid? AND it was a Datsun 240z? I guess we’ll have to torque the wheels instead J

Eligibility Rules

VARAC Group 70+ rules are officially listed at www.varac.ca/technical.html. The rules specify that each entrant must present their car to the Group 70+ eligibility committee for review. It also specifies that each entrant is responsible to ensure that their car is prepared and maintained to the rule set of any series that was established between 1973 and 1987. To make this task as efficient and consistent as possible, we’re requesting that all entrants fill out a Group 70+ Technical Registration Form. This will serve as your official presentation of eligibility. We will have this posted on the VARAC website and let you know as soon as it is available.

Period Rules and Regulations

The collection continues… Jon and I are currently in the process of collecting rule sets for any established series during the 1973 to 1987 time period. Thanks to CASC archives, I have been able to locate all of the FIA rule sets, the majority of CASC rule sets and a few miscellaneous series for the Group 70+ time period (SCCA, IMSA, Rothman Porsche, Honda/Michelin, etc.) If you would like information or have additional information on any of these rule sets, please let me know.

CASC Licenses and VARAC Membership

CASC has released its license renewal forms for 2004 at www.casc.on.ca (currently under construction - will be back up soon.) VARAC is a CASC affiliated club and its membership is recognized as the largest club with CASC licenses. VARAC Memberships can be purchased by contacting Nick Pratt at varacmembership@rogers.com. See the VARAC website for more information (www.varac.ca/membership.html) If this will be your first year with a license, VARAC instructors will be teaching at the MCO school, April 24/25 at Shannonville. Other license-eligible schools are available; contact CASC for details.

VARAC bios

Did you know that VARAC hosts a gallery of driver profiles on its website? Check it out – www.varac.ca/gallery.html. I’ve posted my own as the first entry in the new Group 70+ section that you can use as a template – we’d love to add your bio! (Otherwise it looks like I’m running on my own in G70+ and well – that’s just silly – my first time in pole position J.) Once you’ve renewed your VARAC membership, send me your favourite pictures and any of the following information and I’ll make sure it gets posted. (If you need some help – send me the essentials and I’ll be creative!) Race Cars; Race Class; Other Cars; Significant Other; Dependents: Real Job; Racing History; Specialty; About Myself; Email; Website; NOTE: - if you're sending big picture files, send them to my personal account - panic@interlog.com (hotmail doesn't accept big attachments and your email will get rejected.)

And just for fun…

• Check out www.classicscars.com. They have the most concise listing of historical race results I’ve ever seen! Want to prove your car make and model ran in a specific series? It’s there in documented proof!
• Vintage Motorsports magazine has been running a fantastic four-part series of the history of IMSA starting with their 2003/06 issue. www.vintagemotorsport.com for back issues and subscriptions.

Group 70+ is a VARAC promoted racing class that currently celebrates the history of racing from 1973 to 1987. VARAC is the association of vintage racecars in Canada that celebrates the passion of preserving, restoring and racing vintage racecars.

You're on this email list because somewhere along the line you expressed an interest in VARAC's Group 70+, perhaps in the capacity of driver, organizer, spectator or just plain keener trying to keep on top of things in the racing world. Let me know if you don't want to be on the list anymore, or feel free to pass it on to others who might be interested.

Diane Dale - lddale@hotmail.com (administration and promotion)

Jonathon Brett - kim.zachjess@sympatico.ca (technical eligibility)

www.varac.ca