The Official Newsletter of the Motorsport Emergency and Turnworkers Association M.E.T.A. c/o: 10952 McAdam Road, Delta, BC, V4C 3E8 Newsletter E-Mail: [email protected]META Website: http://www.meta.bc.ca/ June 2015 Volume 40 Issue #6 CLUB EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT: Roger Salomon 604-581-7189 [email protected]VICE PRESIDENT: Dallis Smith 604-464-0983 [email protected]SECRETARY: Angus Glass 604-596-4736 [email protected]TREASURER: Linda Zumm 604-521-4439 [email protected]PAST PRESIDENT: Lynn Rimmer 604-584-1503 [email protected]NEWSLETTER STAFF EDITOR: Andrew Clouston 604-942-4974 [email protected]fax 604-777-7703 MEMBERSHIP Thomas Liesner 604-584-1503 [email protected]All opinions expressed in the Mayday are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Mayday staff, Club Executive, or the members of META. META meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of every month, except December. Publication deadline is the 30th of each month. Submissions may be faxed or e-mailed to the Editor. Produced in Canada. Next META meeting will be June 24 June 24 June 24 June 24, 2015 , 2015 , 2015 , 2015 Our meeting location is Boston Pizza 1045 Columbia, New Westminster, BC Speed Reading Jun 10 SCCBC Meeting – Best Western, North Road Coquitlam, BC Jun 12-14 Rose Cup Races & Regional – PIR SCCA/OR Portland, Or Jun 13&14 Driver Training – MRP SCCBC Mission, BC Jun 13&14 Chumpcar World Series – ORP Chumpcar Grass Valley, Or Jun 14 Toronto Indy Indycar Toronto, Ont Jun 19-21 ICSCC Race #6&7&8 – SCR NWMS Spokane, Wa Jun 20 Mission Soapbox Derby MDSDA Mission, BC Jun 24 META Meeting – Boston Pizza 7:30 New West, BC Jun 27 MAVTV 500 Indycar Fontana, Ca Jun 27&28 CACC Race #2 – MRP SCCBC Mission, BC Jun 28 Six hours of the Glen IMSA Watkins Glen, NY Jul 3-5 Pacific NW Historics – PR SOVREN Seattle, Wa Jul 3-5 SCCA Majors Tour– PIR SCCA/OR Portland, Or Jul 8 SCCBC Meeting – Best Western, North Road Coquitlam, BC Jul 11&12 Portland Historic Races-PIR SVRA Portland, Or Jul 11&12 24 Hours of LeMons – TRMP Shelton, Wa Jul 12 Grand Prix of Mosport IMSA Bowmanville, Ont Jul 12 Milwaukee Indyfest Indycar Milwaukee, Wis Jul 18 Iowa Corn 250 Indycar Newton, Iowa Jul 18&19 CACC Race #3 – MRP SCCBC Mission, BC Jul 18&19 Double Regional – TRMP SCCA/NWR Shelton, Wa Jul 22 META Meeting – Boston Pizza 7:30 New West, BC Jul 25 Lime Rock Park IMSA Lakeville, Ct JUNE 20, 2015 Volunteers Required Sports Car Club of British Columbia Presents June Bug June 27-28, 2015
Transcript
The Official Newsletter of the Motorsport Emergency and Turnworkers Association
MEMBERSHIP Thomas Liesner 604-584-1503 [email protected] All opinions expressed in the Mayday are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Mayday staff, Club Executive, or the members of META. META meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of every month, except December. Publication deadline is the 30th of each month. Submissions may be faxed or e-mailed to the Editor. Produced in Canada.
Next META meeting will be
June 24June 24June 24June 24, 2015, 2015, 2015, 2015 Our meeting location is Boston Pizza
1045 Columbia, New Westminster, BC
Speed Reading Jun 10 SCCBC Meeting – Best Western, North Road Coquitlam, BC
Jun 12-14 Rose Cup Races & Regional – PIR SCCA/OR Portland, Or
Jun 13&14 Driver Training – MRP SCCBC Mission, BC
Jun 13&14 Chumpcar World Series – ORP Chumpcar Grass Valley, Or
Jun 14 Toronto Indy Indycar Toronto, Ont
Jun 19-21 ICSCC Race #6&7&8 – SCR NWMS Spokane, Wa
Jun 20 Mission Soapbox Derby MDSDA Mission, BC
Jun 24 META Meeting – Boston Pizza 7:30 New West, BC
Jun 27 MAVTV 500 Indycar Fontana, Ca
Jun 27&28 CACC Race #2 – MRP SCCBC Mission, BC
Jun 28 Six hours of the Glen IMSA Watkins Glen, NY
Jul 3-5 Pacific NW Historics – PR SOVREN Seattle, Wa
Jul 3-5 SCCA Majors Tour– PIR SCCA/OR Portland, Or
Jul 8 SCCBC Meeting – Best Western, North Road Coquitlam, BC
Jul 11&12 Portland Historic Races-PIR SVRA Portland, Or
Jul 11&12 24 Hours of LeMons – TRMP Shelton, Wa
Jul 12 Grand Prix of Mosport IMSA Bowmanville, Ont
Jul 12 Milwaukee Indyfest Indycar Milwaukee, Wis
Jul 18 Iowa Corn 250 Indycar Newton, Iowa
Jul 18&19 CACC Race #3 – MRP SCCBC Mission, BC
Jul 18&19 Double Regional – TRMP SCCA/NWR Shelton, Wa
Jul 22 META Meeting – Boston Pizza 7:30 New West, BC
Jul 25 Lime Rock Park IMSA Lakeville, Ct
JUNE 20, 2015 Volunteers Required
Sports Car Club of British Columbia Presents
June Bug June 27-28, 2015
Presidents Report Well folks – first race under our belts and what a weekend it was! Good racing and some incidents (from what I heard as we could not attend on Sunday – sorry). But the good news is that nobody got hurt on a great weekend. As you have probably noticed, with a late season start it is going to be a busy season. The Executive had a very positive meeting with the Executive of the Sports Car Club, agreeing to help each other with voluntary work at the track and some financial help. So here it is. We agreed to cover the bottom part of the Randall Building and in return they will pay for our material and paint for our clubhouse ie. Paint the roof, paint the deck of the patio and minor repairs on the walls. So we will need members to help out with these tasks. Anybody available, please let me know so that we can get all of this started as soon as possible. Now to a more fun nostalgic event. As most of you know, Ian Cook, a long time friend and very strong supporter of our Indy races in Vancouver (he attended every race), is coming to Vancouver as he plans to take an Alaskan cruise with his wife Karen. He was asking if it would be possible to have dinner at Earls restaurant at Broadway and Fir, as we did in the Indy times – GOOD old times! So let’s get together for a nice nostalgic dinner Friday June 26th at 7 pm just like the old times. Please let me know if you plan to come no later than June 22nd so that we can make a reservation. If you have contact with any workers from the Indy days invite them – the more the merrier! Yours truly
The Prez
50/50 draw - May 30 &31 - CACC Mission Race # 1
Collection $363.00 = $181.50 payout Winning number 397784 The winnings have not been collected so the full amount has been deposited to META Account. Upon presentation of ticket and holder META will issue a cheque for the proceeds. Many thanks to Kerry & Amir Kani family for their help in selling tickets for META
Linda Zumm Treasurer
Family Affair Racing Team Inc.
JULY 18 & 19, 2015 IS THE SIXTH ANNUAL FART FV INVITATIONAL RACE AT MISSION RACEWAY PARK IN MISSION BC! All vees welcome! Mark your calendars! Spread the word! More details to come soon....
http://www.unionracing.ca/
2015 Summer Driver Training On Track Training - June 13 & 14, 2015
Mission & District Soapbox Derby Association Presents
The 17th Annual Mission Soapbox Derby
Saturday June 20, 2015
9am Start
Stave Lake Street
www.missionsoapbox.com
Sports Car Club of British Columbia Presents
“June Bug” June 27-28, 2015
This event is sanctioned by CACC and affiliated with ASN Canada FIA INC. It is a championship points race conducted under the 2015 CACC regulations and is organized by the Sports Car Club of British Columbia at the Mission Raceway Park Road Course in Mission, BC. Each regional group will have
one points race on Saturday and two points races on Sunday.
Fiorito family reaffirms commitment to Pacific Raceways Friday, May 29, 2015
If the Fiorito family has their way, Pacific Raceways will host an NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event for many years to come. Pacific Raceways President Jason Fiorito recently reiterated the family’s commitment to the Seattle market and to NHRA by announcing that the track was no longer for sale. “A year ago, our family began to have discussions about what assets were going to stay around and which ones we might be willing to move, and we had made the decision to put Pacific Raceways on the market,” said Fiorito. “Over the last year, we have had many internal discussions, and we’ve shifted our focus. We have decided to move forward with family ownership and have taken the track off the market. Going forward, we are committed to this track for the long haul, and we’re working hard on becoming more efficient and providing our racers and fans with the best experience possible.” The decision to abandon the sale of Pacific Raceways allows the Fiorito family to plan for the future of the facility, which is expected to include numerous renovations and upgrades. In recent years, the track has already undergone a number of improvements that include enhancements to the dragstrip and the accompanying road course. “Our management team, including General Manager John Ramsey, who has done an incredible job, was very excited to hear of our plan to keep the track because it allows them to continue working towards their vision of how to move forward instead of having the uncertainty of someone else who might be coming in,” Fiorito said. “We have decided to back that play and continue to build on what we’ve accomplished here the last 12 years. Under John’s leadership, we feel very comfortable moving forward. “In the short term, we have an NHRA event here in a few months, and we are singularly focused on getting more and more efficient in regards to getting folks in and out of the facility,” Fiorito said. “We have spent a lot of time increasing our work force to help direct the flow of traffic. We’re also making improvements to our infrastructure, including restrooms and incremental upgrades to the dragstrip and the road course. We have a three-year plan and a five-year plan, and both of them revolve around improving the facility.” The 28th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals is scheduled for Aug. 7-9 and will be the 16th stop on the 2015 NHRA Mello Yello Series tour. According to Fiorito, the Seattle market continues to be a valuable asset for NHRA Drag Racing, particularly since it is not served by most other major motorsports. “Last year, NHRA helped us to get off the SeaFair [offshore powerboat event] weekend, which is the only other major motorsports event in the region, and that helped our attendance,” said Fiorito. “Today, advance ticket sales are up, and the Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a warm and dry summer, so hopefully we can continue that trend of strong attendance.” The recent announcement is also welcome news for NHRA Sportsman and E.T. bracket racers who are based in the Pacific Northwest because the track plans to continue to host an annual round of the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and an accompanying schedule of other events, including the popular NHRA Summit Racing Series. “We do plan to focus hard on building up some of our smaller events, particularly those that feature young racers,” said Fiorito. “We want to maximize both the dragstrip and the road course. We know that’s where the next generation of racers will come from, and we want to cater to them as well as our loyal fans.” Pacific Raceways hosted its first NHRA national event in 1976. The Fallnationals were held there from 1976-1980 and featured wins by NHRA legends “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, Don “the Snake” Prudhomme, and Bob Glidden. The event was revived in 1988 and has been a staple of the annual NHRA mid-summer Western Swing that also includes stops in Denver and Sonoma. The defending NHRA Northwest Nationals Pro champions are Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), John Force (Funny Car), and Jason Line (Pro Stock).
Injured James Hinchcliffe “can’t wait to get back in the car” Toronto fans know their new-found hometown hero won’t be at Honda Indy, but they can take comfort that he’ll race again.
By: Stephanie Wallcraft Special to the Star Published on Thu Jun 04 2015
When the field pulls away to start this year’s Honda Indy Toronto, it will mark the first time Oakville’s James Hinchcliffe has missed his home race since he joined the Verizon IndyCar Series as a rookie in 2011.
But that’s a small detail in the grand scheme of things, given that he’s lucky to be alive.
That statement may seem overly dramatic, but it isn’t. Hinchcliffe was injured in a single-car crash during practice on the Monday before this year’s Indianapolis 500. A part on his right front suspension broke, sending him into the turn 3 wall at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at an estimated speed of more than 350 km/h. The impact registered at 125 G, a level of force he was fortunate to survive in itself.
But it wasn’t the force that was Hinchcliffe’s issue. When the car hit the wall, a suspension part pushed through the carbon fibre safety cell, entered the cockpit, and pierced his left thigh before stopping in his pelvic region. He was trapped in the car and bleeding profusely.
IndyCar’s Holmatro-sponsored Safety Team had to remove the suspension piece before Hinchcliffe could be extricated. Recognizing the severity of the situation, they circumvented protocol and sent him directly to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for emergency surgery to stop the bleeding, a move that very likely saved his life.
Though Hinchcliffe was in critical condition when he arrived at Methodist, he’s bounced back from the incident phenomenally. Due in equal parts to the quick thinking of the medical staff, his injuries being limited to soft tissue damage, and his impeccably high level of fitness, Hinchcliffe was out of the ICU two days after his surgery and was released from hospital just over a week after the crash.
He’s carrying out the remainder of his recovery at his home in Zionsville, Ind., just outside Indianapolis, and some estimates put his potential return to IndyCar competition as early as August, something that Hinchcliffe is reportedly — and perhaps surprisingly, to those unfamiliar with a professional race car driver’s special form of insanity — champing at the bit for.
That the upshot of all this means Hinchcliffe will miss the Honda Indy Toronto this year is yet another item on a long list of bad luck associated with his home race, one that he’s said more than once he has a love-hate relationship with: “I love it, it hates me.”
His rookie outing in 2011 with legendary IndyCar team Newman/Haas saw him get tangled in two separate incidents — one involving fellow Canadian Paul Tracy — and end his day in 14th.
2012 started a three-year run with Andretti Autosport and ended in a heart-wrenching visit to pit lane and eventual retirement due to a mechanical issue.
The following year was the first of the doubleheader weekends Exhibition Place has hosted over the past two outings. His Saturday race result of 8th in 2013 set the mark for the best Hinchcliffe has ever posted here. Sunday marked the return of misfortune, though, when repairs for a stuck throttle put him four laps behind from the start, a deficit from which he was never able to recover.
Last year his luck was similar: he finished 8th again in the first race of the weekend, which ran on Sunday morning after Saturday’s race was postponed due to rain, and ended 18th in Sunday afternoon’s race after getting caught up behind an incident between Juan Pablo Montoya and Mikhail Aleshin.
Though he’s struggled for results here he’s found success elsewhere: four career wins since his breakthrough victory at St. Petersburg in 2013, to be precise. And as time has passed, race fans in Toronto and elsewhere have gotten to know him and his careful balance between the jokester known as the Mayor of Hinchtown and the fierce competitor who emerges when the visor on his helmet comes down. He’s gone from relative unknown to ubiquitous Canadian celebrity about as quickly as his IndyCar travels down Lakeshore Boulevard.
The Honda Indy Toronto returns to being a single-race event this year. And for local fans, none of the disappointment that’s come before compares to what they’ll face this coming Sunday when it’s already known their new-found hometown hero won’t be in the hunt at all.
That said, those close to Hinchcliffe say that he’s remained in good spirits throughout his recovery. They also say he’s as anxious to return to the cockpit as his fans are to have him there.
“We’re looking forward to getting him back,” said the president of Honda Performance Development Art St. Cyr while addressing the media on Indianapolis 500 weekend. “That’s all he can talk about is how he can’t wait to get back in the car. Sometimes you wonder what these race car drivers are thinking.”
And his presence trackside is definitely being missed. American racer Conor Daly subbed for Hinchcliffe at the doubleheader weekend in Detroit in late May, and though Daly doesn’t race full-time with the series at present he spends a great deal of time in the IndyCar paddock. He’s missed not only his close friend’s trademark humour but also his professional insight, turning to him throughout the Detroit race weekend for debrief analysis.
“It’s a shame to not have one of your good friends and competitors at the racetrack, but he’s only a phone call away,” Daly says. “He’s always willing to offer his advice to help with the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team effort. We all can’t wait until he’s back.”
And that last point is perhaps the most positive take-away of all: that Hinch will be back.
James Hinchcliffe leaves IU Health Methodist Hospital with help from fellow IndyCar driver Will Power on May 26, 2015.
Located in the Cowichan Valley and taking its name from an Aboriginal word meaning “the warm land”, the Vancouver Island Motorsport Resort is surrounded by vast tracts of unspoiled mountains, forest and coastal wilderness. This particular area of Vancouver Island is filled with an abundance of towering old-growth forests, alluring beaches and meandering rivers. It is the land of fisherman, foragers, vintners, organic farmers, artisanal cheese makers, and slow-food chefs. The Cowichan Valley is blessed by a warm climate, ideal growing conditions for grapes and other fruits and vegetables. Nestled in the warm valley south of Mount Prevost, the Vancouver Island Motorsport Resort will be opening its doors to motorsport and collector car enthusiasts from across Canada and the northwest of the United States. It will become yet another reason why one should visit this amazing part of Canada’s west coast. We look forward to hosting our members, the drivers programs of Canada’s automotive manufacturers, the many other interesting possibilities from classic car events, club activities and facility rentals by various corporations. All this located only a few kilometres west of highway one at 4063 Cowichan Valley Highway. In the images below, you will see one showcasing our 3.5-acre dynamic driving field for future autocross activities of which 50% of the grading is now complete and the other image showcasing the grading of the start/finish straight with the first right hand corner. Stay tuned for more updates and photos of the track progression.
604-287-3332 Mission, BC
Specializing in Sports and Vintage Cars
Surgery Hours 8:30 to 5:00
Monday to Saturday
Membership
C/O Thomas Liesner, 8849 143A Street, Surrey, BC V3V 7P7 Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________________________ City: ________________________Province/State __________________Postal Code ____________ Phone No ____________________E-mail Address: _______________________________________
PLEASE MAKE CHEQUES PAYABLE TO META or Renew on-line by PayPal or credit card at
http://meta.bc.ca/wordpress/forms Membership cost is $25 / year – Membership year ends Dec. 31 – Note that the META newsletter is only sent via E-Mail
