Well it was a weekend of high attrition for Triumphs!
The weather was picture perfect with the exception of high winds on
Wednesday and a bit on Thursday which eliminated the desire to erect
canopies and open awnings on motorhomes. Temperatures were in the mid
seventies and low eighties with a pleasant breeze.
Henry Frye and his lightening fast TR-250 is out for the season after his
surgery. Mark Wheatley checked on a "noise" in his TR-4 and discovered his
valves were engaging his liners. The "builder" hadn't cut eyebrows for
clearance and whoever last decked the block had it just about a polished
surface and a coolant leak was also observed. So Mark was on the trailer
after the practice day session. Leo Oddi (TR-250) put a window in his block
when rod #5(I think) cut loose! So he was on the trailer. Another TR-3, that
of Rick McCurdy was put into the wall in turn 10 so he was out of it. There
were a handful that had registered and were no shows. There were four
Spitfires, Marty Sukey had never been there before so he was learning the
course and had a minor mechanical issue or two but his speed was picking up.
My engine is suffering and down on power which I knew and the three other
Spitfires had a good very close run where there was less than a second
separating us. Donny Sopp was in the lead at the checker.
Brian Scharano (GT-6) was suffering with a problematic clutch master. I had
him use engine oil in it realizing the higher viscosity would allow him to
at least finish his day, which it did. He was running well otherwise and
completed his sessions. Bill Rampe's Spitfire developed a miss after some
quick runs and he went on the trailer. There was a TR-8 somewhere out there
but we never saw him; also another GT-6. Dean Tetterton didn't make it with
his TR-4 unfortunately. It's always a pleasure talking with Dean. A true
southern gentleman.
John Styduhar was awarded the Group 44Inc Trophy at the Saturday night
banquet based on speed, preparation, willingness to assist other racers, and
car handling. Congrats to John. Well done!
There were over sixty cars in both the small and large bore Vintage grids to
start with which made things pretty hectic and getting everyone lined up in
order was tedious and saw most of us stopped on an uphill as we waited and
inched closer to the grid. Rough on clutches for sure! To further complicate
the lining up were a few vehicles blocking access. Sunday in the midst of
"the wait" one of the cars burst into flames as it sat in very close
proximity to the fueling station. (3 1000 gallon tanks) The car got toasted
a bit but the driver got out okay. Could have been far worse. Never a dull
moment.
On Saturday there was a fatality in the F-5000 group and the entire track
was shut down for the investigation to take place. All later sessions were
cancelled for that day as RCMP took over the corner which protocol mandates
it be investigated as a crime scene. I spoke with Chris Myers, the head MG
guy and we both agreed to drop the Triumph MG Challenge race to allow VARAC
to try to get sessions in for all. It seemed the right thing to do in light
of the circumstances.
The last session for vintage small bore was scheduled for Sunday at 4:30 and
there were 9 cars that went out, I was not one of them nor were there any
other Triumphs and I don't recall any MG's either. All in all it was a good
event for seeing old friends and some new ones but not for long as the
attrition caused departures.
It's still my favorite event and the Friday paddock "crawl" was great and
our hosts were gracious as always. Live bands on Friday and Saturday nights.
The "wings; ribs; pulled pork and beer" stop was strategically located next
to the Triumph paddock which was convenient. There were also a dozen or more
types of subs at one of the other "stops" and of course beer.
Even though I was down considerably on power I had a good time and it's
always great spending times with friends. We stayed in the paddock Sunday
night and departed on Monday morning.
I couldn't help thinking of Jeff Green's wife who was there and saw the
incident that killed her husband.
I know the hazard is always there but something like this really brings it
to the front.
Russ Moore
From: Fot [mailto:fot-bounces at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Jerry Van Vlack
via Fot
Sent: Monday, June 18, 2018 7:30 AM
To: FOT
Subject: [Fot] Race Reports please
How did the Triumphs do at Mosport and Blackhawk Farms this past weekend?
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