After a successful opening round of road racing at the River's Edge Road Course at Mission Raceway Park last month, the Sports Car Club of B.C. (SCCBC) is gearing up for round two this weekend with a full program of racing.
With a large number of new cars and/or drivers comprising the approximately 100 entries for the first weekend, that momentum is expected to continue on Saturday and Sunday at Mission.
Drivers compete in two different classes of closed wheel (full body) or open wheel formula cars, and there are also groups for vintage, solo and novice racers. The fastest are capable of nearly 200 km/h on the front straight before having to brake for the turn one hairpin. The larger fields will consist of some 30 cars, ensuring lots of wheel-to-wheel racing.
The event, sanctioned by the Conference of Autosport Car Clubs, has a complete qualifying and racing program each Saturday and Sunday for the closed wheel, open wheel and vintage classes, while the solo and novice drivers race Saturday only. Following the 9 a.m. practice and qualifying, 20-minute races (15 for the vintage cars) start after lunch.
The SCCBC was founded as a non-profit society in 1951. Members first raced at Abbotsford Airport from 1952 to 1956. In 1957 members raised funds through debentures and built a road course in Coquitlam on Crown land known as Westwood Motorsport Park, which closed in 1990. The club has been racing on the road course at Mission Raceway Park since 1994.
Admission fees are $10 per day, or $25 per car load. There is ample parking and children 12 and under are free, making for an economical day's entertainment. Spectators are welcome to tour the paddock and see the cars and drivers close up. Posters are available for collecting autographs. There is a food concession on site operated by White Spot.
Mission Raceway Park is located on Highway 11 between the Mission Bridge and the Lougheed Highway. For more information visit www.missionracewaypark.com.