Vintage Car Racing in Canada

Since the Coronavirus is somehow in our rear view mirror, we like to tell that “life is back to normal”, even if we know it is a lie. Recession, climate change, and the danger of nuclear armageddon are just a few reminders that life is far from normal.

Undoubtedly, some aspects of life are going back to how they were before, especially for the gearheads. It is summertime and that means the racing season is at full throttle. The legendary Mosport Raceway is busy again, so my wife Estela and I finally got to visit this iconic racing venue.

We went to see the last day of the 2022 VARAC Grand Prix, on Sunday, Jun 19. The Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada is the biggest club of its kind in Eastern Canada. The club holds an annual gathering of vintage racing enthusiasts from across Canada and the US, as well as honoring a different manufacturer each year. For 2022 MG was the chosen one.

It was a glorious sunny day, a bit windy though. However, the sound of engines and the smell of burned high octane gas made me feel at home once again. Below are some pictures we took.

This race track has a huge heritage, it was inaugurated in 1961 and in 1967 the circuit hosted the first Canadian F1 Grand Prix. Mosport would alternate hosting of the GP with Mont-Tremblant until 1971 when it became the official track for the F-One circus. Mosport would continue to host the race until 1977, after which F1 left permanently for Montreal.

We fell in love with the circuit; it is one of the few “old school” race tracks around the world that hasn’t been altered from its original course. The facility has all the amenities to please the race fans, the grounds are surrounded by nature and always kept clean; if we owned an RV, we could live there. Mosport is truly a world-class circuit.

In 2012, the race track was renamed Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, when the company became a business partner, but race fans still call it “Mosport“.