The 44th running of the VARAC Vintage Grand Prix was held on the historic Mosport Grand Prix circuit (at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park) from June 13th to June 16th 2024. The VGP is one of the highlights of the Canadian racing season. It’s the largest vintage car race in Canada, and is truly a world class event.
Unlike most race weekends, the VGP starts on Thursday, one day earlier, to allow teams travelling from as far away as California to get set up in the paddock. For the next four days, folks will be living out of their cars, luxury Airstream trailers, and even vintage RVs very much in the spirit of the event.
Some of the most unique and rare racing machines on earth compete at the VGP. It’s like a museum come to life.
The Formula 1200 cars (called Formula Vee in Brazil, South Africa, USA, etc.) are lumped in with the true vintage cars, as the category was established in 1963 and essentially has not changes in 60 years, even though many cars are decades newer, like Daniel Demaras’ No. 12 Can-Jam Motorsports car.
With engines so old they still have carburetors, and the suspension design right out of the last century, these aren’t Formula 1 cars. But they are built so equally that there is parity in the competition, and top-tier tuners like Bill Vallis keep these machines in racing trim year after year.
The appeal of the Vintage Grand Prix is the variety of cars on track. Open wheel cars like Formula Ford and Lotus cars, to kit cars like the Mini Marcos, Caterham Super 7, and Volvo P1600 with fiberglass front ends, fuel cells and stripped out interiors that make them look like a modern day stock car.
Along with the vintage race cars and RVs, spectators arrived at the track in ‘future classics’ like this 1994 Cadillac Fleetwood. The vinyl roof and all that chrome make it look older than it is, but the design still looks remarkably modern, even 30 years later.
Aside from the high-dollar cars and one-of-a-kind machines, there were plenty of old race cars at the VGP. Not really vintage or valuable. Just cars that raced back in the 70’s and 80’s but for some reason were kept and not crushed. Domestics like the Camaro and Mustang, obscure European cars like the Porsche 914 and early Japanese cars like the Mazda RX4 rubbed fenders just like they did back in the day.
The Vintage Grand Prix is so much more than just a race. It’s a four day camping trip only an hour from the city. It’s an impromptu car show on every grassy hill. It’s a good time for gearheads young and old to see something unique.
Competition commenced on Friday as morning practice sessions and afternoon qualifying kicked off three days of racing.