2008 saw a not-insignificant invasion of the United States from the Great White North. Specifically, from the Canadian Province of Manitoba. While there have been a few Canadian citizens (primarily from the eastern provinces) that have attended the Solo National Championship in the past, the members of the Winnipeg Sports Car Club stepped up and conducted a well-prepared incursion…
RR: Just how many members came to Nationals from your club? How big is the Winnipeg club overall?
WSCC: We had 15 members go to Nationals in 2008. The club has around 200-210 members. Most are occasional autocrossers. We’ve had small numbers of people attend over the last 6 or so years, but this year we staged an invasion!
RR: Who are they and can we get a brief bio on everyone?
In no particular order:
Corey Dyck: I’m a 32 year-old Mechanical Engineer that started autocrossing in 2000. I have raced a Focus, a Miata, a Camaro (Thanks Art!), and currently a Honda S2000. I was WSCC Autocross Program Director in 2002 and 2003. I developed the WSCC autocross school.
Jeff Janzen is a 26 year-old marketing professional and life-long car enthusiasts. He discovered solo racing through a friend (his then-future co-driver for 2008 Nationals) in 2005 and has been competing regularly with the WSCC ever since. Having been built as a fun daily driver, his ’95 Integra – with its big turbo and relatively soft suspension – wasn’t ideal for racing, so a couple years and many broken axles later, Jeff picked up a 2002 S2000 to join in the heated competition of stock class for 2008.
A competitive person by nature, Jeff has put in a serious effort to improve quickly at the sport, attending the WSCC’s local autocross school in 2006 and 2007, instructing for it in 2008, and attending a weekend of EVO School in 2007. Jeff says his motivation comes from the WSCC’s many extremely talented drivers. “Without the fierce but encouraging competition of my peers,� he tells us, “I wouldn’t be nearly as competitive in the sport as I am now. We really have fun pushing each other.�
David Chittick, 25, raced a 1987 Mustang LX 5.0 and 2000 Civic Si, currently co-driving a 2006 Subaru WRX with owner Peter Muangxong.
Joe Premecz: I am a 25 year old Commercial A/V Tech. Over the years as I grew up, my father’s appreciation for cars rubbed off and I began tinkering with his cars at age 12. I have had countless cars over the years. I currently compete with my 1994 Toyota Corolla in SM locally.
Phillip Reddy – Owner, Fast Toys Performance Parts, has been participating in auto-x for 14 years and has driven a variety of vehicles including a Firebird, Camaro, Cavalier, Corvette and WRX STI.
Briget Sawatsky (aka Miss_Behavin). 33 years old, Bsc (M. Biochemistry) Graduate who spends her days at a kart track with her husband and spare time involved in the Porsche Club of America, WSCC and learning new things (SCUBA this year!).
Mark Sawatsky: I’m 39 years old, married with no kids (and no plans to have any because you can’t fit a baby seat in a Boxster). I was introduced to autocross in 1994 when I took a customer on an aggressive test drive of a new car. I was selling cars and a customer came in to test drive a Neon ACR. I felt he had not explored its potential so I took over and showed him what was possible on some on-ramps. He told me I had to try autocross and I had never heard of it before but did the last few events that year and won HS the following year. I started with a Cavalier Z24 and have also had success with a Porsche 911, and a Works MINI. I currently run a Boxster in AS with my wife, Briget. In 2004 I opened an indoor kart track in Winnipeg, Speedworld Indoor Kart Track, and now I get to race every day. We have become a hotspot for local racers and I’m proud of our reputation for having very fast, well maintained and consistent karts on a challenging track with 30+ mph sweepers and hairpin turns. Many of the clubs race at the track and there are currently two kart leagues, one for the road racers and one for the autocrossers (It’s open for debate which group is quicker).
The rest: Art Schroeder, Marion Schroeder, Kerry Falk, Chris Deacon, Claudio Zubin, JT Letkeman, Jeremy Choy and Peter Muangxong.
RR: What classes did they participate in?
WSCC: Corey Dyck – A Stock in a 2001 Honda S2000, Jeff Janzen – A-stock, David Chittick – E Street Prepared in a 2006 Subaru WRX, Joe Premecz A Stock co-driving Jeff Janzen’s S2000, Phillip Reddy – A Street Prepared, Briget Sawatsky – C Stock Ladies, Mark Sawatsky C Stock, Art Schroeder – C Stock, Marion Schroeder – C Stock Ladies, Kerry Falk – A Stock, Chris Deacon – B Stock, Claudio Zubin – B Stock, JT Letkeman – D Stock, Jeremy Choy – D Stock and Peter Muangxong – E Street Prepared.
RR: Who among them were ‘first timers’?
WSCC: Thirteen of the fifteen that came in 2008 hadn’t been to SCCA Nationals before. Only JT and Art have been before.
RR: For the ‘first timers’ only; can you give us your impressions in just a paragraph or two?
Corey Dyck: Upon first arrival at HPT I thought, ‘Ok, where will the second course go?’ The relatively small lot size was a surprise. I’ve also read a lot about how ‘bad’ the HPT surface was. I thought it was great in comparison to what we normally run on.
The event itself was as well run as could be expected, given the constraints of HPT, and the competition in our class was top-notch. I’ll be back as often as possible!
Jeff Janzen: The sheer number of participants was staggering, and it was great to meet so many other racing enthusiasts. The spread of talent was not a whole lot different from what we see locally; there are still plenty of people who show up just for fun and don’t care how they place. The difference is that there are just that many more drivers battling it out for the trophies in every class, and that’s what makes it more exciting! In AS, for example, you’re watching fifteen other drivers’ times instead of just a handful like the local level. From an organizational standpoint, the event was great! Things ran smoothly, instructions were clear, and staff was helpful. I’m looking forward to coming back next year.
David Chittick: I was a little overwhelmed with the sheer size of the event. Seeing such a massive, sprawling lot filled with cars of every make and model ready to race is an impressive sight. There was tight competition but almost everyone I spoke to was very friendly and willing to lend a hand/offer advice/share anecdotes.
Joe Premecz: Topeka having been my first time at any national level event, I was very nervous during the drive. As my excitement grew, so did my nervousness. On Tuesday when we were getting into grid, I was surprised by how open and genuine every competitor seemed to be, almost as if we were at home amongst our friends competing. When I was sent out of grid, the pressure of being the first of our club to be sent up got to me; my hands shaking all the way to the start line. I had no clue how I was going to stack up in an unfamiliar car against the top drivers in North America. After that first run, as I was receiving my timeslip, I heard the announcer singing “Oh Canada�. That was when I knew everything was going to be fine.
The level of competition was not unlike what we have at home, but the buzz in the atmosphere around us was much greater simply due to the number of competitors in our class and people surrounding us. The event was run like clockwork; very professionally and systematically. I was pleased to see how smoothly the event was conducted and was glad to see that we weren’t alone having issues with course marshalling back home.
Phillip Reddy: The event ran very smoothly. It was amazing to see so many people participating in and enjoying the sport. I wish there was more time to walk the course other than first thing in the morning as it made for very long days and there were far too many people walking the course at the same time.
Briget Sawatsky: What a HUGE racing event! The volunteerism was the first thing I noticed – it was great! At first it was very intimidating to see so many people who obviously had more experience than I did. However, the outpouring of support and friendliness from strangers was amazing!
Mark Sawatsky: What impressed me most at Nationals was the sights and sounds. Back home we see nothing more exotic than a stock Ford GT but at Nationals I was able to get up close to a highly modded Porsche GT2, hear an FP 240Z or feel the ground shake as a CP Camaro attempts to change the rotation of the Earth. The courses were also a lot more open than I am used to and that was awesome because I had so many line options and wasn’t mowing down cones when I got it slightly wrong.
RR: What is each person’s experience level?
Corey Dyck: Autocrossing 8 years, attended 4 Canadian National events and 3 SCCA National Tours before Nats in 2008.
Jeff Janzen: Been competing since mid-2005 (roughly 55-60 events thus far), attended three schools, instructed one, and competed in the following SCCA events:
- 2008 Milwaukee NT (Trophied 3rd place AS)
- 2008 KC NT (Trophied 3rd place AS)
- 2008 SCCA Nationals (Trophied Runner-up AS)
David Chittick: I’ve been autocrossing since 2005 and have taken three driving schools (WSCC and Evo stage 1 & 2).
Joe Premecz: I started autocrossing periodically in 2002. In 2005 I became a regular competitor. I normally compete in under-prepared cars so I have been uncompetitive in pax, but competitive in raw times in those cars. Currently I am racing in my 1994 Toyota Corolla in Street Mod.
Phillip Reddy: 14 years of autocross
Briget Sawatsky: This was my third year…and third kind of car!
Mark Sawatsky: I have been autocrossing semi steadily since 1994. There were conflicts with my job and some periods with no car, but I’ve gone to as many events as possible.
RR: How long has the Winnipeg Sports Car Club been around?
WSCC: The Winnipeg Sports Car Club was formed in 1952, has been running ever since!
RR: How do Canadian Auto Slalom rules differ from those used by the SCCA?
WSCC: They’re similar, but Candian Autoslalom Championship allows the users to pick and choose from a list of mods, each having a point value. Each class has a list of available mods and a maximum allowable points value. Classes are designed such that the respective SCCA-classed car will fit in the same class in CAC rules. It actually works pretty well because you can pick and choose what is most helpful for your particular car.
RR: Do the rules differences impact your preparation level for either one or both?
WSCC: Somewhat. WSCC uses SCCA rules for our official championship series for rules stability, and to encourage a shift to one rule-set for North America. Some people were sacrificing performance in the local series to have an SCCA-compliant car in previous years.
RR: Is there any fundamental difference in how courses are designed in your ‘home’ area compared to what you typically see in the U.S.?
Corey Dyck: Our lots limit us more than anything else. They’re much narrower and an irregular shape. Our elements tend to be tighter and average speeds lower. Given a larger lot we’d love to open things up more. Interestingly, Canadian rules don’t have maximum cornering speeds like SCCA rules do, so we can and do speed things up when we have room.
Jeff Janzen: I haven’t spotted anything fundamentally different, but our courses seem to have more speed variation — first gear corners are more common — and less line selection. Allowing a greater variety of line selection is something we’ve been working on since more members have begun attending SCCA events.
David Chittick: There is a much higher average speed on the US courses.
Joe Premecz: As I have heard about other events and witnessed at nationals, the US courses seem to be much more open to line selection and more spread out which leads to higher speeds. We implement the same elements in our own courses here but everything is tighter. Over the past two years as people bring feedback about the US courses, we have been trying to incorporate key design differences into our own courses to better prepare our competitors and ourselves for other events abroad.
Phillip Reddy: Courses at the Nationals were more wide open with higher average speeds. Courses did not double back on themselves because there was more space available.
Briget Sawatsky: YES! Our space limits the length of the course and the obstructions limit its design. I was not totally prepared for the speeds and “open-ness� of the National courses…but I LOVED it!
Mark Sawatsky: Our courses are tighter, with gates being smaller and closer together. We also keep our top speed lower than what we saw at Nationals and many of us shifted to 3rd gear for the first time ever on an auto-x course. We are limited by the lot we use and, in my opinion we tend to play it safer than our American counterparts. I saw aspects of the courses in Topeka that we would never do back home because they would be considered too dangerous.
RR: Given the geographical area, your autocross season is probably more abbreviated than it is in most areas of the U.S. How do you occupy your time in the off-season?
Corey Dyck: WSCC has an ice racing and autocross series that runs in January and February. Many of our members participate in a wide variety of snow sports including skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, etc. Some go indoor karting, some play driving games. Most just complain about the cold and talk about racing on our forums.
Jeff Janzen: Indoor sports: kart racing, golf, tennis. Pointing out when the temperature reaches the same numeral in both Celsius and Fahrenheit, practicing car control on icy roads (the only time when you can consistently drive at or beyond the limits of adhesion without breaking any laws), talking about how cold it is — that never gets old –Â bench racing and smack-talking on the local autocross forums (forums.wpg-autox.org).
David Chittick: Ice autocross and the WSCC go-karting league at Speedworld!
Joe Premecz: Typically hibernating much like the other animals. I practice accident avoidance during winter months and save money for the next season’s projects/tires.
Phillip Reddy: It’s extremely cold in Winnipeg during the winter so lots of time is spent watching movies, going to the gym and relaxing with friends and family. I also like to travel to warm places!
Briget Sawatsky: The best thing is to keep your reflexes sharp! I keep my skills sharp racing at Speedworld Indoor Kart Track and keep my mind sharp with memory-based games.
Mark Sawatsky: I am lucky that I get to race karts all winter long and we have started doing Rallycross on ice so I look forward to doing that in the off season.
RR: Given that Lincoln, NE is a bit closer to your group, does everyone anticipate making the trip in 2009?
Corey Dyck: I certainly will! Although, I would go almost anywhere within a two-day drive. The vast concrete expanses of Lincoln sound amazing! None of us have driven on concrete though…
Jeff Janzen: Absolutely!
David Chittick: I’m hoping we can bring an even bigger group down in 2009.
Joe Premecz: I will be attending the Canadian nationals in 2009 as it is going to be close to home this year, and as I prepared my car for CASC FSP classing I would love to try competing with it.
Phillip Reddy: Hopefully yes!
Briget Sawatsky: See you there!
Mark Sawatsky: I think we will have as many or maybe more people go to Lincoln. I know Briget and I will be there, and I think we will be dragging my brother and nephew along as well.
RR: We ask this question of almost everyone, so we may as well ask all of you. If you could change just one rule in the SCCA rulebook what would it be and why?
Corey Dyck: Allow front OR rear swaybars in Stock class. Then people could balance which will give them more performance on the track and fun on the street.
Jeff Janzen: This one might ruffle a few feathers, but I think a limit should be imposed on the number of years one is allowed to compete in the ladies classes. Ladies’ classes are a great way to get more women into the sport, but it seems like there are a number of experienced and very talented competitors taking advantage of them for the contingencies, while their skill level makes them more suited to add to the competition (and likely trophy) in their respective open class.
Phillip Reddy: I’d like to see more than the 3 runs. The more seat-time the better. It makes for a very long day when you only get 3 minutes of racing for all the time you put in.
Mark Sawatsky: I would allow camber plates or crash bolts in stock class because the alignment ability varies so much from one car to the next and even between two otherwise identical cars. Over and over I see people frustrated because their particular car can’t get as much camber as another car just like theirs, and those with camber-challenged cars chew up the outside edge of their tires prematurely.
To all of the ‘Crazy Canadians’ we want to extend our thanks for taking the time to share your viewpoints and look forward to seeing you all (and more!) in Linclon this September.
Photos courtesy of www.gotcone.com
For copies of photos email david @ evorticity.com
You must log in to post a comment.