MORNING AT CLASSIC EURO AUTO

On this brisk Saturday morning, forty or so club members gathered at Pierre's shop on the South Shore to discus about the world of "vintage racing".

Why so? This class of racing is all the rage in Europe, ever more so in England, where die-hard aficionados don't hesitate to race these exceptional, high performance, rare…and expensive machines! However, on this side of the Atlantic, the emphasis is more on preservation and (expensive) restoration of our automotive heritage.

But the tide is slowly turning and a greater number of collectors are expressing their desire to take part in more driver-oriented activities, in contrast to a more passive participation as in most North American expositions or "concours d'elegance." Two race-prepared vehicles were on hand to give us a taste of this world: Alain's Fiat Abarth 1000 TC, whose only vocation is racing-plain-and-simple! And a race-prepared VW-Porsche 914, which got there 'on its own forces,' and that can also easily be converted to a street-legal car.

After a presentation of various equipments required by the Fédération Automobile du Québec (FAQ): fire-resistant undergarments, helmets, racing suits, race-modifications for your car and of course, your license, many were processing in their heads what all this translated to in terms of cost. No doubt that this hobby requires more that just your lunch money!
One of our presenters, Francis Marleau (www.tracracing.com) was also on hand to offer driving courses that will permit us to get this all-so-important license. He can be reached at (450) 629-2829 extension 303.

Seeing that this sort of symposium is in some ways supposed to light a spark in some of us, we were witness to a full blow explosion of controversy led by none other than Jean-Jacques, himself a former vintage racer and present activities director of the VEA. His love, and knowledge of vintage racing cannot be questioned. He did however question the necessity of all the latest race regulations, mandatory equipments and related costs. His argument was that all of the safety concerns (equipment, modifications…) were excessive, and the subsequent modifications (race fuel cells, helmets, roll bars, driver's license…) of our collector cars costs, made in such that the cars' "originality" is lost.

"Back then, we didn't require all of this!" concluded Jean-Jacques.

A heartfelt thanks goes out to Pierre and his charming hostess "Tiger Lou", who both went to great lengths to welcome us with their legendary hospitality.

©VEA