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Michael Andretti

November 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Inducted 2011

He was born into one of the most prominent racing families, and he continued with his family’s tradition of success, both on and off the track in motorsport.

And for this success, Michael Andretti has been inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame as the 2012 International Category recipient.

A Pennsylvania native, Andretti never lived in the shadow of his iconic racing father Mario, proving he could drive his own race, and was a dominate racer in the PPG/CART IndyCar era. He won a record-setting 42 races in the open-wheel series, including a seven at the former Molson Indy between 1989 and 2001, another record he still maintains.

Starting in Formula Vee and Atlantic cars, the younger Andretti also competed at Le Mans before joining up with Kraco Racing in 1983. The next year he found racing in Canada to his liking, placing third at Sanair in Quebec.

He raced in the first three Molson Indy events in Toronto, starting in 1986 and with limited success, but after signing on with Newman/Hass, the team was a strong contender, placing in the top five all but three times from 1989 to 2000. He also had a stint at Formula One racing in a McLaren, which did not enhance his career at all.

After retiring from behind the wheel in 2003, Andretti became the major shareholder in the former Green Team, and changed the name to Andretti Green. As a team owner with drivers such as Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, and Danica Patrick, he was successful, winning the IZOD IndyCar championship in 2004 and 2005, including the famous Indianapolis 500 in 2005.

Not content to stay behind the wall watching his team race, Andretti donned the driving gloves once again to compete, and drove in 2006 and 2007 with a third at Indy before taking up his place as team leader once again. He also watched the budding career of his son Marco, who has become an IndyCar star in his own right for the past several years under the tutelage of his father.

In 2009 the team’s name was changed again to Andretti Autosport, a year after he purchased the assets of the Toronto Indy, keeping this important race on the IndyCar schedule.

Andretti, who is Chairman, President, and CEO of Andretti Autosport, has property in Indianapolis and Florida, but retains a fondness for Canada.

“I’m extremely honoured to be inducted into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame,” he said recently. “Throughout my career, I’ve always considered Canada to be almost like my second home. The Canadian race fans have been some of the most supportive I’ve ever seen and I’m thrilled that almost a quarter of my career wins came on Canadian soil and in front of such enthusiastic fans.”

And in keeping with the Canadian theme, Andretti signed one of the series’ rising stars, James Hinchcliffe of Oakville, to drive one of the team Chevy Dallaras in the IZOD IndyCar Series this season.

Image courtesy of Gary Grant.

Filed Under: Competitor, Inductees, International, Significant Contributor Tagged With: , , , ,

Robin Edwardes

November 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Inducted 2011

The sport of rallying would not be where it is today without the involvement of Robin Edwardes.

Not only did he compete in road rallies for over 50 years, he was also instrumental in the rules and procedures which make up the sport, along with setting standards for licenses with the CASC.

Born in England in 1930, Edwards was an athlete during his early years, and also received his honors mathematics degree from King’s College in London before taking employment as a rocket scientist with the Napier motorcar firm.

He and his family immigrated to Canada, and he worked for Canadair (Bombardier) in Montreal, and then Northern Electric, working on projects ranging from turbo compound diesels to rocket engines for the aircraft and aerospace industries.

In the late 1950s he joined the Canadian Automobile Club, and through the Sports Car Club of Montreal, began to compete in rally and economy events. It was during this time he achieved a milestone event, recording 90 miles per gallon, that’s gallon, not liter, in 1959 with a Renault Dauphine.

With his appetite whetted, Edwardes took to rallying in earnest, and competed throughout Canada and the US in RAC and FIA-sanctioned events.

Over the next several decades he navigated or co-drove for over 100, including the Ford Works drivers Henry Taylor and Roger Clark, John Buffum and Eric Jones of the US, and prominent Canadians such as Walter Boyce, Jean Paul Perusse, and Randy Black. Some of his vehicles included Lotus, Simca, Toyota, Volvo, SAAB, VW, and Jeep.
Highlights during this time include a first in class in the 1962 and 1966 Shell 4000, Quebec Regional Champion Navigator titles in 1960, 1963, and 1965, and four firsts in the Rallye des Neiges.

But the competition side is only half his story.

Edwards was vice-president of the CASC from 1975 to 1977, and brought forth many changes to the sport of rallying, including recovery points, timing methods, and scoring procedures. He was also the national scorer, and issued the CASC rally press releases.

Although he retired from his day job in 1998, Edwardes continues to work within the Canadian rally community in organization, administration, and getting into that right side seat in competition.

Filed Under: Competitor, Inductees, Rally Racing, Significant Contributor Tagged With: , ,

Ben Docktor

November 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Inducted 2011

As a distraction from his business activities, North Dakota native Ben Docktor started to race stock cars on the dirt ovals of Alberta and Montana. He also competed as an IMCA open-wheel racer and the Players/GM Challenge. The former oil field roughneck also fielded teams in the local stock car arena.

But his goal in racing was to provide others with a facility, and the original plan of a small oval track grew to a race facility that would become a showpiece for motorsport in Western Canada. Preliminary work started in 1982, and the oval track was completed in 1985. By 1987, and using his own capital, Docktor was ready to share his dream amid the racing world with the multi-purpose Race City in Calgary.
Along with the half-mile oval track, a 2.1-mile road circuit, and a quarter-mile drag strip were built at the complex, and for the next 20 years fans were able to watch their racing heroes from several types of racing, including NASCAR, NHRA, IRL, CASCAR, and CASC events. Along with the sports cars and dragsters and stock cars, motorcycle racing was also a big attraction. Fans were able to watch such notables as Bobby Unser, Michael Waltrip, Mark Martin, and Shirley Muldowney compete at Race City.

Until 1995, when the facility was sold to Art MacKenzie, Docktor was at Race City every weekend as the track’s biggest fan. During his time with Race City, Docktor brought the best in major-league racing to Western Canada as one of the country’s biggest boosters of motorsport.

Filed Under: Competitor, Inductees, Road Racing, Significant Contributor Tagged With: , , ,

Paul Cooke

October 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Paul Cooke tweaks Roger McCaig’s McLaren M8E

Inducted 2011

Starting in 1957 racing an MG-TC, Paul Cooke went on to an illustrious career racing a variety of road racing cars for many years before contributing to the sport as a team manager, mechanic, and senior race official.

After competing for several seasons in the early 1960s in cars such as Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Austin-Healey in which he won the sports car championship, Paul won the 1964 CASC Touring Car title with the Comstock Holman and Moody-prepared Ford Falcon.

It was also at this time he headed up the Ford of England efforts for the Shell Trans-Canada Rally, and became manager of the Comstock Racing Team for six years, including preparing the winning cars for the Shell 400 rally Fords on three occasions.

During this time, Paul was involved with the elite of Canadian road racing, with considerable success overseeing the programs of 30 race teams with drivers such as Eppie Wietzes and Ludwig Heimrath in the Shelby King Cobra and Ford GT40 race cars.

It was during the Comstock era that the very first racing Mustang was built which Paul raced to its first victory in Quebec.
Paul switched gears after that with a stint as team manager for George Eaton in sports car racing during the Can-Am years, and then with Roger McCaig in Can-Am, Formula 5000, Formula Atlantic, and Formula One.

After his successful career as a team manger, his work included three seasons as race director at Mosport from 1975-77 including F1 races held there.
Paul continued with his involvement with major open-wheeled events in Canada, including the Formula One races in Montreal as Clerk of the Course, a position he still holds today, as well as providing the same duties for the Vancouver and Edmonton IndyCar and IRL events.

Behind the scenes, Paul went on to become Vice-President of the Canadian Racing Drivers Association, and was its competition head from 1985 to 1990, and is presently Vice President, Competition and Director of Karting for ASN Canada FIA.

More recently, Paul partnered with Ron Fellows and Tom Ryley to help vault Canadian kart racers to international prominence leading to Canada in 2010 having four karting World Champions.

Throughout his racing career, Paul has made an outstanding contribution to the development, sustainability, and safety of motorsport in Canada.

Image courtesy of Ken Graham.

Filed Under: Competitor, Inductees, Significant Contributor, Team Member Tagged With: , , ,

Professor Sid Watkins

October 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Inducted 2010

Professor Sid Watkins, “the Prof”, is a virtual icon in motorsport worlwide and, of course, is well known to all involved in motorsport Canada because of his many years involvement with the Formula 1 race initially at Mosport and St. Jovite and then at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.

Sid Watkins has always been interested in motoring, growing up around cars in his father’s garage, situated not far from Silverstone. He began to attend Formula 1 and other events in Silverstone in 1958 and subsequently ran the medical services of Silverstone for the Aston Martin racing weekend in 1962. During his time as a Professor of Neurosurgery in Syracuse, New York, commencing in 1962, he joined the administrative team of the American Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. He was really the first in the world to take a team of appropriate specialists trackside to provide immediate, high class medical attention, management and direction. Upon his return to the United Kingdom as the Professor of Neurosurgery at the London Hospital, he provided the medical and related safety services for the British Grand Prix from 1971 through 1977. Sid encouraged and supported Dr. Hugh Scully, with the support of Harvey Hudes, to establish at Mosport, one of the most advanced race medical intervention teams in the world at the time. (The Ontario Race Physicians continue to provide expert medical and related safety services at Mosport today).

In the spring of 1978, Sid was appointed the Medical Delegate for Formula 1 by Bernie Ecclestone and in fact attended virtually every Formula 1 race in the world for the next 25 years. Sid was elected the President of the FISA (Federation Internationale du Sport Automobile Medical Commission) in 1981 where he worked again with Dr. Hugh Scully to continue to improve the services in Montreal and, by association throughout Canada.

Labatts was a major sponsor of the Formula 1 enterprise in Montreal. In 1992, there was a ceremony in Montreal where Sid Watkins was presented with the “Labatts Award for Safety” by the Duke of Kent. (Sid was the second recipient of this award. The first had been Sir Jackie Stewart).

From 1992 through July of 2007, Sid continued to work actively with Dr. Jacques Bouchard and Ronald Denis as the Co-Medical Director’s of the Formula 1 race in Montreal. Without question, Sid’s support of the “Montreal model” was instrumental in establishing and maintaining a high standard of medical care in motorsport. The model created initially at Mosport and subsequently in Montreal has had significant positive effect on motorsport medicine and safety at virtually all motorsport events in Canada.

Professor Sid Watkins went on to become the President of the new FIA Medical Commission until his retirement from that position in 2007. In 1994, he was appointed Chairman of the FIA Expert Advisory Committee reporting to the President of the FIA. Organizing research groups for open cockpit, closed cockpit, rally and karting events, he was the founding President of the FIA Institute for Motorsport Safety in 2004. The “Institute” continues to do leading research in motorsport safety in all categories. In his capacity as President of the Medical Commission and President of the Institute, he served with distinction on the FIA World Motorsport Council.

Sid has bee the recipient of many awards related to his leadership in motorsport safety. In 1996, he was awarded the Motorsport Industry Association Achievement Award and also the Mario Andretti High Performance Award for Medicine. In 1997, he was given the R.A.C. Centennial Prince Michael of Kent Award. In 1998, he received the British Racing and Sports Car Club Silver Trophy for services to racing and in 1999, the Autosport Gregor Grant Trophy for Outstanding Contribution to Motor Sport. In December of 2006, on behalf of the FIA Institute for Motor Sport Safety, he received the Society of American Engineering (S.A.E.) Award for Excellence in Safety Engineering. In July 2007, he was unanimously elected to membership in the International Council of Motorsport Sciences (ICMS) and to a position as Honorary Member of the Board. Remarkable, in July of 2008, he received the Motor Industry Association Award for Outstanding Contribution to Motorsport Industry in the House of Lords in London, England.

In his professional career as a neurosurgeon, Professor Sid Watkins has been recognized as an outstanding surgeon, scholar, teacher and leader with a determined commitment to excellence which facilitated expert care to those injured in motorsport virtually anywhere in the world. It was recognition for the combination of world leadership in neurosurgery and in the development of motorsport medicine and safety that Sid Watkins was awarded the prestigious Order of the British Empire at the Jubilee Honours Ceremonies by the Queen in June 2002.

Professor Sid Watkins is unquestionably the leader of the past quarter century in the development of motorsport medicine and safety not only in Formula 1 races in Canada but across the country in all forms of racing.

Image via The Telegraph

Filed Under: Inductees, International, Road Racing, Significant Contributor Tagged With: , , , ,

John Webster

October 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Inducted 2010

John’s name is synonymous with Boat Racing in Canada and throughout much of the USA. 2010 was the 60th anniversary of the Canadian Boating Federation (CBF). The CBF is Canada’s recognized sanctioning body by the World sanctioning body, the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) in Monaco. 2012 is the anniversary of the Toronto Outboard Racing Club (TORC), Canada’s oldest and largest sanctioned powerboat racing club. John has been a very influential member of both of these groups. He is the winningest powerboat driver in all of Canadian boat racing history. He has also stepped up and beyond that incredible achievement to volunteer and guide at the race level as an Official, club level as a President, and Canadian sanctioning body level as a Division Chairman. He also volunteers to work at every racing trade show display.

John is the longest standing member of TORC, he has been a member since it started in 1952 to this day. He may also be Canada’s longest CBF member being a steady member 58 of its 60 year history.

Image via boatracingfacts.com

Filed Under: Competitor, Inductees, Power Boat Racing, Significant Contributor Tagged With: , ,

Roger Peart

October 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve

Inducted 2010

While in school to become an engineer in the UK, Roger Peart’s involvement with motorsport began in 1949 when he worked as a racing mechanic. Moving to Canada, Peart began his own racing career as a rally driver, often behind the wheel of the Volvo factory team.

Moving to circuit racing in 1964, Roger Peart raced on tracks across North America, driving a variety of cars from Mini Coopers to Porsche 911, Formula Ford and several special sports racers.

In 1967, Peart became involved with the organizational end of the sport, acting as Chief Timekeeper, Chief Steward, Chief Scrutineer, Clerk of the Cource and Race Director at events across Canada. This would prove to be Peart’s primary role within the sport moving forward.

Having been Vice-President and then President of Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs (CASC), Peart became President of ASN Canada FIA, which is the governing body for motorsport in Canada under the FIA, the world governing body.

In 1978, Roger Peart designed the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, which remains home to the Canadian Grand Prix. As Clerk of the Course and Race Director for the first ten years that the Canadian GP has been held in Montreal, Peart continues to be the National Steward at the Canadian round of the Formula One World Championship.

Following the creation of the Canadian circuit, Peart became increasingly active in Formula 1 track safety. Peart has served on the FIA Circuits Commission, which is in charge of safety standards at all tracks that host international racing events, since 1978 and has stood as President since 1998.

Roger Peart is also a member of the FIA Safety Commission, which has overall responsibility for motorsport safety and of the FIA Open Cockpit Research Group. This is a “Think Tank” group which focuses on open cockpit safety issues.

Filed Under: Competitor, Inductees, Road Racing, Significant Contributor Tagged With: , , , , ,

Carroll Shelby

October 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Inducted 2009

The Foundation created a new International Category in 2010 year and former Le Mans 24-hour winner Carroll Shelby of California was the initial inductee under this new category.

“I was delighted last fall, when the Canadian Motorsport Heritage Foundation announced expansion of the Hall of Fame to include an International category to recognize people outside of Canada who helped develop and grow Canadian motor sport. It was no surprise to me that Carroll Shelby would be the first inductee.” said Paul Cooke, Comstock Racing Team Manager from 1963 to 1968.

“In the 1960’s, Carroll Shelby was hugely instrumental in helping Chuck Rathgeb’s Comstock Racing Team of Canadian drivers such as Ludwig Heimrath, Eppie Wietzes, George Eaton and Craig Fisher become household names as well as all being inducted to the Hall of Fame.”

Chuck Rathgeb forged a long-term relationship with Ford and Carroll Shelby and the Shelby organization worked directly with Comstock to field the Cobra 289, Cobra 427, King Cobra and Shelby Mustangs.

“History shows that the Comstock Racing Team was the most successful Canadian racing team ever seen at the time. The support given to Comstock under the direction of Carroll was invaluable,” concluded Cooke.

Shelby was inducted at a special gala to celebrate his lifetime achievements at the Canadian International Auto Show in February 2010.. The induction was done amidst 40 of the most significant cars that Shelby ever raced or built for others to race. Eppie Wietzes, one of the first Canadian inductees in the Hall of Fame, presented Shelby with his induction medallion while Paul Cooke presented him with a gold lapel pin.

Filed Under: Inductees, International, Significant Contributor Tagged With: , , ,

Jim O’Donnell

October 13, 2012 By 1 Comment

Inducted 2009

Wishing to create a brand identity for his financial firm, Jim O’Donnell took his love of auto racing and merged this love with his business acumen to provide a solid marketing tool in motorsports sponsorship.

O’Donnell worked with Ron and Rob Fellows in the Players GM Series, and then, with the MacKenzie Financial backing, entered into the world of Trans Am racing with Ron Fellows driving for the teams of Jack Roush and Tom Gloy.

Then O’Donnell ramped up his involvement with a foray into Indy car, promoting the MacKenzie name in major centers across North America.

The familiar blue and silver cars were part of the Dick Simon, Ron Hemelgarn, Doug Shearson, and Derrick Walker teams.

Driving the MacKenzie cars included Ludwig Heimrath Jr and then Scott Goodyear, who achieved the greatest success, winning two Indycar events, and placing second in the coveted Indy 500 by only the blink of an eye in the closest one-two Indy 500 finish in history.

Aside from winning on the track, O’Donnell was also a winner with his clients, providing hospitality at the races, successfully merging business and pleasure.

Filed Under: Inductees, Road Racing, Significant Contributor Tagged With: , , ,

Doug Fairchild

October 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Inducted 2009

One of the most influential behind-the-scenes personalities in Canadian auto racing, Doug Fairchild provided the insight, experience, and tires to many of this country’s racers, regardless of their discipline.

Fairchild started his career with Goodyear in the 1960s, and his skills were noted quickly as he became a member of Goodyear’s Formula One tire team. He then went to work as the Goodyear tire distributor for Roger Penske in the US.

In 1985 he returned to Canada, and set up Competition Tire Canada, Goodyear’s official race tire distributor in Canada.

Whether supplying racing rubber to road racers, stock car racers, or drag racers, Fairchild was always available during race weekends, helping and advising competitors across the country.

Filed Under: Inductees, Significant Contributor Tagged With: , ,
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