About 20 years ago, I discovered a long-lost teenage crush online. Thousands of miles apart, we spent many emails catching up on our lives. And remembering my obsession with car racing, she asked why I loved racing cars so much and why I had wanted so passionately to be racing car driver. She asked: how…
This morning we lost a very special friend, Jon Snadden. Jon had been in hospital for a while and passed away peacefully this morning surrounded, as I understand it, by his family. Although I hadn’t seen Jon in many years, his friendship still meant a lot to me. You see, when I was racing, Jon…
Yes, believe it or not, this started out as a silent film! This race is at the kart track in Quyon, Quebec, about 1981-1982. The track was opened in 1977 and the Quyon Racing Club used the track for many years for it’s karting championship. It has been expanded significantly over the years and still…
Story by Derek Cadzow with contributions from Sean Sweet and Fred Zufelt. All photos by the late Dirk Van Battum. If you missed it; you can read part one at how the idea got started and how the race was organized. May 25, 1980 – Despite only a few hours sleep, I woke early and…
Story by Derek Cadzow with contributions from Sean Sweet and Fred Zufelt. Jan-May, 1980 — By the end of 1979, Ottawa kart racing had been largely dormant since the aborted 1977 championship. Club members had either drifted away or now raced more often out of town. Jon Snadden had retired from racing after a couple of frustrating…
I’d really enjoyed photographing and reporting on the 1978 Canadian Pro Series of karting, as well as being involved with the administration. It was exciting, fast, and in the last race it even drew future racing star Scott Goodyear as a competitor. For 1979, I wanted to compete myself but even just breaking into the…
(Cover photo): Paul Mason leads Bill Packham in the MRD (Mason Racing Developments) Deavinson karts during the International heats. Paul took pole from eventual winner Scott Goodyear but fell back during the race with a broken seat mount. These are the stories of the first running of the 1978 Canadian Pro Series for karting that…
These are the stories of the first Canadian Pro Series championship karting series that toured several tracks in Ontario and one in Quebec in 1978. Even though I didn’t race much that year, I was involved with the organization and publicity for the series and got an inside look at this inaugural season. Aug 6,…
These are the stories of the first Canadian Pro championship karting series that toured several tracks in Ontario and one in Quebec in 1978. Even though I didn’t race much that year, I was involved with the organization and publicity for the series and got an inside look at this inaugural season. July, 1978 —…
In 1978 I didn’t race too much myself, but I was involved with the organization and publicity for the first Canadian Pro Series for National and International class karts that toured many of the well-known tracks in Ontario and one in Quebec. These are the stories of the races that year. Racing at the club…