Robert Wickens scores first Renault win in U.K.

Another young racer, Ancaster woman joins Grand-Am field on busy weekend at Mosport

Jun 14, 2008

Motorsport Writer

It went unnoticed on this side of the Atlantic, but the big news today is that Robert Wickens, 19, of Toronto won his first race in the World Series by Renault last weekend at Silverstone in England.

Wickens, who told me in a recent interview that 2008 would be a "make-or-break" year for him in his quest to become a top professional racer, finished ninth in the first race of the doubleheader weekend. But his victory in the second signals a major breakthrough.

Four years ago, Wickens was racing karts in the Sunoco Ron Fellows series here in Ontario.

A year later, he went to Paris to represent Formula BMW-USA at the International Race of Champions and won big. He won the BMW-USA championship the following season.

Since then it's been a whirlwind of Formula Atlantic, demonstrations behind the wheel of a Red Bull Racing F1 car and now the World Series by Renault.

Of course, in this day and age, if you don't win, you don't go to the next level and when a guy like Sebastien Vettel is already in his second season of F1 at age 20, Wickens doesn't have any time to waste.

Let's hope that victory at Silverstone last weekend is the first of many. Personally, I don't think there's any doubt he's F1 material.

SPEAKING OF YOUNG DRIVERS, Ashley McCalmont, a young woman from Ancaster who happens to be the daughter of a guy who was a pretty good sports-car racer in his time, will strap herself into a Chevy Cobalt at Mosport this afternoon and mix it up with as many as 50 other drivers in the Grand-Am Koni Challenge Series race.

The Grand-Am Koni race at 1 p.m. today is one-half of the Mosport Father's Day Weekend Doubleheader that also headlines a round of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, which will go to the post tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. .

Also racing at Mosport this weekend are the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge Series, the Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship, the Skip Barber BF Goodrich National Series presented by Mazda and the Ontario Formula Ford Challenge.

Which means there's lots going on at the legendary track in the hills north of Bowmanville – a circuit that McCalmont, 21, is most familiar with.

"I started going to Mosport when I was 3 when my dad (Mike McCalmont) was racing there," she said this week in a phone conversation. "I've always been fascinated by racing and so when I was 7 or 8, I decided to give it a try myself."

Her first time out in a go-kart was a baptism by fire for the girl who would eventually go on to earn a degree in history and philosophy from McMaster University.

"I flipped over and broke my collar bone," she said. "My mom wasn't too happy about that – and neither was my dad.

"We figured if I was going to continue that I should get something that had a roof on it."

So McCalmont went into Junior CASCAR for the next five years.

"It was a go-kart but had a roll cage and the body of a Monte Carlo. It was a great series: we'd race every Wednesday night and then afterward there would be a classroom session where we'd learn about the engines, or how to attract sponsorship – that sort of thing. It was a great education."

McCalmont spent a few years attending racing schools here and in places as far away as Arizona and then, with help from her father, purchased her first race car, a BMW M3, and went into regional competition.

"We had some bad luck (the motor let go in just about her first race) and didn't get to do too many races. But we did tonnes of testing at Mosport and I got to know the track fairly well."

McCalmont decided last summer, after she graduated from McMaster, to take some time off her schooling to see if she could make it as a professional racer.

"We bought a Cobalt from Georgian Bay Motorsports – they build most of the Cobalts in the Grand-Am series – and we're now part of their team," she said.

McCalmont and co-driver Kirk Spencer have raced in two Koni events so far this year, at Daytona Speedway in Florida in January (17th out of 51 in their class) and a few weeks ago at Lime Rock, Conn. (12th out of 47).

Which means she's optimistic that they can get a top 10 finish at the Mosport round this weekend.

"I hope we do well," said the driver who qualifies the car and drives the first stint. "Not only for myself but for my sponsors, who've supported me almost from the beginning," she said.

"My dad told me right from the start that sponsorship was essential if you want to be in car racing, because it is a very expensive sport.

"When I started, I went to see some local companies, here in the Hamilton area and in Toronto, and I sent out proposals and I've had 10 or 12 companies supporting me since.

"They're still with me, too. They all keep stepping up and I try hard to represent them well. The Daytona race was a TV race so I made sure they looked good on the car. And we have sponsor days at Mosport, where they come and bring some of their clients and they get a ride around the track, a nice lunch and a video to take home.

"They have a nice day. And with their support, I get to go racing."

IF YOU ARE AT MOSPORT today or tomorrow for the Father's Day races, or next weekend when the VARAC vintage racing group will be celebrating the era of the Group 7 Can-Am racers, or anytime they have racing at that place for that matter, you will see a bunch of people in white uniforms waving flags and blowing whistles and pointing fingers and generally running the show.

They are (mostly) members of Motorsport Marshalling Services, which is celebrating its 30th year of working races this season. In two weeks, on June 29 to coincided with the BARC regional races at Mosport, they are throwing a party and are trying to get as many older members as they can to attend.

If you'd like to go, drop a line to craig_tor@ sympatico.ca.

Toronto Star