With or without a religious text, most us us know that “the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.”
The wickedly fast superbikes of ‘Rocket’ Rod Hamilton and Darren Gavin were defeated by the meticulous timing of local rider Jesse van Swieten on his slower bike, Aug.10.
The deafening local cars of Will McLennan and Blake Keddy fell by the wayside as Vancouver visitor Brian Hinada, in his white Mustang hit precisely every speed and elapsed time needed to win the class trophy.
In “bracket racing” you lose if you leave too early, and you lose if you leave too late, and you lose if you hit the finish sooner than you promised. In this tough arena, reaction times and consistency can beat dollars and horsepower.
Qualicum, Beach, Quadra Island, Langley, Delta, Cloverdale, North Van, and villages all up the Coast to Powell River sent their finest to do battle. The bouncy castle delighted kids, the trailer-top band rocked us through the lunch break, planes took off, and burgers and ice cream kept our energy up.
The crowd grinned “I can’t believe it,” when one class final was contested between two Grumman delivery vans, (one of them adorned by dolls, cartoons, and art work.)
Some families like the McNeills from Cloverdale brought their 13-to-17-year-olds to race, with an accompanying adult / parent, in the TCR class.
Someone came in at the gate and paid-forward the admission fee for a random next family. How many came to watch at Sechelt Airport, courtesy of the District of Sechelt and airport manager Greg Caple? More than 1,100 spectators.
Next race May 2026. You come, too.
Results
Street Machine: 1) Mike van der Linden, 2) Mike Broun
Motorcycle: 1) Jesse van Swieten, 2) ‘Rocket Rod’ Hamilton
Hot Rod: 1) Brian Hinada, 2) Scott Wilson
Super Street: 1) Brendan Bolder, 2) Jesse Edwards
Street Rod: 1) Jay Jordan, 2) Matt Bromley
Teen Championship Racing: 1) Matt Conlin, 2) Axton Charboneau.
