The 3^rd running of the Sommet Des Legendes held at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant was another success. Over 175 vintage race cars ranging from a 1959 Alfa Spider to a 1967 McLaren were on hand to do battle on the very tricky 2.32 mile course. Among the many beautifully prepared race cars were 5 Coopers, 1 Wolseley Hornet and 1 Unipower.

Larry Coste of London, Ont had 2 of his Minis on hand, his #199 a 1965 Austin Cooper S and his # 850 a 1965 Morris Cooper S this second car is a recreation of the 1968 HOT WHEELS MINI of Bill Brack and is driven today again by the Canadian driving Legend Bill Brack. Both Minis are sponsored by MR MINI.

Dave Morgan of Georgetown, Ont was here for the first time with his 1968 Austin Cooper S also sponsored by Mr MINI. Maryo Lamothe of Quebec was here with his 1962 Mini Cooper. Jeff Mennen of New Jersey had his 1964 SPEED STICK Mini Cooper (yes that Mennen ) A beautiful 1965 Wolseley Hornet owned by Richard Thomas also made the trip from New Jersey, but it was a 1966 Yellow Unipower owned by Claude Houle of Quebec that caught the eye of many.

Friday’s weather for practice was cool, gray, the only casualty of the day was Maryo Lamothe’s 62 Cooper when he bent a rod on the last practice run of the day, and he was done for the weekend. Not a great two weeks for Maryo and his 62 Cooper.

Saturday looked a bit more promising as the sun come out and warmed things up a bit, the morning’s Qualifying race saw 34 (small bore) cars on the track everything from a 1964 Brabham BT8, a Porsche 911 to a Lotus 23B, quite a range of horsepower.

Saturday Qualififying results Minis Only

19 Dave Morgan 14^th 2:03.570

199 Larry Coste 17 2:04.434

850 Bill Brack 19 2:04.825

99 Richard Thomas 26 2:12.176

81 Claude Houle 31 2:16.400

13 Jeff Mennen 34 2:18.791

22 Maryo Lamothe DNS

Saturday afternoon’s 8 lap race

850 Bill Brack 13 2:05.584 (lap 6)

199 Larry Coste 14 2:04.949 (lap 6)

19 Dave Morgan 18 2:05.701 (lap 6)

99 Richard Thomas 21 2:11.905 (lap 3)

81 Claude Houle 28 2:17.242 (lap 2)

13 Jeff Mennen DNS

Jeff Mennen’s Mini went down with mechanical problems and didn’t race the rest of the weekend. The #850 was experiencing clutch problems during the race but held on.

Sunday morning practice saw very little action a few cars hit the track but #199, 19, and 850 slept in (long story).

Sunday was very warm and sunny, not something the Minis really wanted, COOL is better.

Thirty-one cars started the GT/Production Small Bore class 10 lap race with the Minis looking strong, Bill Brack still having clutch problems dropped out after only 3 laps. Dave and Larry fought for 14^th place for most of the race nose to tail until Dave broke the Y piece on his header on lap 6, Larry slipped by on lap 7, but Dave fought back to take the lead on lap 8 and 14^th place overall.

19 Dave Morgan 14 2:05.522 (lap 5)

199 Larry Coste 15 2:05.561 (lap 9)

99 Richard Thomas 21 2:12.510 (lap 9)

81 Claude Houle 27 2:14.178 (lap 5)

850 Bill Brack 30 2:15.737 (lap 2)

Note:

While all this Mini racing was going on, Bill Brack still found the time and energy to race his 1971 STP Lotus 59/69 Formula Atlantic car. This is the same car Bill won his 1973 and 1974 Canadian Driving Championships with. And what a surprise it was to find parked beside our pits the same car he won the 1975 Canadian Driving Championship with, the STP Chevron B29. It was something to see both cars side by side. Bill even took the Chevron out on Friday for a few laps; it was the first time Bill saw this car in 29 years. It was a special moment for all of us there.