2023 PUEBLO VINTAGE GRAND PRIX HIGHLIGHTS

Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing, celebrating our 40th season of competition, conducted the Pueblo Vintage Grand Prix at Pueblo Motorsports Park’s classic road course over the June 24/25 weekend. The featured marque was MG, celebrating 100 years of British sportscars.

Race Chair Ange DiBona arranged great weather, and the PMP track staff gets a big tip of the helmet for their hard work prepping the course after a week of flooding. 97 entrants split into open wheel and closed wheel groups for early Saturday warm-up sessions, and returned with thumbs-up.

Five run groups were on deck for practice/qualifying sessions, including a new-for-2023 Fast Formula & Sports Racer group. Just before lunch, the qualifying wrapped up and the feature race entrants took to the track.

Nine MG racers (including Spridgets), gridded by car age, took the course behind the classic MG-TC of Jonathan Lane. The pole position remained open in honor of noted MG racer David Headley, who passed away January 31. When the green fell, the TC held first briefly, but when the checkered flag waved fifteen minutes later, Mark Hansen’s Austin Healey Sprite lead the pack.

The regular run groups followed in order through the afternoon. After the track was cold, the Pueblo concessions crew served a for-all-aentrants dinner featuring chicken tzatziki marsala with naan bread. Google it – the meal puzzled many fussy conservative eaters who later returned for seconds or even thirds!

Sunday dawned with fine weather, but attrition had lowered the car count visibly. All run groups took the morning warmups in good order, but Race 3 on Saturday morning was the last for the Mid-Big Bore group, with Mark Cox’s replica Daytona Coupe garning the win. The Fast Formula group also called it a day after Race 3, with Joe Bunton taking the checker in his 1976 Lola T460.

After lunch the fourth and final race sessions commenced as the paddock thinned out. Nick Hill won the FV group in his 1967 Beach FVC, and Formula Ford honors were claimed by Nathan Down. Small Bore came down to two Lotus Sevens chased by a Lotus Europa, with Rodney McDonald holding off his father-in-law for the win.

Good weather, good food, good racing, and there were even commemorative t-shirts. Awesome

Ange DiBino (submitted by Eric Schakel)
Pueblo Vintage Grand Prix Event Chair