At 85, Al Ores isn鈥檛 about to put it in park.
The Burnaby auto racing enthusiast could fill a warehouse of his racing awards and honours, collected over a career that began in 1968.
Right now, he still looks forward to every turn of the wheel.
鈥淚 never go to a track without a spare motor or spare transmission 鈥� the VW engines are not that big and I can put it in the back of the van. Two guys can do it, and you can be race-ready in a couple of hours,鈥� Ores told the NOWof preparing for the Vintage Racing Club of B.C.鈥檚 marquee race event this weekend at Mission Raceway.
Ores, a Burnaby resident, has been burning rubber in his vintage 1976 Formula Vee for four decades, winning races up and down the Pacific Northwest.
Word that he would be marking his 50th year behind the hobby wheel spread like unleaded gas sparking an old carburetor.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be fun,鈥� says Ores. 鈥淚 already hear there are guys coming up from the States, they want to clean the old guy鈥檚 clock. 鈥� I don鈥檛 really care if they鈥檙e going to do it. It鈥檚 all in fun. There鈥檚 no way I can compete lap after lap with them, but I鈥檓 going to have a great time.鈥�
After getting his first taste of speed in 1968 in Seattle, Ores made Coquitlam鈥檚 Westwood race course his home strip, embracing its unique hills and dales. It quickly became a family affair when son Mike joined him on the racing line in the mid-鈥�70s, eventually moving up to Formula Fords.
The senior Ores bought the 1200-cc Vee from his son and has been tinkering with it ever since.
Raceways often run open heats, where Ores鈥� Beetle-based engine lines up against the 1600cc Fords and the higher powered Continentals, which have wing spoilers. Those are often fun, and tense, events.
鈥淲hen I鈥檓 lined up and they鈥檙e on my butt, I can鈥檛 just jump out of the way and let them go by 鈥� so I go my speed and I know they鈥檙e swearing back there 鈥楪et the hell out of the way.鈥� It鈥檚 more for fun. You don鈥檛 make any money out of it, but we can get together afterwards and tell each other how good we were,鈥� says Ores.
His daughters even went through the driver鈥檚 training but never took it to racing. It was a father and son event until son Mike retired. He passed away from brain cancer five years ago.
What keeps Ores plugging away and tweaking his engines now is getting the chance to race with and help out his grandson, Robbie Arthur.
鈥淟ast year (Arthur) beat me for the overall championship. I got the third step, he got the first step. Now he鈥檚 so fast he laps me, goes by me and gives me this funny wave with the two fingers,鈥� he says with a laugh.
The heydays were back when Westwood was a weekly meeting place, drawing some of the best racers in North America.
鈥淟ook at Westwood now 鈥� the whole hill is full of houses. I was one of the last guys out of there, with tears in my eyes, because we had to tear everything down, of course.鈥�
Although it鈥檚 50-years and counting, Ores admits it鈥檚 always in the hands of the doctor who each year does his required physical.
鈥淲hen you get to 85 and go to the doctor, he looks at you sort of funny 鈥� 鈥榊ou鈥檙e 85 years old and you want to race cars? You鈥檙e nuts, you鈥檙e already half-dead.鈥� But anyway,鈥� he adds with a chuckle.
The vintage action goes Saturday and Sunday in Mission, with races starting at 9 a.m. and continuing until 4:30 p.m. both days.
