News
McDonald Pulls Off Another Win!
Mark McDonald participates in the GT sprints invitational at Calabogie Motorsports Park as part of the Calabogie cup weekend and wins his race in the divisional PT2 running with PT1 and PT3 classes, Mark qualified 3rd in PT2 in the rain and went on to win his class PT2 in the rain, he was also awarded the hard charger title finishing 4th overall in the three classes behind Gt3 Porsche cup cars. Mark took his Audi TT out of retirement for this race to see if he and his car were still competitive after winning the GT 4 championship a few years ago under CASC race Ontario series. Mark would like to thank James Bergeron for crewing for him and Calabogie Motorsport Park, all the Marshals, and volunteers for the opportunity to run at such a world-class race track in his own back yard.
3 for 3 for 3rd
Mark McDonald podiums at the BARC Touring Trophy races at Mosport! It was his second time in a 1600. Mark’s background is in aero cars and driving a 1600 is very humbling, he states. These young drivers have so much talent! In an aero car, when the rear comes loose, bad things happen fast! In the 1600s, it is normal and constant. Hard to get your head around that and all of the wheel sawing! Britain West and BGR have some very talented young men and women racing their cars; future Indy Light and Indycar drivers, as were James Hinchcliffe, Paul Tracy and Danica Patrick. Pleasure competing with such talent. Toyo Tires 1600s is the best organized, best scrutinized and best run series Mark states he has ever run in! Watch the leaders in this championship! One of these kids will move on, perhaps to the levels of Tracy, Patrick and Hinchcliffe!
1320ft
News from Gainesville Florida
Mark McDonald is on his way, he drove his S and W dragster at the notorious Gainesville speedway where they hold the GatorNationals this past weekend schooling under the great Frank Hawley to obtain an NHRA and IHRA certification.
Mark started out with burnouts which is a prerequisite, 3 acceptable to be exact, then 2 600 feet runs, 2 1000 feet runs graduating to the quarter mile.
He passed each level and successfully obtained certification, he plans to run in North Florida and New Orleans Louisiana.
Source: Ottawa SportsCar Club
Mark McDonald wins the Ontario GT 4 Championship
Mark McDonald wins the Ontario GT 4 Championship and is also named Ontario closed wheel overall champion!
Celebration weekend, the closer for the season dawned a cool 6 degree race start for the 3 hour enduro which Mark would be co-driving in a Radical SR3 with Sam Bak from Radical Canada.
Sam would start the race and Mark was to finish, 8 laps in Sam went off in corner 2 after setting the fastest lap of the morning. Unfortunately the car sustained catastrophic damage ending their race.
Mark then concentrated on preparing for qualifying that afternoon in his Audi TT. Only to turn one qualifying lap before blowing a front left drive shaft, putting him 6th on the grid.
Repaired and ready for the green flag to wave on the last race of the season, Mark ran strong and moved into third position within a few laps and continued to keep his place in class. Half way through the race, a cable would snap in the shifting mechanism, leaving him with only 3rd and 5th gear, the car now became a momentum car.
Mark ended up turning his fastest lap with handicap and finish 2nd at the checkered flag. Asked after the race, why did you stay out? He answered, “It’s just what we do, it’s not over until the car says it’s over.”
Mark would like to thank all of CASC staff, marshals, and competitors. He would also like to thank his sanctioned club Ottawa Sports Car Club for all the support given this season and its members for supporting racing in Ontario.
Source: Ottawa SportsCar Club
Winning Streak!
McDonald wins his three races at CTMP this past Father’s day weekend with strong competition from Paul Subject’s developmental Mazda and Travis Engen from New York with his March Atlantic. Mark qualified 3rd on Friday behind Subject and Engen, but in the Saturday morning race he would pass the two of them for the victory. Saturday afternoon his luck continued and again would be in pole position for the 3rd Trophy race on Sunday just before noon.
Mark had a clear race to victory once again with Paul Subject finishing 2nd and Engen in 3rd. Mark’s fastest time for the weekend was a 1:22 with a top speed of 178mph recorded. Mark would like to thank VARAC once again for organizing an excellent event and all who volunteered to make the event possible for us to enjoy.
Mark would also like to thank Bill Hong for engineering on the Lola over the weekend.
Source: Ottawa SportsCar Club
Back to back wins in New Jersey
Mark McDonald competed this past weekend (June 3rd 4th) in the North Eastern divisional road racing championships as sanctioned by SCCA at New Jersey Motorsport Park.
Mark ran in Prototype1 trim for the event with his WF1 Stohr, changing from Prototype 2 trim of which he runs in the Majors tour. Prototype1 is a much faster class with no restrictions except weight which he must meet at a 1000lb min, with car and driver combined for the engine displacement and horsepower he is currently running in the car.
Mark Qualified P1 in Prototype 1 and 3rd overall Saturday Morning, he won his race that afternoon beating stiff competition from a Leiger and a Norma the brand that won the Runoffs last year, he also placed 2nd fastest overall.
Sunday morning Mark once again would win his race and 1st overall of the classes for and end to an exceptional weekend.
This was his first time on the “lightning course” he ran “thunder” last year in the Majors and took home 2nd and 3rd place finishes. His next race is father’s day weekend at Mosport running his Lola F3000 in Monoposto 1.
Source: Ottawa SportsCar Club
McDonald wins at Spring Trophy Race!
Bowmanville, Ontario — Mark McDonald makes the transition from racing formula cars to GT / Sedan racing and has a very successful spring trophy race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (aka Mosport). Mark ran in GT4 with his Audi TT placing 4th overall in the second race on rains in a field of 15 GT1,2,3 4 and 5 cars. Mark ended the mother’s day weekend proving he is able to race in multiple classes by bringing home 2 wins and 1 second place finish.
Congrats to Mark on a very successful weekend!
Source: Ottawa SportsCar Club
Bad Mojo in New Orleans
Round Three of the US Majors tour did not go well for Mark, 1st qualifying round McDonald would blow a rear master cylinder on his Stohr and Qualify 19th overall and 7th in P2. After an exhaustive search for rear master that would fit, Chris Young of Young Racing would find a not so perfect replacement but a master just the same.
After modifications and fingers crossed McDonald would grid for Race 1 and compete. 7 laps in, the rear master that Young racing replaced too would begin to fail due to excessive braking, but Mark would finish the race in 4th place P2 one position off the podium and 10th overall in a field of 24. Sunday morning qualifying would prove disastrous.
On grid for qualifying, his #10 car would suddenly stop running as a result of a vacuum hose failure. After a quick fix and very late grid departure McDonald would blow the differential on pit out ending the weekend and hopes of a podium finish at the Voodoo Quatre race!
At Nola Motorsports Park in New Orleans Louisiana. When asked how he felt about the weekend, McDonald would say, “we had Voodoo Combo cast against us this weekend and it was a bitch of a spell”, laughingly. Mark returns home the first week of April and will run at the BEMC Spring Trophy races the weekend of the 13 and 14th of May.
HSR Sebring: 2 Podium Finishes for Mark McDonald
McDonald faced off this weekend at Sebring in group 11 with LMP1, LMP2 Caterham, Ligier Norma’s, Lola’s as well as a Cheveron. The lowest displacement car on the grid was his 1000cc Stohr. McDonald would qualify between a Ligier and a DPO2, in race 1 he would pass a Caterham on the green flag and pass the DPO2 in corner 4 for a second place podium finish in modern sports racers and a 1st place finish in MSR2.
Sunday would prove difficult for Mark, 20 mins into race 2 he would experience severe brake fade due to heavy breaking and lose his 2nd place running order to the Caterham in corner 17 and not be able to regain the spot. Mark finished 3rd on the podium. Franc Roiron, from Mistral Racing would crew for Mark at this event and truly prep his car to be extremely competitive in such an overpowering field. Asked in an interview how he felt after the race, McDonald stated, “Wow, I am standing on the podium Steve McQueen, Mario Andretti, Dan Gurney, Lew Spencer, and many more legendary drivers have stood on, how do you think I feel? Awesome, how many people do you know that can say that.”
3rd in U.S. Majors Tour and Hoosier Super Tour
Homestead Miami Speedway – Mark McDonald podiums with a 3rd place finish in Sunday’s feature race in class P2. In the first round of the U.S. Majors tour and Hoosier super tour sanctioned by SCCA. The weekend would prove to be difficult, in round one qualifying, an incident with a Formula Atlantic would damage McDonalds #10 car with only 5 laps in. Repaired and ready for the second round of qualifying, another incident with a formula B car would end the day for the #10 car after turning 7 laps. Saturday night would be spent repairing the car for Race #1 early Sunday morning. Race #1 would be a disappointment for McDonald,after his 2nd lap, the cars Carbon body started to separate from the car on the fastest section of the course known as “The Bowl” ending race 1 before it even started. Young Racing ( Critter) from Atlanta would once again repair the car for the Feature race that afternoon. Running in a field of 43 cars on a sub 1:20 road course would prove treacherous for 6 cars in corners 4 and 8!
McDonald would avoid and carry through the 45 minute race to take a third place finish in P2, finishing behind Jim Hallman, from London Ontario, and Sherman Chao, 2016 P2 Champion at the Runoffs taking the victory in class. Next event will be HSR Sebring on the 17th of February, then off to Nola Louisiana on the 4th of March.
Stohr Dominates 2016 CASC Formula Libra Series
Season finale race weekend at Mosport, “Celebration” as it is known was just that for Mark McDonald, the driver of car #10 ,the black prototype designed and built by Lee Stohr, once based out of Portland Oregon, now owned and operated by Dauntless USA.
McDonald, coming from a snow mobile and rally racing background is relatively new to road racing and has proven himself to be a strong competitor. Missing out on the Formula Libre Championship last year by 6 points, he has clinched this year’s title with a lead of over 90 points.
After a disappointing BEMC Indian summer race weekend, plagued with mechanical failures, this past weekend would prove better, McDonald would lead the pack with a 16 second lead over all in race one until a full course caution would bunch the pack up for the restart, running on slicks, it began to rain, three laps later finishing second to a Radical Cup Canada car who was on rain tires. Race Two would prove the Stohr brand to be a wicked fast machine, starting P2 McDonald grabs the lead on the green flag and never looked back finishing with a 20 second lead over the second place finisher, as well as the fastest time recorded at Mosport of the weekend of all classes.
Asked why he didn’t run the third and final race, he stated he’d had a wonderful season and wanted to take the time to say good bye to fellow competitors and track workers he had had the pleasure of racing with. McDonald leaves for Sebring this week to settle into his new home and prepare himself for the Majors Tour which he will be competing in Prototype 2. Good luck Mark, we will be watching.
McDonald Wins the 2016 Canadian Historic GP with the Lola F3000!
The Canadian Historic Grand Prix held at Mosport June 17 gifted beautiful weather for all to enjoy, racers and spectators alike. Mark McDonald racing his historic F3000 won monoposto 1, McDonald wishes to thank VARAC for organizing such a wonderful event and looks forward to next year’s event.
See more historic racing here.