The COVID-19 pandemic threw a tire iron into the 2020 auto racing season for 65-year-old race car driver, Bill Okell, but he changed gears and set his sights on Canadian races.
The Saanich-based driver had a successful 2019 season which included being inducted into the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame, setting records at various U.S. racetracks and taking home new hardware for his trophy shelf.
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Okell, who turns 66 in November, had planned on making waves at the 2020 Sports Car Club of America U.S. Majors Tour and had his sights set on the 2021 national championships in Indianapolis, but heB次元官网网址檚 been cut off from races in the U.S. since the border between Canada and the U.S. closed in March.
While he was disappointed, Okell adapted to B次元官网网址渢he new normalB次元官网网址� and turned to the Canadian racing circuit B次元官网网址� where he previously won six titles between 2006 and 2010.
The races and track culture are different in Canada but B次元官网网址渞acing is racing,B次元官网网址� he said, adding that heB次元官网网址檚 happy to be back to cruising at top speed and spending time with friends. The pandemic B次元官网网址渞equires us to be flexible.B次元官网网址�
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Okell usually races in a 1964 MGB Roadster that heB次元官网网址檚 had for 45 years but this season heB次元官网网址檚 cruising the track in a Mazda Miata on loan from R&P Motorsports which gives the familiar track a fresh feel.
Okell had just two U.S. races under his belt before the borders closed so he signed up for the Confederation of Autosport Car Clubs Pacific Division Championships. After six of the seasonB次元官网网址檚 nine races at the Mission Raceway Park, Okell was sitting in first place as he headed into another weekend of GTU races in Mission, B.C. on B次元官网网址� likely the final races of the shortened season.
Okell said he goes into each race planning to bring home a new trophy so he was looking forward to coming back to Saanich with fresh hardware to display on his dining room table for as long as his wife could tolerate.
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