October 6th, 2024
October 4-6, 2024 Sonoma Raceway
Art ran the featured Formula Junior race, in our 1963 Lola Mk5A FJ.
A fantastic weekend of competition and camaraderie – Art brought home first, followed closely by Kyle Collins.
A huge thanks to many friends – including Andrew Wait, Tim Barber, Brent Katusha, and Nathan and Julien at Regogo Racing – without whom we would not have made it out onto the track.
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September 22nd, 2024
Orchestrated by our own Kevin Capone and VARA, we were very excited to host the first Sports Racer Shootout at this year’s Oktoberfest!
September 21-22, 2024 Buttonwillow Raceway
| Over 200 HP 1st in Class / Overall – Maurizio Brandhoff |
Sports 2000 1st in Class – James Capelle 2nd Place – Kevin Capone 3rd Place – Steve Valata |
WSR 1st in Class – Mike Anderson 2nd Place – Daniel Martinez 3rd Place – John Adams |
Under 200 HP 1st in Class – Steven Lang |
We were on pace to have 19 Sports Racers show up for the race weekend, which would have been incredible! However, due to some last minute problems some could not make the event, and a few others had problems during Friday practice. We still had a field of 12 entrants in the Shootout across various classes, primarily Sports 2000 and WSR, with one in each of the other classes of over and under 200 horsepower. It was a great field, well spread out giving everyone a chance to run with someone else.
It was a very tight and crowded first turn at the start with 3-4 wide on the entrance with 2×2 through the turn for many. Everyone was close, but respectful and made it through without incident. As hard as we all may try, Maurizio Brandhoff (Maui) #8 is in a class by himself, and is extremely fast in his Norma, setting a blistering lap of 1:50 seconds during the shootout and taking 1st overall.
The next battle on track was with James Capelle #27 in a beautiful Swift DB-2 Sports 2000, driving wheel to wheel with Mike Anderson #42 in his stealth WSR. Both cars are very competitive, with superb driving and racecraft, and just a whole lot of fun. Both finished 2nd and 3rd overall respectively, and 1st in each of their classes. Well done.
The rest of the cars were having their own dances throughout the field. Motorsports Market’s Kevin Capone, #427 in his Apache Sports 2000, maintained a just out of reach distance to the ever closing Steven Lang #38, in his motorcycle powered Mariah Sports 2000 chassis. Of course, Daniel Martinez #28 was right on the heels of Steven in his WSR, with Steve Villata #94 close behind in his Tiga Sports 2000. It was Steve’s second time out in his Tiga, and he did an amazing job, gaining faster lap times with every session through the race weekend. Steve Hoogs #26 was in the mix of this group but unfortunately had to retire on track due to a transaxle issue. John Adams #89 in his WSR brought home a solid 3rd place in class with Mark Francis #36 in his – new to him – Lola Sports 2000 coming in shortly after.
John Bennett #86 and David Dimond #25 rounded out the field of amazing Sports Racers in their WSRs. Matt Rose #70 had a transaxle problem in an earlier race with his Lola S2 and could not make the Shootout. We also missed Craig Barrett #92 and his beautiful Lola S2.
Overall, the feature race was a success! All of the drivers had a great time and had someone to play with on track. It was great to see all of the Sports Racers out there together and we cannot wait to do it again, bigger and better. We will work with VARA to see about getting the event back on the calendar for 2025, so stay tuned for information to come early next year as we plan on more promotion, a larger grid, and more awards and prizes!
A very special thank you to Jeanette Bourke, Ben Kuhl, Ron Hurst, Steve Staveley, VARA Timing and Scoring, the entire VARA Board, the incredible VARA Fire & Safety team, and the tireless volunteer Grid and Corner workers, this would not be possible without you. The amount of effort, logistics, schedule accommodations, time, and sacrifice you all invest does not go unnoticed. You are all incredible and all of us drivers are extremely thankful. Thank you!
September 15th, 2024
September 13-15, 2024 CSRG at Sonoma Raceway
Art was invited to drive Phil Ribb’s Lotus 23C at this year’s Charity Challenge!
An excellent two days of racing for the cars running out of Geir Ramleth’s St. Avalo Winery stable, in Group 4/5 Art brought home two first place wins for the 23C in its first time out since 2007.
The whole team – Art, Heather and Lindsey Hebert, Phil Ribbs, Tom Fallon, Chris Rossi, John Collins, and Oliver celebrated at the CSRG auction and dinner at Sonoma Raceway’s Turn 11 Club. A huge thanks to our registar extraordinaire Petey Thornton, and the entire crew at the race track who made the weekend possible.
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August 30th, 2024
August 30 – September 2, 2024 Historic Festival 42
Art was invited to once again drive our friend and client Bob Mirabile’s amazing race cars at this year’s Historic Festival! – Group 1 Jim Haynes Memorial / Formula Juniors.
A weekend of ideal racing weather and great fun, Art started the weekend in Bob’s 1962 Cooper T59 Formula Junior, with the fastest qualifying lap. However, due to a rear axle problem, Bob switched Art to his 1963 Brabham BT6 Formula Junior.
Art and the Brabham won both Saturday races, in a field full of wonderful Formula Juniors from across the U.S.
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Valerio Fabricating prepped the fastest FJ’s of the weekend. Our own Lindsey Hebert jumped right in, assisting with car systems, lap times, and analysis, and we had a great time on and off the track with teammates Jon Goodman and Jackie Amarosa. A huge thank you to Bob, for his kindness, support and enthusiam. We’d like to dedicate this weekend to Art’s dad, Bob Hebert, and father in law, Don Sandy. This one was for you guys. |
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Chasing History – Art in the Brabham BT6, chasing Bruce Revenaugh in his Lotus 18 FJ.
It turns out, this Lotus 18 was originally owned by Fred Stevenson. Fred was Bob Hebert’s (Art’s dad) teammate, when they raced for Lotus East in the late 1960’s/early 70’s. The car then went from Fred to Don Sandy, who many years later became Art’s father in law. This is the car that Art practiced racing on the west coast, with Don. When the Lotus landed with Bruce, he connected the dots and stitched together the history. This weekend at Lime Rock, Art, Fred, Bruce and the Lotus 18 were reunited. |
August 14th, 2024
August, 2024
We are sad to share the recent loss of Art’s father, Bob Hebert. A great father, wonderful husband, extraordinary racer, and daring spirit, Bob lived life on the edge of adventure, always accelerating.
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I am heartbroken to report that my dad, Bob Hebert, passed away on August 14th. He died peacefully with his family at his side, just a few miles from Lime Rock Park, a place where he enjoyed many great weekends of racing, and the company of fabulous lifelong friends.
Dad was born in his parent’s house in the center of Monterey, Massachusetts June 1, 1935. He attended the one room schoolhouse there through the 9th grade. With a high school education, he took over the family construction business, Hebert Construction, and would go on to employ many local families building lakes, dams, roads, bridges, and more.
In 1958 he married Linda Rabiner of Pittsfield. A year later their daughter, Cindy, was born. I would come along two years after that. We grew up in a lovely home with two great parents who taught us what we needed to know, supported us always, and led by example. Today dad is survived by four grandchildren, Ryan, Matt, Gunnar, and Lindsey, along with daughter-in-law Heather, and Cindy’s partner Chris.
In the late 1960’s Dad became interested in road racing. I discovered this when a yellow Lotus 51 Formula Ford appeared in our home garage in February, 1968. How cool was that?! Dad promptly fired it up and took off right down the road! Oh yes, the roads were also covered with snow. That didn’t faze him a bit. That was just dad.
His natural driving talent was immediately apparent. SCCA sent him home early from racing school when he beat his instructors. He would later get picked up by Lotus Racing East, importers of Lotus racing and street cars, to be a factory Lotus Formula B team driver. That would take Dad from the one room schoolhouse in Monterey to Canada and South America where he would race in Bogota, Columbia, and Caracas, Venezuela, against some of the best drivers in the world.
Dad’s racing took a hiatus in the later 1970’s as he concentrated on the construction business and raising his family. Then, in the 1980’s, he called me while I was away at school to ask me if I had ever heard of something called “Vintage Racing.” I hadn’t. However, soon we learned what it was, and embraced it. It would be the next chapter for both of us.
Dad would team up with Brian Donovan to race the fastest E-Type Jaguars in the U.S. Together they would go on to win from Laguna Seca to Lime Rock to Daytona. Dad was also voted SVRA Driver of the Year. In addition, during this period he was also retained by a French racing team to race their Dodge Viper in the 24 Hours of Daytona. Brian Lister (Lister Jaguars and Lister Chevys) came to watch Dad race, and win, at Daytona in his ex-Briggs Cunningham Costin Lister. Brian said he had never seen such natural talent since Archie Scott Brown. In 2012 Dad was inducted into the Road Racing Driver’s Club.
Lucky for me, and thanks to Brian Donovan, Dad and I got to race the Jaguars together coast to coast. Mom was always with us. It was truly magical to get to do that with my dad and my mom. Our barn is still full of dad’s racing memorabilia, including many trophies, photos, banners, checkered flags, classic cars, and so many wonderful memories. He won over 100 races in his career. Today his grandchildren, Gunnar and Lindsey, carry on his racing tradition.
Speaking of memories, there are so many, many, great memories of dad. I will just share two briefly here.
The first was in the early 1970’s when a steam cleaner we were using at my grandfather’s house burst into flames. The flames instantly engulfed my stunned grandfather who was holding a full can of kerosene. Instantly, my dad ran into the flames, picked my grandfather up in the air and threw him into a snowbank extinguishing the flames. He saved his life before I could even move.
Another time, I was seven years old racing my dad down a mountain on skis. I crashed, breaking my leg halfway down the mountain. Ski Patrol was not the professional operation it is today, so my dad skied the rest of the way down the mountain carrying me in his arms. Two weeks later, he broke his leg jumping off a bulldozer. One of my favorite photos is of us posing together with our two broken legs. I was so proud! He would later cut his cast off with a saw when he felt it had been on long enough. He hung it in the basement. I thought that was just the coolest thing!
My dad was my hero.
– Art Hebert
June 1st, 2024
June, 2024
We recently lost one of the pillars of our family, and a great racer and mentor, Don Sandy.
Don began his racing journey in a vintage Porsche 356 that he bought from Chuck Parsons, and would later drive at his wedding. His wife, Carol, was supportive of his racing, and gave Don a Sears Point Racing School certificate for his birthday. This started his decades long adventure of great racing, and bringing more friends and family members into the sport. Don’s passion for motorsports, and his racing mentorship, continued even after he hung up his helmet. He got his sons-in-law, Art Hebert and Jim Sirois, behind the wheels of his red and silver 356 Porsches. Ultimately, Don began to oversee and manage the racing operations of Motorsports Market, including Formula Junior, Formula Ford, Sports 2000, and Formula Atlantic. Under his guidance, the team went on to win vintage racing national championships and special events, including the Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the vintage Formula Atlantic support race for the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
Not content with mentoring just the next generation of family racers, in his later years Don taught his grandson, Gunnar Hebert, to race Formula Fords in the Crossflow Cup Series. And this year his granddaughter, Lindsey Hebert, joined the fold. Lindsey attended her first racing school this past February, and will be completing her SCCA novice license school in August. Don, Jim, Art, Gunnar, and Lindsey all got started racing in Don’s red 356 Porsche – truly “The Family Porsche!” Even when Don was no longer able to attend races in person, he would insist on reviewing the in-car-videos from each session, critiquing how we could get better, and always asking what he could do to help.
Don will be forever remembered as the guy hovering over operations in the paddock and chewing on that ever-present-cigar, which he never lit. We used to tease him that we knew we had run a really good race when the cigar was just a nub by the end! Everyone loved Don, and always looked forward to catching up with him at the track. Thank you, Don, for the family you created and nurtured on every level, all the time. And thank you for the amazing experiences and memories of a lifetime. None of it would have happened without you, and your always supportive guidance.
We will carry on in your honor, and we will miss you terribly.
March 18th, 2024
March 16-17, 2024 CSRG David Love
Crossflow Cup season opener! A highly competitive (and fun) field of drivers.
Art hit the track in the 1963 Lola Mk5A Formula Junior, finishing first in Formula Jr and second overall.
“We had a great race! We qualified up with the quicker Formula B cars, with much more horsepower and wider tires. The flag dropped. I got a great start from fourth and moved into third on the outside of turn one. Then I had a long battle with a Formula B car, swapping positions multiple times. I finally got him when we were lapping traffic, going nearly 3 wide with me making the pass on the outside of turn 11. So we finished first in Formula Jr and second overall with the Formula B, Cars, and the under 2 liter sports racers.” – Art
March 10th, 2024
March 9-10, 2024 Lindsey Hebert, Speed SF
Last weekend, Lindsey Hebert attended her first high performance driving school at Sonoma Raceway with Speed SF!
She drove her grampa’s (Don Sandy) 1957 Porsche 356 Super – the same car that her grampa, dad Art, brother Gunnar, uncle Jim and Kevin Capone learned to drive on.
Lindsey navigated the newly paved Sonoma Raceway with smooth arching turns, working on her lines and gear changes.
By the end of the day on Sunday, her skills were very much improved, as was her confidence. She can’t wait to get back to the track, and we can’t wait to have her back out there!
March 17th, 2024
Follow along with Motorsports Market Vintage Racing Team member Kevin Capone as he journeys back into Vintage Racing!
Thinking about getting into Vintage Racing?
Kevin has been a GIS Professional in the IT industry for the past 30 years and an auto enthusiast since childhood, having owned and restored several American and European sports cars. He grew up around the race track both on crew and driving in SCCA, IMSA and various other vintage racing events. He has performed ground up restorations on classic road cars and has raced both modern and vintage racing cars. Kevin is now getting back into racing, starting with a 1988 Chevron B67 Formula Continental and now his 1987 Apache S2000.
University of VARA: Igniting the Racing Passion for All
Most recent race; March 16-17th 2024, VARA Desert Challenge Willow Springs …
October 15th, 2023
October 13-15, 2023 Historic Formula Ford Championship and Top Gun Shootout!
Laps for Laguna; Art and Kevin were both out at Weathertec Raceway for the CSRG event.
Art was on the track in the yellow Titan Formula Ford in the final two races of the Crossflow Cup championship, and the ‘Top Gun’ extra Formula Ford race on Sunday.
Kevin raced the black and red Apache Sports 2000 in the commonly called “Wings and Slicks” group -a mixed-class group that contained primarily Formula Atlantic cars, Sports 2000, and an incredible Mario Andretti Lotus Formula 1 car.
“We arrived to gorgeous fall weather at Laps for Laguna. Kevin and I both tested on Friday and continued to work on getting quicker.
For me this was the final Cross Flow Cup race of the season. The Historic Formula Ford Championship was on the line. There were four contenders, Andrew Wait, Martin Lauber, Steve Romak, and me.
Andrew ran in the front pack for both races and became the 2023 Cross Flow Cup Champion! Martin turned in excellent performances in both races and claimed second spot in the Championship. He was also the MC for the Saturday night fundraiser dinner at the track with Colton and Bryan Herta. Well done!
Steve Romak and I battled for third. During the first race Steve and I slid side-by-side through the entire famous Laguna Seca Corkscrew. At the finish Steve crossed the line just 6/100’s of a second ahead of me, putting him squarely into third spot in the Championship. We both exchanged thumbs up and big grins during the cool off lap.
Unfortunately we did not get a chance to go head-to-head in the second race. Steve got taken out by another car during qualifying for the second race. That provided me the opportunity to gain enough points by finishing 4th in Historic Formula Ford in the second race to claim the final podium spot in the Historic Formula Ford Championship.
The final race of the weekend was the “Top Gun Shootout”. Participants included 2023 season race winners, pole position holders, and those who passed the most cars during races. Danny Baker came home first followed by Brian Swanson and Oliver Ramleth, both of whom made major strides during the season. We wound up fourth and were honored just to be a part of the group.
All of us Cross Flow Cup competitors are now looking forward to the Cross Flow Cup Awards dinner in December at Shippert Racing Services. We will enjoy great food, great stories, and great camaraderie. That, and great racing, is what the Cross Flow Cup is all about.” – Art
“It was such a great sight to see when our fellow S2 competitor Steve Hoogs showed up to play. It made for great back-and-forth battles between us which apparently became the talk of the sessions with the track announcer. It was great fun with each of us going home with a class win. It was an excellent way to end the season for us and we cannot wait to tackle the track in 2024.” – Kevin
