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In 1979, the Canadian Automobile Sports Car (CASC) club modelled the Canadian Road Race of Champions after the Sports Car Club of America's successful 'Runoffs'.
The first step was to a secure a race track willing to host the event for multiple years. The CASC was successful and 1979 would be the first of a five-
year contract that they signed with Mosport. However, this agreement did not last as a number of factors caused this event to be moved to Gimli, Manitoba in 1981.
Over 130-drivers entered the event with eastern Canada having the largest contingent of competitors. With the exception of the Honda/BF Goodrich class, won by Frank
Allers from British Columbia, all National Champions were from Ontario.
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Veteran Ontario Region driver Werner Von Engelbrechten qualified his Beach Auto BMW 320i on the GT2 pole by over
3-seconds. Despite his domination of qualifying Von Engelbrechten finished less than second over Claude Gou (Datsun 510) and
Tom Jones (Volkswagen Rabbit).
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Another driver to dominate qualifying was John Scratch in his Ferret MK 4. He was almost 2-seconds quicker than second
place Formula Ford starter Ludwig Heimrath Jr. Initially, Heimrath gave Scratch all he could handle but by the end of 15-laps, he had built up
a lead of almost 6-seconds. Scratch's 1979 victory marked his third Formula Ford Canadian National Championship - he previously won the
title in 1975 and 1976.
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The No. 27 Honda Civic was driven to the Canadian National GT3 Champion by Tony Foster. At the start, Foster was in a tight three-way
battle with pole sitter Bruce Kitchen and third fastest qualifier Richard Spenard. However, this only lasted for 2-laps as Kitchen and
Spenard spun off the track and did not return to the race.
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Ron Fellows qualified this much modified Lotus 59, re-badged as an Ash Formula Ford, in twenty-sixth. Unfortunately, a suspension failure during qualifying
prevented him from starting the race.
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Rudy Bartling in a Porsche RSR started toward the rear of the grid despite being the fastest
qualifier. The CASC had implemented a qualifying rule for this event which restricted the top of the grid to regular regional
competitors and the remainder of the field were considered invited drivers. By the third lap, Bartling was out front and
captured the GT4 Canadian National Championship.
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The second Ferret MK 4 in the Formula Ford field was driven by John Nemy who started and finished fourth.
The Ferrets were a Canadian built car construct by Fred Wilken and Alec Purdy. The car driven by Nemy was
the fourth and final version of the MK 4.
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1978 Canadian National GT2 champion John Schuberg qualified third in his Triumph TR7. Schuberg fell to
fourth and retired after the eighth lap with a broken clutch.
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Former Shannonville Motorsport Park owner Jack Boxstrom competed in the Dulon MP15. He qualified
nineteenth and finished seventeenth in the Formula Ford class.
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Vince Whitehead started seventh and finished fourth in this GT3 MG Midget. He would switch brands
and win the 1985 and 1989 GT3 Canadian National Championships in a Datsun B210.
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International Ice Racing Association champion Tom Jones from Thunder Bay, Ontario competed in
this Volkswagen Rabbit. He qualified second to Werner Von Engelbrechten and waged a race long battle
with Claude Gou. At the checker Jones finished third in GT2.
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The Datsun 510 of Greg Whitehead is chased through Moss corner by the similar model of Chris Karatzaglou.
Whitehead was classified as a DNF in GT2. Karatzaglou completed 14-laps of the 15-lap race and finished ninth.
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Ludwig Heimrath Jr. in this Lola T540 qualified second in a field of twenty-six Formula Fords. He missed shift part way through
the race which allowed eventual winner John Scratch to create a gap that Heimrath could not close. Heimrath was able to maintain
a comfortable margin over Bob Armstrong and finished second in Formula Ford.
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Some of the top Formula Ford drivers came from western Canada - Andy Mahood, Allan Berg, Colin Tuckey, Frank Turner and
Ross Bentley. But Bentley was the 'Best of the West' finishing sixth in the Tiga 77F.
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| CLASS | DRIVER | CAR |
| GT-1 | Doug Aishford | Datsun 260Z |
| GT-2 | Werner Von Engelbrechten | BMW320i |
| GT-3 | Tony Foster | Honda Civic |
| GT-4 | Rudy Barling | Porsche RSR |
| B SPORTS RACER | Detlef Hinze | Lola T290 |
| FORMULA VEE | John Reep | Lynx B |
| FORMULA FORD | John Scratch | Ferret MK4 |
| HONDA/BF GOODRICH | Frank Allers | Honda Civic |
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