It’s been about three years since Langley resident Andrew Dobbie decided to take a chance on realizing his unfulfilled dream to be a race car driver and it has gone far better than he expected.
His most recent win came on familiar territory, at the Northwest Formula Continental Championship race on the July 27 weekend at the Mission 25 Grand Prix.
Dobbie described it as the “biggest” of the races he’s competed in this season.
It was a hard-fought win, with Dobbie dueling it out with Victoria’s Gavin Aitken, who was a close second, followed by Roger Smetaniuk from Sylvan, Lake Alberta in third.
Dobbie was among 21 cars started the Mission 25 Grand Prix, the largest field in the history of the Northwest Formula Continental series.
It marked the 25th anniversary of road racing at the Mission track, sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of B.C. (SCCBC) and features the return of the Northwest Formula Continental series for open wheel race cars.
Dobbie took up the sport in 2017, aiming to realize a childhood dream by racing a Formula Ford at the Mission track.
READ MORE: Langley driver at the B.C. Historic Motor Races in Mission
By the time he finished his first season, Dobbie was named “Novice of the Year” by both the Sports Car Club of B.C. and the Confederation of Autosport Car Clubs.
In 2018, he had a good season, making multiple podium appearances.
Now, Dobbie has moved up from the F1600 to the F2000 class, driving a Van Diemen RF-02 which has a bigger engine and ‘wings’ to help keep the faster car on the roads.
So far this year, he has won nine races, mostly on weekends.
“It’s going well,” he allowed, during a post-race interview with the Langley Advance Times.
His Langley-based racing team operates with the aid of Langley sponsors, Madison Street Capital, The Dowco Group and Taylor Law.
While he has kept his day job, Dobbie is considering a move to full-time competition.
“It really depends on how well this year goes, of course,” Dobbie observed.
He could opt to remain in his current class, or switch to “another sedan or sports car type” category.
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Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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