Noennick fol

Andrew McCredie

Editor
andrew@nsnews.com

LOSING his father in
a racing accident at
Mosport Park Raceway
in 1980 didn’t dis-
suade Derrick
Moennick from slow-
ing down.

Just the opposite, really.
The North Vancouver man
has spent the past 16 vears
going wheel to wheel with
some of the best drivers in
North America.

Six months after his
father’s Porsche crished in
the downhill sweeping Turn
4+ at Mosport, Moennick, age
15, hopped into his first race
ear.

“My mother was totally
against ic,” recalls the 32-
year-old. “But she seems to
be OK wich ic these days.”

This seinmer Derrick
might just ger a chance at the
big break he's been looking
for -— a ride in an Indy
Lights car.

“Nothings definite vet.
but things are in the works,”
Moennick said Tuesday. “But
its definitely a goal of minc.”

Moennick has proven
quite adept at reaching his
racing goals.

His racing career has cov-
ered sprint racing, endurance
racing, managing his own

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AUTO

iows father’s ti

North Van racer has Indy Lights ride in his sights ~

team, driviag tor professiona!
teams and over the past five
years teaching others how to
handle a race car.

As an) instructor with
Performance Driver School
in Mission, he spends wo to
three days a week passing on
his knowledge of how to xo

rast.

Moennick moved to B.C.
twe years ago trom his native
Yoronto.

A job transfer wirh his
former employer Glidden
Painzs brought him out to
the land of 12 month racing

“The real attraction out

here is Laguna Seca and
some of the other West Coast
tracks,” he said of living in
North Vancouver

Just last month he Jeft his
j with Glidden te. start
Spodight Communications,
a marketing company operat:
ed our oof his | North

igh

NEWS photo Brad Ledwicge

DESPITE losing his father in a racing accident in 1980, Derrick Moennick (above)
is happiest when he’s behind the wheel of a fast car. The 32- -year-old North Van
man has raced i in a number of series and teaches race driving at Mission Raceway.

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“in the carly “90s,
Moennick was a consistent
top-10 finisher in the Honda
Michelin © Championships
Series, Canada’s longest run-
ning pro racing series.

Whe: that series foided in
1993, he jumped into
endurance racing, and by
1996 was managing his own
Valvoline ‘Touring Car
Championship team (in addi
tion to co-drixing a Nissan
20601.

“The ability to ventrol a
car at speed and the coniperi-
tion are the reasons TP love
racing,” he explained.

Yhe ferav into endurance
racing culminated with a ride
with Hoada America in the
IMSA. Endurance Series. He
placed third ar the Hour
Sundowner at Watkins Glen,
and an impressive pinch in
the 24 Hours of Dayiona
race

tier this vear Mogrnick
drove 2 CT) Frans Ara car in

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re racks

the Canada GT ilienge on
the same track his father was
killed.

“{ hope to run a few more
GT races this year; maybe
Reno, Pike’s Peak and
Laguna Seca,” he sad.

If and where he’ race
GT class again this summer
depends on something more
important. im making a
race car go than ftel —
money.

A ragetrack refrain: more
common than *Geatlemer,
start your engines” is SWill
vou help sponsor me?”

“Sponsorship is without
doubr the biggest challenge:
always is,” Moennick said.

This season he's secured
help trom Neteore Internet
Design, Driver’s Edge and
BE Goodrich to offset the
costs asseciated with going
racing.

He abe set up a webdte
to attract possible sponsors.
The site address is wiew.
proracing.cont

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