N. Van team high gear Allers to pilot Keen Engineering Reynard in Atlantic race By Andrew McCredie Associate Editor DRIVING around North Vancouver earlier this week, a familiar and not unpleasant feeling crept up on Frank Allers. “T could feel the old butterflies in the stomach,” the race car driver said Tuesday during lunch at Sailor Hizgar’s Pub in Lower Lonsdale. fers will pilot the Johnston Engineering-Keen Engineering Reynard 93H in tomorrow’s KOOL/TOYOTA Atlantic race at the Vancouver Indy. This weekend’s race will be the fourth in the 1997 season for the North Vancouver-based team, aid . Allers and team owner Tom Johnstoa are hoping to equal — if not better — their fifth-place finish at last year’s Vancouver race. For both driver and owner, the top-five result is by far their best since last season. Of the three races he has run this season, AHers has crossed the finish line just once — a 13th-place result in Long Beach in April. “We shoul be able to win the C2 class,” said Johnston, owner of North Van’s Keen Engineering. “It may well rain, and if it does we'll have an excel- ‘ lent chance of an overall victory. “Frank's had a lot of experience racing in the rain, and we've had a lot of experience setting up the car for the rain from all the years of racing at _ Westwood, which of course used to Fiat tire? be known as Wetwood,” he said. In both Montreal and Toronto, the Reynard 93H crashed, though Allers was unhurt in both incidents. During the Toronto Indy weekend, Allers made it all the way to lap 14 before getting T-boned by a rookie driver. This time the damage to the car was quite severe, as the nose of the other car pierced the carbon-fibre tub of Allers’ Reynard. TV replays of the incident show a frustrated Allers shaking his head in a runoff area. But as they say, “That’s racing.” And racing is something Allers knows a thing or two about. Like so many Lower Mainland rac- ers, Allers cut his teeth on the sport at the Westwood track in Coquitiam. Burt unlike local drivers, Allers made a leap into the big-time stream when as a 21-year-old he attended the world- class Jim Russelt Driving Schoo} in England. His roommate was a young American by the name of Danny Sullivan. “I was definitely shooting for Fl, but I just didn’t get the breaks, make the contacts, to make it happen,” Allers says with little regret in his voice. “At least when I'm 50 I won't be looking back saying ‘What if I would have given it a shot.’” He gave it his best and it didn't happen. And he holds no ill feelings towards young drivers like Greg Moore, Paul Tracy and West Van’s David Rutledge who have found their success through the financial support of their fathers. Allers’ father died when Frank was just 14, and he says that it’s great that these drivers have had their dad’s full support. “What I can't stand, though, is when I hear someone say ‘they haven’ t spoken to their father in a few years,” Allers says. “They just don’t know how lucky they are ro have a father.” After his father passed away, Allers and his mother moved from their farm near Nanaimo to Coquitlam, and for the young teenager, the new high school was just too much. “I really wasn’t having a good time there, and if it wasn’t for racing 1 probably would have turned out pretty bad,” he says. Not only was the young Allers smitten with the idea of driving fast, he was good at it. “I believe you are born with the talents needed to go fast,” he says. . “You just can’t make a slow driver fast. You either have it or you don't.” Allers’ best driving success came as a member with the Canadian Tire Motomaster team in the Players GM Motorsport series. He competed for six years — from 1987 to 1992 — and was series champ five of those years. In addition to dominating the series, Allers made some good moncy as a full-time driver. For the past few years he has oper- ated Frank Allers Auto Sport, a Porsche shop in Lower Lonsdale. And although he is onc of the only non-full-time drivers in the open- wheel series, he still has the confi- dence that he can win a race. The but- terflies in the stomach are the first sign. Thanks to Uniroyal* roadside assistance program, you can now drive with peace of mind for 24 hours a day, anywhere in Canada and the US. professionai wil! come and help you. With Tiger Paw* Touring TR from Uniroyai*, drive dependability home! 175/70/13 185/70/13 185/70/14 195/70/14 185/60/14 195/60/14 195/60/15 205/60/15 205/65/15 215/65/15 21 218/60/ 16 Cali the 1-800 free line and a qualified service After installation, balancing extra. 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